Saluting My Hero: JESUS

Saluting heroes seem to be such an easy thing to do. Some people are scared to death, but simply react in their training and then gets called an hero. They do not feel as though they are heroes because they are just doing what they are trained to do. Why is this? There is something inside a person that moves them to help people in need. There are very diverse ways of doing this. It takes all sorts of people in order to make this work. Some need to say home and pray, support and such. Some must be on the front line. Some may do this that or the other. As Americans we must be together on this. It is hard to think that America may not always be here, but the fact of the matter is the Bible is clear in its description of the end times. America is great, but it is no heaven. I long for the say that Jesus returns and takes His children home! We are just traveling through this great time and this great country. As TC and are physically traveling through, it just points to what we are spiritually doing. Everything I have is only borrowed and bigger and better things lie ahead. Life is pretty simple, if we just don't complicate it. You know by me writings that I love this country and I love our troops. IF I could lose about 20 pounds I want to be a chaplains Assistant in the gueard or reserve, but my honor must go to the one who deserves it most. My Lord and my God; Jesus Christ Blessings to all my friends!

Another Post

We arrived at christie's house and had a great meal. Chicken alfredo with salad and bread. It was great. Christie really wanted to impres us and she did. I bid on a notebook tonight and won, so at least i know one is coming. Hopefully, it will come toward the end of the week and Christie can sign for it. That's all for now. It's goodnight and early to rise and head toward Tennesee at early light.

Ready to Go!

This morning I have been reading posts for about two hours. I guess I wanted to get my fill since I may not have access for a week. Last night Chad (our son) came over and spent the night. We decided that we would eat where ever he wanted to. Even though he is 18 now, he still decided to eat pizza. So, we went and broke bread together. Today he will go back to his Aunt's house where he has been living since last December. He starts his job this coming Monday so that's good.

We will pick up our rental car today around lunch and leave this afternoon to spend the night with Christie (our daughter) who lives in Brevard, NC (land of waterfalls). We will go to Covenant on Sunday. This trucking company has the own motel. While we are there next week they provide us the room and three meals a day. Yes, they have their own restaurant.

Ole Sarge charlie has quite the discussion over on his page. Check it out from the link to your right! Want good music, check out Conservative cowboy's page as well. After I read his post, I just let it sit there and listen. More good music wanted, check out Luke Stricklin's page. You can access his My Space page from here and listen to his songs. GREAT!

OK, it's about 8:00 Am here in the tar heel so it is time to get busy. We have much to accomplish today before we leave.

Oh yea, I want to should out to all the guys and gals at PSNC. They made my last day at work awesome! The gifts and cake, along with the great meal just added to my memory. Patty took pics and they gave us a album with all the pics in it and we both receive journals. Even my bosses boss, Greg , came down. It was awesome! Good bye for now and I will check in each and every time I have access. I pray that God will allow us to find a notebook!

American Bless God and God will Continue to bless America!

Well today is Friday and still no notebook. We will leave Saturday night and spend the night with our daughter and then get to Chattanooga late Sunday. Orientation is Monday through Wednesday and TC will take a refresher course Thursday through Saturday. I hope they have Internet access there but I don't know. we will look for notebooks on the way as well.

Just Trying to Work It Out

I have tried for two days now to leave comments on others site and it says it can not log me in, yet off the main log in sight I can log in and post. Go figure...

Today is my last day at PSNC. I will be cleaning out my big truck and office space/cubby hole. They guys are fixing hamburgers for lunch today for my last day. It is a sweet thought. I said most of my goodbyes yesterday and I will have a few more today. I am again back to square one on a notebook. Apparently the online company I was trying to purchase from is not legit. My bank said that were trying to run my card with no name and no phone number. I contacted them and had a feeling they were no good after the conversation. I have one more chance today to get one before we start our trip. Not sure how that will work out.

