Aside from making my template wider, the obvious change is my improved bad church sign...with an actual sign! I found Church Sign Generator, where you can make your own church signs and save them to use. They also have a bunch of real signs that people have taken pictures of and sent in.

One of my students jokingly said this to me last night. Mental note, gotta rent Saved! this weekend.

I rented The Incredibles last weekend and man was it funny, if you're into the kids movies, which I def am. <--I've decided that it's ok if I start abbreviating "definitely"and "defininte" from time to time since it is the one common word that I have great trouble spelling correctly on a consistent basis. I had to go to dictionary.com just to make sure I got it right in the previous sentence. In the future, if you see me write "def", I'm not trying to be cool or hip-hop, you know I'm neither.

And since I'm on the subject of words that give me trouble, I nearly had a coronary a few weeks ago trying to say "conscientious", it just wouldn't work for me. Also, when I'm speaking to a large group I stay away from the word "decision" all together. Choice, that's easier for me. I guess the s-c or c-s combo messes me up.

Did I have a speech problem all thru highschool and college and you guys just didn't say anything? Thanks a lot, I feel like I've had a booger hanging out for all these years now.

But I still like flowers. More than anything, I love to plant flowers. I don't go buy seedlings or small little plants that are already growing, I prefer to plant them from seeds and watch them grow. I've done this ever since I was a young boy when my mom cut an egg carton in half, put dirt in the little cups and we planted some kind of seeds in there. It seems like I always had an old man at church who would take me and let me plant something in a corner of his garden. Well spring is here(at least in Florida) and it's that time again. Last Friday we planted our zinnias, which Audra and I have done since we were dating. This year I wanted to try some sunflowers since I have never actually been up close to one. This morning while I was taking my usual little walk around the back yard to check out the birds with JonMichael while the dog did her business, I noticed that everything is starting to sprout well, and I admit, I got a little giddy.

The day after Easter is always a big deal for me because I rush to Walmart to hit up the candy aisle for the big discounts. We went yesterday afternoon, but guess I should have gotten there early in the moring because all that was left were jelly beans and some crummy pre-fab easter baskets. At Christmas time I get excited about the Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes, Valentines Day brings about their little heart shaped cakes, and for me Easter is all about the Cadburry Creme Eggs. No eggs for me. Read about Ryan's Easter Basket find from March 24, hilarious.

Got this from mom today, thought it was pretty funny. I tend not to get too ticked off by gas prices and it doesn't scare me either. All I have to do is think of our friends across the ocean and the prices they pay, yikes. Sorry folks, it's only going to get worse.

I had 3 credit cards thru college, big mistake, I was stupid. Got them paid off completely just after marriage and closed the accounts. I realize that interest accrues daily, but if you send in the final payment for the balance due and call them to close out the account, they will cancel the interest charges that grew from the time of your last statement to the time they recieved your payment. All 3 of the banks that gave me credit did that. Since then we've only had 1 card but decided to close out that account as well, we just don't use credit cards. We paid off the balance of that card a couple of months ago, then we got in a statement last month with a small balance on it. I called to close out the account, they cancelled the extra finance charges that had built up(which was only around $10), everybody was happy. Then yesterday in the mail I got a letter that was from their collection department saying that I had violated the terms of the credit agreement and if I didn't pay what I owed within 5 days then it would be turned over to a collection agency, basically they were trying to bully me into paying $10 that had already been settled. I called today and they acted like they didn't understand what had happened...but they knew exactly what happened. I don't care what "rewards" they offer or how good the interest rate is or how colorful the card is or how cool their commercials are, they are not your friends.

JonMichael turned 1 this Saturday, so hard to believe. "They grow up so fast" and a million other cliches come to mind right now. We had a little party for him down by the bay at a park, that was great fun. Some of our closest friends came. Audra's parents and youngest brother came too, that was nice. When we got home, JonMichael took a big 2 hour nap which translated into everyone else taking a 2 hour nap and me getting 2 hours to work on my Jeep. I put in a new seat, new oil pressure sending unit, new radiator, and a couple of other little things. Hooray for birthdays.

OK so it was only 3 people who mentioned that they missed my BAD CHURCH SIGN section, but that's enough for me.

One of my students goes to local auctions with her family on weekends. It is their little bit of time together. This weekend they were at one in Vernon, FL and she saw something that she just had to get for me. There was a huge bag with an Atari 2600 system and a bunch of games. They won it for me and she brought it to me yesterday. Wow, a bunch of games? There was over 100! Many were multiple copies of the same game, but there were tons of games I didn't have and wanted. Most are very common, some are somewhat scarce, and some are very rare! The price she paid for all of this? $10.

