Random Pic of the Week

I'm a real sucker for a sunrise/sunset...I have a collection of them that I've taken over the past several years from all over the place.

One of the cool things about our new home is the fact the sun sets right in front of our house (for now)...and as you can see it's nothing but farm land...a real beautiful sight.

Cardinals & Oranges Do Mix...

Go Cards...a great regular season, capped off with a Orange Bowl victory over Wake Forest last night. The Cards have almost everyone coming back next year. I will predict that Brohm will stay...Michael Bush will go pro...and the Cards will see the BCS Championship game next year.

Holly and I are thinking about getting season tickets next season! Boo-ya!

Happy New Year...almost

Alright...it's less than two hours until 2007! No big parties that we are attending tonight, no hosting any parties to bring in the new year...just the fam and one of Bryan's buddies. We're really exciting people aren't we! But that's just fine with me...it's been an extremely busy month and to have a whole night just being here at the house is cool with me. Can't think of a better way to bring in the new year than being with my family. Happy New Year to everyone!

I'm back...

So like I said...we've got internet today in the new domicile. (You would think we live way out in the country or something) We’ve been enjoying our new home…got a great view of the sun setting each night…I’ll make sure to have some pics of the view soon.

Much has gone on in the Prosser household over the past several weeks...so how about a quick recap and then I'll try to get my butt back in gear blogging a little more consistently.

I've taken some "vacation" days as I always do around the holidays, especially when Bryan is out of school. Kind of makes me feel like a kid reliving those 'Christmas Vacation' moments.

Last weekend my family came down from the 'Ville for our 2nd annual Richmond Christmas gathering. Oh man did my lovely bride fix up a feast! (See pics!) It was a great time to have family here in our home...I love my family. And we had our big rummy game as usual, and of course the winner takes home the coveted mouse. My brother-in-law Jim won the game and keeps the mouse until we play next…he won’t keep it long!

I'm still preaching in place of my pastor since his back surgery. I've been doing a series called, "Challenged by Christmas" as we had been celebrating advent. I've really enjoyed preaching in this role...little bit different from teaching youth, it's been a bit challenging, but it's an amazing experience. So I'll be preaching this Sunday and after that our pastor will be back.

We went to the 'Ville Monday and Tuesday to celebrate Christmas with Holly's parents and family...as always, a great time. Even took in a movie...Rocky Balboa! I love Rocky...and I'm glad he decided to come back for one more after Rocky 5 (STUNK!)

Got back Tuesday...took down all the Christmas stuff...did a little rearranging of the furniture. We had to make room for a NEW item that we got for Christmas. Let me explain first...a great story:

Holly's workplace did a "12 Days of Christmas" give away thing...12 days before Christmas a drawing was done for all Bluegrass Mental Health Employees...12 people won something like honey baked hams. The next day 11 people won another prize...as each day narrowed down the prizes got BIGGER. So guess who won the GRANDPRIZE from 1,000+ people in the drawing? HOLLYBIRD was the GRANDPRIZE WINNER! And what did she win????? A 50 inch PLASMA SCREEN TV!! Holy Cow Jeff did you say 50 inches of Plasma?? Dang...we couldn't believe it! I went and picked it up last Friday...it's now in the great room...it's been pretty enjoyable. DVD's are really incredible looking...we watched Dead's Man's Chest (Pirates of the Caribbean) tonight...stinking awesome. Just in time for all these college bowl games!

That's it for now...I'm tired

We have INTERNET!!

FINALLY!! We've got us some intra-net! I'll post some thoughts and other stuff later on tonight...my son is dying to use his iTunes card right now. Peace!

Whewww...

Alright...still no internet at the "new" house...Bell South has to bring out their engineers or something like that to fix things. So, I'm posting here in my office today.

Been a really CRAZY past few weeks, but it's a good kind of a crazy! Last Friday morning was graduation day at SBTS. What a day! What a service...it was an "ultra formal" kind of a service, but I liked it...matter of fact I was really trying to savor every minute of it.

As they began to call out individual names, I was getting pumped...should I let out a big "yee-haw" after receiving the diploma? Or maybe a high-five to Dr. Mohler? Nah...again, it was a really formal service. "Jeffrey Wayne Prosser" was read...I walked towards Dr. Mohler...I gave a glance at a few of my professors who were sitting in the loft. Dr. Mohler said, "Blessings on you Jeff!" And then I walked off. WHEWWWWWWWWWW!!!! FINALLY!!!!!! AFTER 16 YEARS!!!!! HALLELUJAH...HALLELUJAH...