I've added a new link and have called it Soldiers Salute. I spent about an hour yesterday looking at the faces and the names. Pretty Awesome! I woke this morning again and tried to watch the news. I got be honest, I just cannot bear it. It pains me to see all these Americans keep saying how we need to pull out of Iraq. They keep saying we can't win. That is ridiculous. Of course we could win. We could just blow the hell out of the country and be done with it, but that is not what we do. Opposed to some views, I believe that America has always tried to do what is right. Sure, we have screwed up in the past, but it is how we react to that. When the Generals and the troops say, "Hey, you know we do hear what you are saying over here", that should should tell anyone with a brain, lets watch what we say. Simple but apparently hard for some to do.

Politics: Excuse me for a moment

I am not a political person, but I just had to add this. The other day while listening to Rush(yea about 15 minutes each day is enough for me) and this guy called up and said the best statement I have heard. he said, " Why don't Congress pass a resolution to WIN". Now I believe that most politicians are full of bulls_ _ _ , but they do have a necessary purpose. With all the resolutions to pull out, reduce or all the other ones, why not pass a resolution to WIN. What a great idea. How to do that is another question indeed! That's all I have to say about that!

Comrades and Computers

My friend and also my work dad, Bill Jordan



My other two comrades. Drivers Mike Long and Bill Jordan(right) and myself make the driving force. That is Denise who does most everything else.

I've have become totally pissed off at notebook computers. Thus far I have ordered one online, just to be told they are out of that model. I tried to buy one in the store but most stores have been out of stock on the ones I can afford. The new VISTA program is coming after 1/31/07, which is causing most computers to rise in cost. Some I've seen will rise as much as $300.00. Anyway, I bought another online Monday and the address was wrong. So, I got that right and then yesterday they called to say my credit card would not allow them to charge it. So yesterday on the way home from work I figured out the problem. I had put a $500.00 dollar limit on my card and I would have to call and raise that for the day. Man, I can sure be stupid some time. Why didn't I think about that yesterday during the day. Darn it! Anyway, I have totally given up on walking, I guess. I have done it in over a week. That is not good. I continue to do my push ups and sit ups and my stretching, but I have got get back to walking. Perhaps after this week I can do that.

Today is Wednesday so I will make my final Mountain run for PSNC, so it is sort of a sad day. I hate goodbyes and I know everyone will be doing that. I work with some awesome people. Tim and all the guys in forest city were great. Terry in Hendersonville has been a great friend and i might add a great cook. Rick in Asheville has always been easy to work with and those guys in the garage, Bobby and Brad, are awesome dudes. Eric in Troutman has been a good friend. At every location I have made great friends and was a well liked person. It speaks well of my desire to befriend as many as possible. There are many that i will not see again before I leave, but I know it would have been a nice goodbye.

One Thing I will Miss!

One of the side effects of going back on the road is how much I will miss playing the drums. I have been playing in the praise band at Wellspring Church. Moe is our leader and there are four us us. Moe is an excellent player so its fun to make music with him. I've been playing for about two years now and I will miss it. I've decided to leave my drums at the church so a young man named Jason can play the drums for the church. I hope that when we are in town I play every once and a while. We will see about that. I bought these drums from my brother in law and then replaced the symbols and the heads. They have always sounded pretty good, however my symbols have never been the most expensive ones. Play on!

Blessed Are We

This morning I am trying to continue to get organized. I worked on the taxes a little more, opted out of as many paper bills being mailed as possible and I think I will do some reading. There is not a home group today so I don't think we will be going to church anywhere. Perhaps Tc and i will sit down together for some reading and prayer. This morning I feel so blessed. After a great time with Wes and Lisa last night I find this. It was awesome. Please read this post. Click here.

How blessed we really are!!!!! To blessed to be depressed or stressed. It is the blessings that should keep us HUMBLE and fighting for those who cannot fight for themelves!

Goodbye camper

Dawn came today and picked up the old pop up camper that we donated to The River Ministries. We wer very fornuate to spend a lot of this past summer up there. It is an awesome place. We actually left the camper up at the river all summer, so in a way it may just be going home.

Anyway the new moterhome we bought is at the shop getting a new roof, a new awning and some other minor repairs. We probably want see it for several months. We are off to meet "The Byrds" in Hickory for supper. Wes and Lisa have been our best friends since the Army days back in 1986.
Goodbye ole Friend, not really we only had it one year.