That was me this weekend. I went to a party to pull a couple of my students out of there on Friday night. Ended up having a very good conversation with one guy. He doesn't know Jesus, but he was the most real person out there. He wasn't trying to hide anything from me, not trying to be fake, just being himself. I never was in the party scene in highschool. I knew where it was going on and stayed away. Charlie and I were usually either together, working, or (heaven forbid) hanging out at home. I've pulled my students out of parties before, that's nothing new. But usually it's inside a house and I just knock on the door and get them to come to me, this was the first time I was actually in the middle of the action. When I got to this "party" at the beach, I was quite dissapointed. There was a bonfire with a bunch of kids standing around it, getting drunk. That was it. Perhaps it's because it never was a temptation to me, but I just didn't see the big draw other than the fact that they were doing something they knew was illegal and I guess that made them feel like big stuff.

Take the Urban Legend Photo Quiz. Bet we'll be seeing some of these over at Cranium Threads.

This is a big deal to me that I can blog again today, I was seriously worried yesterday. Wonder if I should look at hosting my own website that had a blog type feature, but that would cost $ and probably wouldn't be as easy as blogger.

So last night I busted out the Atari on the kids at church...and smoked them! Those guys just couldn't hang with the 1 stick 1 button bliss. A pile of them came to the house after church where I continued my reign of dominance while playing Combat. There is one guy, Keith, who is the big Halo king around here. As I was taking him out he hollered "This is harder than Halo!"

Oh please oh please! I wasn't able to get on blogger AT ALL yesterday, leading me to believe I may have permanently messed something up while working on my template! I wasn't even able to get on bloggers main page, so I was worried that I would have to start a new blog with a different service. Man, that was scary!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

I told you I was getting bored with the looks of this place. Maybe this will help it out a little. Everything looks good on my screen so if you notice something out of place then please tell me.

Audra and I went to the beach(about 15 minutes away) yesterday and I got to play a couple hours of volleyball. So nice, we plan on doing this every Sunday afternoon since that's where A LOT of our students are at. It was great, my team won 3 or 4 in a row before we all had to leave to get cleaned up for church. Nothing better than holding court like that. We started off playing 6 on 6, which is not my favorite but was good since I haven't played seriously in a few years. After the first game we dropped to 5s and that was better. The sand out there is very churned up so 4s will be a killer, but that's always been my favorite. Oh look, is that a tan growing on me?

The radiator on my Jeep finally corroded thru and is leaking. This would normally be a bad thing, but I've been looking forward to this happening for awhile, gives me an excuse to spend time and money on it and upgrade to better equipment.

Right now I'm listening to the new Kutless cd Strong Tower. It's a worship cd, but not like everything else out there. If you don't know much about Kutless and like quality alternative rock, you should check them out. They're the little indie group from Portland that went big a few years back, but they still keep their indie feel. This cd is incredible.

I got to baptize 7 students last night, that was a thrill. The pastor added 2 more, with another few coming next week. So much is happening around here, it's just awesome, and I rarely use that word.

Bought a few new Atari games this weekend, those being Pitfall I&II and The Empire Strikes Back. My auction goes up on Tuesday to win the other few classics I need, including Frogger, Winter Games, River Raid, Chopper Command, Pole Position, Yars Revenge, Missile Command, maybe 1 or 2 more. I'm also getting Trick Shot and Haunted House, not because they are great but because I had them as a kid and liked them back then, and this is all about the nostalgia anyway. My original joysticks should be in today or tomorrow, I'm actually giddy.

MICHAEL is the #4 most common male name.
2.629% of men in the US are named MICHAEL.
Around 3220525 US men are named MICHAEL!
source namestatistics.com

PHILIP is the #95 most common male name.
0.197% of men in the US are named PHILIP.
Around 241325 US men are named PHILIP!
source namestatistics.com

ROGERS is the #54 most common last name.
0.123% of last names in the US are ROGERS.
Around 307500 US last names are ROGERS!
source namestatistics.com

Men Are Just Happier People...

Your last name stays put. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Same work, more pay.

You can play with toys all your life. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The garage is all yours. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. You know stuff about tanks.

The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.

One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color for all seasons. You almost never have strap problems in public, if you do, you must be playing baseball and then it's funny. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Facial wrinkles add character. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.

Your belly usually hides your big hips. Chocolate is just another snack. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife, which you always carry. You only have to shave your face and neck. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

"Time is nothing to God. He does not need it. But how fortunate we are that He saw fit to give it to us so that we could have a way to remember special times in our lives when we have been touched by Him." - W.D. Wilburn

Mr. W.D. is a soft spoken man who lives in Enterprise, AL. He has been something of a grand-father, mentor, and friend to me. When he said something, you did well to listen and remember. He said this one night at church during a testimony time and it was instantly burned into my memory. It has been on my mind all day as I thank God that it was 3 years ago today that He forever changed my life by giving Audra to me as my wife. I am a different man today, thank you Audra. I love you.