Interesting: Just had to post it!!!

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Habits: Good and Bad

Some of my Habits:
Can TV be a habit? Yes I watched the beginning of "24"

• Yes I watched American Idol (Except Tuesday at 9:00-"The Unit"
• Yes we watch Animal Planet almost every night or Discover for a little while anyway.
• I tried hard not to watch the news...Boring and Depressing-Internet news is my method.
• By the way if you like "The Unit" click here for the opening cadence.

Most of us have many habits. Smoking, eating or biting our fingernails. Some habits are bad and are bad for you, while other habits are good and can be good for you. I have the worst time getting into a habit of taking my medicine sometimes. At times we have to leave a habit and make a choice. I know that there are some choices that I need to make regarding my health. TC and I both paid a visit to our doctors yesterday. TC id a diabetic so she has to really watch what she eats and the way she takes care of herslf. The doc was happy with that. We bot still need to lost a little and exercise more regularly.

There are as many good habits we have and that is nice. For instance I cannot walk by a light that is on and not turn it off. I catch myself knowing that the light is off but checking the switch anyway. Or safety for example, I have many good habits when it come to driving a semi. Habits that we form can for certain be good and bad and I think that may just depend on that person and the person he or she lives with.

Dreams: From the Heart

I heard it said that “Dreams are just memories of events that never happened.” I have always been a “Dreamer”. Even from a boy I can remember having dreams that seemed so real, almost to the point if they were part of my memory. As I grew older my dreams grew with me. I’ve also always had an active imagination. That is why when I read I am able to enter into the book. Same with a movie, I can be drawn into the character. Now some may find this just down right silly, but not me. Dreaming is a part of me; it is a point or reflection for me. I have studied dreams from the Bible where God spoke to that person through a dream. For instance, Gen 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told [it] his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. We also know of many other times where God spoke to his prophets and people in dreams. At times it took time or even other people to interpret the dream. What am I saying? I saying that Dreams are a part of life, at least for me they are for me. I have two or three recurring dreams. Usually I dream one of these almost every night. At one point in my life I lost the capability to dream and I hated that. Anyway, I guess some don’t put much stock in dreams, but I do.

This weekend we are continuing to weed out things we don’t need. We had a 1992 Coleman pop us camper and we decided to give it to River Ministries. We are going to sign the title over today for Dawn and then get it Polk County on Saturday. We also found out that we will leave for Chattanooga Tenn. Next Sunday. We will start orientation on Monday Jan. 29th. We will be there the whole week as TC must go through a refresher course. She is very nervous about this because she has not driven a semi since 2002. But, I know she can do it. She can do anything.

Lord Over Details

OK I have to add this. Our friend at church this past Sunday night had a vision while the pastor and church were praying for us as we travel. The vision was this; while folks were praying Tammy saw a vision of Moses holding the Ten Commandments. What does that mean? I guess if could represent the Covenant God Had between himself and the people. Right? Now, forward one day upon getting the news that our chosen carrier were closing down and after a time of prayer TC said to me call Covenant Transport. So far everything has worked out so well. We will work for a good company, have good benefits and get to run all of the lower 48 states. I think most of what we will be doing is truckin' East Coast to West coast, which for a team that is where the money is at. Again, God is the Lord of the Details.
So many times we can get so bogged down by details it is hard to function. There is an old saying, "Let go and let God". To that I say we have made a covenant with the Almighty through His Son, Jesus Christ and that being sealed through His own Blood. This is something that Jesus had done, not us! Everyone reading this can have that same relationship that comes with a peace that passes all understanding. Amen



And now, may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to him. Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed with his blood. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20
New Living Translation © 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust

Work It Out

We just got Benji back from the vet. We had all his shots updated and to get a copy of his rabies shot. We also did Smudges too. We will need this if and when we go to Canada for the border crossing. Also for DOT checks if required. Benji loves to get his haircut and he acts like he is about two instead of ten.

We went to Walmart today to wrap up our travel bags and such and get all that stuff out of the way. During our trip I got the call that the company we were going too is shutting down. WOW! What a surprise. TC and i thought about it and prayed and then we contacted Covenant Transport. They are a faith based company. What is cool is that the pay will even be more than the other company.. God sure does know how to work out the details better than me. More on that later. TC and I are going out to eat Japanese tonight!

PS: I just recieved my Keni Thomas CD in the mail today and I am listening to it right now. AWESOME MUSIC!!!! I am proud to be an American. The whole CD seems to talk about serving others and our country. SGT DUB was right!

Boring

Sunday at church was awesome. A candle lit Communion and great worship to our God. Monday at work, not so great. When you have known people as long as I have known these guys it is hard to say goodbye. I wish this part was over. I am fortunate to have a floating holiday to take today. One day less of goodbyes. Also today we are updating the dogs shots, baths and haircuts. The dogs, not us. We take our baths on Saturday, whether we need them or not! I have to comment on the series "24". For several years now my Monday is filled with this show. I love the fast pace of it all. It does seem to becoming more political, but perhaps they can avoid that. In many ways they are simply telling what many Americans are thinking. Racial profiling cannot be a good thing, but it is a natural thing. I live in a town where the population is less than 10 percent black, yet look at the police reports. The largest majority is from young black males. Why is that? While there are plenty of responses, the point is that it is easy to profile based on the facts. With anyone from the middle east, they are going to be looked at differently. It is natural. We do not and should not judge them simply because they are darker, that is for sure but, I am only saying it is hard not to do. For instance, Sunday evening we were with Terry and Dawn(pastor and wife) at at great Mexican restaurant. In comes walking to gentlemen of a middle Eastern decent. I felt uncomfortable as I occasionally checked them out. I was glad when I sent one a smile as we made eye contact that he smiled back. We must try do what we can. Small and simple but none the less very important. You think?

Wild Mustangs

Last night TC and I went shopping for a few items we needed(Jeans) and then went out to eat (again) It’s crazy that we can eat out every day for almost as less as cooking. Especially, since we have been splitting our meals. Cost less and we are losing weight, a good deal. We came home last night and watched a movie I bought in Wal-Mart. It’s called “The Bear”.It’s a great movie told from the wyes of an orphaned cub. Today is just chilling out and then I get to play the drums tonight at church. Oh yea, our storage building is now empty. Thank God! I added a daily read to my blog list today. It's the Pioneer woman. The pictures and life these folks have are unbelieverable. It's nice to know that folks can enjoy such awesome creatures as Wild Mustangs. God Bless em!



I also bought the following movies:

• Outlaw Justice-with Kris, Willie, Travis and Waylon
• The Last days of Frank and Jesse James with Kris K, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson
• The Eagle Has Landed with Robert Duvall-My favorite Actor (TC gets mad but I buy everything I see with him in it.
• Three more great movies to add to my collection!

Some Good Stuff

Not too much happening today. Men’s Breakfast this morning and emptying the storage building the rest of the day. I do have to stop by Lowe’s. I bought a grill cover and anew LED mag light(mini) yesterday and it does not work so I have to take that back. We are taking tons of stuff to the Ministry and I love it.
If you have the time you can check out this. Jett Hitt is a composer and horse back riding guide at Yellowstone National Park. This is something I intend on doing before I die, I hope. His music is almost religious. Check out this page and download the movie. I promise you it will move you. If you like the wild and anything cowboy you will love it. The link should take you to the page and download. Enjoy!

I Need It

The decision to choose EPES EXPRESS as our carrier really came as no surprise. Actually, I had never heard of them before searching but I asked God to take all the details and that is exactly what He has done. The anticipation is growing with each day. It takes a lot of planning to take your life from and every day go to the same job kinda thing to "once we leave we will be gone for 4-6 weeks at a time. I would say that I am about 25% there. I have about two weeks to wrap things up here.
I had an awesome meal with my wife last night. We went to SAGEBRUSH, our favorite steak house. I probably gained the 5 pounds that I've lost but I hope not. Today I am off from work so I will be running all day to accomplish as much as possible. Not sure how you do things, but I am a make a list person. I must make a list for everything I do. It gives me great satisfaction to check something off my list. Been that way my whole life and sometimes it drives my wife crazy. Overall though it does help me with accomplishing things and being organized. I need it!