Take a look at my links, I love Atari. The 2600 was my whip. Pitfall, Frogger, Asteriods, Pole Position, oh yeah. I bought this system on ebay yesterday. I've gotta get a matching pair of original joysticks, but I must admit I am excited about using the slik stik. Don't be jealous, you can come to my house and play anytime you want.

To mix the two would be suave. It's a new sport bike powered by a Volkswagen TDI engine. That's a Turbo Direct Injection, aka the turbo diesel. For those who don't understand diesels, they make great amounts of torque. Stock, this machine makes 90HP and 150ftlbs of torque, plenty enough to make any man grin on a bike. Chipped, it makes 120hp and over 200ftlbs torque, which will ruin pavement and rip the hair from your head. To top if off, being that it is a TDI, the thing gets 150mpg. Someday, I'll be a rich old man and everything will be better.

Interesting stuff going on.

It appears that Jamie Foxx impressed more than just The Academy. This would be cool.

China is ticked with Taiwan and threatens to invade. I'm sure we will keep quiet due to the fact that we need China for the mess in North Korea.

Ever see a 22 pound lobster? Check out Bubba, who may have been 50+ years old.

Here it is, the latest christian rip-off. With these things selling for $3 a piece, I think Lance still has a corner on the market. But then again, the LIVE4HIM rubber bands do come with a witnessing card, red is the only color(I'm guessing it helps you remember the blood of Christ?), and LIVE is an acronym you can use when all your non-christian buddies ask you about it, which they undoubetly will.

Please pray for Audra and I this morning. We've got something very serious and scary going on. Don't worry, there's no problem between us, but there may be a health issue. Please pray that we will be able to find out for sure what is going on, and pray that we will be able to handle God's sovereign plan. I'll fill you in later.

...I'm not just talking about the hot selling genre of christian music on the shelves today. When I speak of worship leaders, I'm not just talking about the big names out there. Some say distinguish worship music from hymns but I just call it new music and old music and I love it all. Just know that before we move on. Took a group to StudentLife Tour this weekend in Pensacola. I dunno, maybe different strokes for different folks but Shane&Shane led worship and it was a bit of a let-down. Everything was very mellow(like if we sing serious then it will make it a moving and powerful experience) and if it weren't for the words on the screen I wouldn't have been able to understand what they were saying. Actually I should say that I wouldn't have been able to understand Shane Bernard, since he's the one who did most of the singing. The other Shane(who mostly just harmonized) had an amazing voice. There was one time when he took the lead while Bernard did something off stage and he was clear as a bell and wasn't choppy with his words, I wish he would have led the whole time. When performing, it's cool to mix your words a little, add some different beats, hold stuff out longer and then rush into the next word or whatever. Get technical with it, flex your vocal ability. You expect that when listening to a performance, but when a worship leader does that it just makes it so hard to sing with. When is the last time your worship leader(or music minister depending on where you're at) broke it down while leading At The Cross? They lead in a way so that the people can follow, they are worship leaders. Chris Tomlin and Joel Engle are my favorite worship leaders as far as big names and conferences are concerned. They just get up there, play their instruments, and lead. They're not trying to sound cool(although there is nothing wrong with wanting to sound good and I think if you are leading people there shoud be some level of quality to it), they're trying to make it easy to follow along. A friend of mine who is an experienced guitarist and worship leader once told me that worship music is supposed to be easy to play, easy to listen to, and easy to sing. Makes pefect sense to me. This doesn't apply just to the hip new "worship" category of music, but to hymns or any song meant for congregational singing. We don 't love Amazing Grace or Shout to the Lord or whatever because it sounds really cool to sing, we love those songs because of what they say and because they are easy for a large group of people to sing. If I'm in a large group and especially if I'm singing stuff that isn't familiar, just help me sing. Rant over.

Oh and one more thing, sometimes when you're ending a song and you slow it down and play softly and repeat the last line or 2 it makes for a nice ending. If you do it to every single song and you repeat the whole thing 3 or 4 times, it gets annoying. Like you're trying to create a serious worshipful atmosphere or something. Get over it already. Now, rant over.

Just got the Associational Clarion, the newsletter of the association that we are supposedly a member of. Under the "Gleanings From The Field..." section it says, "Sunnyside Baptist Church has revently paved a new parking lot."

Also included was a reminder from the director of missions, "We catch them; He cleans them." Praise the Lord. File 13.

Perhaps that's why I haven't had much inspiration for writing lately? I haven't been thinking? Maybe I've been thinking too much. Whatever the case, I've been too busy for this and when I've got time, I've got nothing to say. But thanks for checking on me anyway. How about a new bad church sign for you?

sweet!

From what I've been able to find online, it appears that Jon Heder, better known as Napoleon Dynamite, is not dead. The car he was riding in did not hit a deer, did not flip, he's not dead. Most of you won't care about this, but it's a pretty big deal around here.