Hitting the BIG 200

It's hard to believe that in one year I have made 200 post. From the first day of my first post January 27th, 2006, I have averages 1.74 post per day and it is getting more fun each day. With all the people I have met it just crazy how this thing works. I have met a good frind from California, Hickory NC, a sweet person and her family from Crouse, an awesome family from OK whose husband is deployed to Afganistan, to numerous others. I have several post that I read each day and I enjoy seeing what is happening in their day.
Anyway, here is my regular post!

Yesterday went pretty well. Some of my co-workers were actually mad at me for a while. I guess I can take that as a compliment.(I think) Anyway, it was the usual; “Hate to see you go”, and stuff like that. I am glad that part is over and I really do feel released. Now each day is pretty boring, packing, thinning, throwing away. I will spare you all the boring details.
We had a great phone conversation with our son last night. Seems he was actual a little more upset about us leaving than we thought. (Actually I had hoped he might feel that way). As it were, he talked about it and we were able to clear some stuff off the surface and it felt like I was talking again to my son.
This Saturday the men of our church are gathering for a men’s breakfast and plan a men’s retreat. Not sure I make the retreat but I am going to breakfast. I enjoy eating meat and shooting a little bull. I like it most because most of us have spilled our guts and have very little to hide. Makes a great morning. Be SAFE

Goodbye Blanket

Well, I am sitting at work right now and it is over. Today I made it official. I put in my two week notice at a job that has been very good to me. It was the last security blanket I had and I got rid of it. It actually felt pretty good. The first few hours after talking to my boss I was kind of sick on my stomach, but now I am fine, relieved even. There are exciting days for TC and I as we travel this great country together. My last day here is Jan. 25th. More on that later.
I have lost 5 pounds since starting my diet. I am down to 235 and i want to get down to 220. i have a ways to go but I will get there. My wife called a little while ago just to pick me up. She knew this was going to be hard, but now it is over.

A NEW DIRECTION

Boy, since my last post things have really been busy. We narrowed our carrier choice down to three and then we picked one. What troubles me is this, we wanted to run mostly in the west and then only come east to get home. It does not look like that is going to happen. Most carriers that offer the best pay and benefits specify what region you will be in. It looks like we will run the Texas line and East. On a positive not though, I think it will be OK for now. We choose a company called EPES Express out of Greensboro NC. It is an expedited freight company. It is good pay and good benefits and we should be able to make pretty good money over the next year.
So far the dates are as follows. Today or Tomorrow I will resign at PSNC with a two week notice. On January 30 we will enter the orientation part of our new adventure and will be dispatched out on Thursday FEB. 1st. I will try and add more later.

Oh yea, we took our RV to the shop and we are getting a whole new roof put on it. It is not cheap but, we will not have to worry about it leaking over the winter.

It is bcoming clear

My wife asked me to remain home on Monday and Tuesday from work so we can work out some details and to keep her company. We have spent a lot of time just talking about some things and comparing notes. On Monday we took the RV that was just purchased over to the repair shop to get a new roof. I asked the guy to make me an offer so I know what the min. is I would take. I figure I will get my money back plus an extra thousand of I will give him two thousand to put a new rood on. Either way is OK with me. I also spent much of the day discussing details with several carriers. You see drivers are in high demand. So, seeing how I have about 20 years experience I figure I can choose what’s best for me. It is a problem with a pet however. We will have to make a deposit for security against our dogs messing up the truck and that is cool. I am looking at five different companies right now and I hop to narrow those down today.
We have also started thinning out things here in the house. I figure we will take a lot clothes and stuff to the ministry and then we will have empty out our storage building. We are going to have to have a hard heart and just throw some stuff away and give away some furniture. You see, I don’t believe in yard sales. When I am done with it I want to give it someone who might need it, not sell it to them. I am also setting the date on which I will have my cable and internet cut off. I am taking SGT advice and get some kind of laptop with wireless in order to keep this up and have access. I would not trust truck stop computers.
My wife asked me again is what we should do. I said again yes. The hardest thing about this is leaving my job. It is the only thing that we have left that tie us down to this area. If my Dad and Daughter have their way when we get through in December, I would go back to being a pastor anyway. Is that their desire or God’s Will. I do not know as I can not even imagine doing that again, but I do want to do what God wants me to do. Well again that is enough for today. I hope that by the end of the day I have determined who our carrier will be.

WINDS OF CHANGE

We were challenged recently by our pastor for the year of 2007 to be a year or restoration and jubilee. In other words a year of finding again our purpose and joy. This past year has been one long journey of disappointments and discouragement. For instance, my wife has worked so hard to obtain her teaching certificate. For over 7 years TC has attempted this with one thing after another preventing or discouraging her to finish. The death of her Mom, numerous circumstances like her husband wanting to own his own big rig, money, and time. She has gone to 4 different schools and finally found the one that was a good fit. This past year again she was put to the test from our son. After our daughter getting married last December, selling our house and moving into my grandparent’s old house in March, our son quitting school and going to the US Job Corps in March and then him leaving and causing much hardship in our home. Later it got so bad with Chad and he disrespecting us we had to ask him to leave. To be house as much as I love my son he would have to leave at age 18 now or I think I would have to shoot him or something like that (well maybe not shoot him, just wing him). While relationships are still strained we are on speaking terms and we hope and pray that one day he will come to his senses and see what he has done to his parents, but anyway. All of this coupled with TC not passing her test for the third time and having to withdraw from her final year of school because of NC law, has sent her into a time of depression. Now, I hate long post so I will spread this out a little but I need to add this.
TC and I are nmaking the correct decision and we are now making plans to quit our jobs and go back on the road. This time we will work for someone else instead of the headaches of being an owner.opertor. On Sunday morning a peace that passes all understanding swept over me and for TC it came after a conversation with Christie, our daughter. I could see it in her face and hear in her voice that she too was at peace. These decisions have many connotations, yet there is a sense of excitement and awe that is just floating. That is all for now and I will add a little each day concerning this.

Another Great Saturday

TC and I had a great day together. We ate at Lil Yummys and then went up to South Mountain State Park and sit in our favorite spot and talked about stuff. We have had so much rain in the last week we had to take the high rock instead of our usual place. It was still great as the water rushed by us. The suns was awesome and provided the exact heat we needed. I am sure we will spend the next few days just talking about all of it. We have many opportunities and we must choose what God would have us do.

Some Things Makes No Sense

There are thins in this life that we just don’t understand. I am writing this morning not knowing what our future holds. Of course none of really know this but at times we think we do. I am referring to the fact that TC did no pass her PRAXIS test so she will not be allowed under NC law to continue in her studies at Les McCrae College. The state will not allow someone to be a senior and not have passed this te4st. I don not know why she has struggled at this test. There are three parts and she only needs to pass the writing part. TC has made straight A’s and has a 4.0 GPA. This does not make any sense! We have prayed and turned this over to God and that is where we must leave it. It will be one year from now before she can begin her classes again. We have said at one time that if she didn’t pass it we would go back on the road, but now we don’t know. We are really asking God for guidance. That is something we all need to do on a regular basis anyway.

Top 22 Continues

My Top 22 list continues:

11. Do not want more for the sake of wanting more. I may already have what it is that I’m looking for.
12. Center of God’s Will
13. No more “What If”
14. Regular diet and Exercise
15. Be thankful for the small stuff
16. Enjoy what is already here.
17. Accomplish something or help someone every day.
18. Do things I’m good at; don’t shy away from a challenge though.
19. Let you goals guide you; if they are aligned properly.
20. Focus on what really matters.
21. Think “so what” or “oh well”
22. Remain in your purpose.

Looking around the web site in the link provided earlier I found a lot more info that was pretty interesting. I guess it is the way you look at it. Some of this stuff is really good. I do not know why I came up with 22 of them from a list on 100; I guess they just moved me. I am trying to bring these to a top three, so that is a project I am working on over the next day or so.
I wanted to add a link to a blog I am reading daily. SGTDUB is stationed in Afghanistan and on his site you can follow also his wife and his daughter’s blog as well. I have become so interested in this family and pray for them daily. I would ask you to do the same.

BE Happy My Top 22

I am going to post over the next few days my top 22 things that I got from the book, “100 ways to be happy”. Now I have completed a Google search and I cannot seem to fin this book. I will keep looking or at least get the author from the retreat we stayed at. So here are the beginnings of my time in retreat and what came from it.

1-Purpose-What is mine? Knowing this is healthier
2-Goals should align with one another.
3-Less TV: Only watch specific shows that I am interested in.
4-Remember where I came from!
5-People who are happy do not get everything they want, but they want most of what they get!
6-Open Mind- Solid Beliefs
7-Tell others how much I appreciate their friendship!
8-If I don’t know; guess positively
9-Be a good citizen; especially as I get older!
10-Schedule things around the house. Being on a schedule is much better than winging it each and every day.

I will end there today. These things did not come in any specific order. No one means anymore than the other. I think I will try and have maybe a top three when it all over with I don’t know. I have started my diet this week, so things are sort of out of whack. I will begin drinking tons of water and eating as little as possible. I do not intend on spending tons of money for special foods, I just want barely enough to keep me going. I want to lose weight and become more fit but I also want to say healthy.


Just had to edit this post to add this link. David Niven PhD. was the author and he has may other books. I found it to be quite interesting so I amy purchase a few of these. Click the above link and it will take you to where you can view some of his stuff.

Not So Final

In an earlier post I had said that IT IS OVER concerning the Army reserve. I wanted to clarify something. I believe I simply was acting out what I thought to be my wife's wishes. However, we have talked since then and I think I will pursue at least until I know for sure that I cannot do it. More on that later

Duck and Run: No Way

Three Doors Down, a rock group, has a song called,” Duck and Run”. It uses phrases like,
This World can’t turn me down but I won’t turn away,
I won’t duck and run because I am not built that way,
When everything is gone there is nothing that I fear,
This world can’t bring me down, because I am already here.
Down on my Knees, I am already here
I must have told you a thousand times I am not running away.
Pretty cool song I think. I like the part about already being on your knees. If that is the position that you know you will end at then why not start in that position, on my knees.

Why is daily life seem to be so difficult some times? I think because we allow the little things to become big things, when they shouldn’t. Some may not have the ability of will to prevent those things from becoming larger than they should be. When they do become too large, then many things in life become too hard to bear. I have faced those things and as I look back now I think, “Why was I so stressed about that”? IN reality here are some things that I think will happen:
* Things will always pass!
* Don’t decide today as it may seem simpler tomorrow!
* God will never give you more than you can handle, it just seems like it for a time!
Make each day as SIMPLE as it can be!

These are just suggestions so take them as such. So many people their relationship with God has to be one way or the other. God is so versatile that He can provide us with his love no matter where we have been or where we are going. Just let Him love you.

Over the weekend I read a book entitles, “100 ways to be happy”. Now, I do not believe that happiness comes from following a certain plan, but there were so many good things that I think would help. The book looks at scientific proof of people actually being happier because they were doing or are going to do certain things. For example pet owners were 28% more satisfied than non pet owners. Things like that. I have rounded out my top 20 things for myself and I will begin posting them tomorrow.

A Prayer for TC

Here is our prayer request. As you may know TC is attempting to complete her degree and teaching certificate. Recently she made her 3rd attempt for the writing section of the PRAXIS Test. Her classes begin next Monday and she cannot begin until her results are in. When will that be we do not know? Will it be in time? Should she purchase her books? You see the situation. Here is our prayer: For TC to have complete peace and calmness regardless of the outcome. God’s Will period!!! THX for praying

New Year's Eve Retreat

Just a few pics from our New Year's Eve retreat up at Pine Mountain Resort. This place is wonderful and we were lucky to find it. David and Nancy Webb are the owners and they also operate it as a ministry. A well suited two bedroom apartment style room offers privacy and a hottub with a view. We went with TC's sister and her husband. It rained most of the time but it did'nt matter. check them out at www.mountainretreatministries.org