That night my incredibly awesome wife Holly, had an "open house" for me. She said a few family members were coming by...sounded good to me! NOPE...NOT EVEN CLOSE!! It was like "This is your life!" kind of a deal...there were folks I haven't seen in a while or for that matter friends that I didn't expect to see that night. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!

Of all the folks who were there, I gotta mention two guys who are to this day mentors to me. They will never really know how much they have impacted my life and have been incredible examples of what it means to be a Godly man. Kerry Jones, who was my youth minister at Valley View Church in Louisville and Rick Trexler, who was my campus minister at EKU. You guys are such great encouragers to me! I am a blessed man to have you as mentors in my life.

GREAT DAY and GREAT NIGHT of celebration! Thanks Holly-bird for everything...You really surprised me with all of this. Thanks to you and Bryan for allowing me to finish this degree...dang, I'm glad it's finished. You guys are awesome...and you are the love of my life.

Bunch of stuff...

Hey everyone...I realize that there have been no post for several weeks, just way to busy. Bunch of stuff has been going on...here's recap:

-We're moved! The new home has been invaded by the Prosser family. We even have things hanging on the walls and a Christmas tree. The official move was last weekend (Dec.1st - 2nd). Thanks to all of those who lent me your muscles! I'll post some pics when we get some internet out there.

-Friday is graduation! FINALLY!!

-Our pastor has been out the past several weeks due to a bad back. So I've have the privilege to preach for the month of December.

So lots of stuff going on...

Random Stuff...again...

Sorry for the "Random" blogs...we are still in limbo between our temp house and new one. My computer is packed up and in storage, so I'm blogging from my laptop in my office. Our builder is saying next week we should be closing and then moving in! Exciting stuff there!

Well, Thanksgiving is almost here...we'll be going up to Holly's mom and dad's tonight and then tomorrow head to mom's for the rest of the day and night. Thanksgiving with my family is always a pretty big deal...we'll have lots of aunt's and uncles, cousins, etc. and of course loads of food. The day will consist of visiting, eating, watching football, eating, playing cards, eating, a little guitar picking with the picker's, and eating some more! A great day...

Last weekend I took the leap and bought my latest gadget. This is a gadget that I've been talking about for awhile now...just ask Holly. I got me a 30GB video iPod and it is stinking awesome. I've been a downloading fool...cramming this bad boy full of music...and videos! Of course I had to see if the hype of the video was everything they were saying...so I downloaded "Remember the Titans." Cool stuff! My goal is to max this baby out. By the way I got the sleek looking black one.

SOLD

The house is officially sold...we spent our last night on Thursday. Kinda weird...we were all sharing our "favorites" while in the house...it was good to reminisce.

Our new home is about a week away from being complete, so we are in a "temp home" that our builder owns. We have just the bare bones necessities...kinda feels like camping with a roof over your head!

Random stuff...

What a busy week it's been...lots of stuff going on...here's an update...

-We are preparing to close on our old house this coming Thursday...so this weekend we've been doing the packing thing. Good night you don't realize how much STUFF you have until you move.

-We rented one of those PODS (Portable On Demand Storage)...way cool thing that is. I had several guys come yesterday to help move the BIG things into the POD. It was like playing a big game of Tetris...we were piecing furniture together just like the game...I can't believe we got it all in there!

-Our new home is just about finished...looks pretty sharp too! We've been going out almost everyday to see the progression. Only one more major thing to do...place the electric pole in the back...after that the rest is gravy!

-On a sour note! My dear Louisville Cardinals laid a big goose egg in the second half of the Rutgers game Thursday night. They should get a decent bowl game...but it won't be the National Championship game...maybe next year! Go Cards!


-Graduation is almost here! December 8th is the big day at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary...looking forward to the ceremony and seeing things come to a completion. My goal is to savor the whole day...only took me 16 years to get it finished (not 16 cumulative years mind you!)

-Last but not least, but most important...our son Bryan has been doing great! We've had 3 three weeks of no hospital visits, no ER visits, no missed school...and we are so thrilled. He'll have one more surgery to remove this tube...maybe over the Christmas break, but it seems we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Mi Casa...

Everything with our new home has been going great...they are about 2 weeks or so away from being finished. We've had a ball picking out appliances, floors and ceiling fans, etc. Holly and I go check things out every other day to see what they have finished. We'll walk around talking about where things will go...it really has been an exciting experience.

Here are some recent pics...we should be closing on our house next week and then make "da move!"

Cardinal Football

Woo-hoo! The Cards last night looked pretty stinkin' awesome against an undeafeated West Virginia. A great game all the way around! If the Cards can run the rest of their games with W's...they should be playing in the BCS Championship game...again, they should. Something tells me inside my brain that they might get the shaft!

Oh well...I'll savor this victory for awhile! Go Cards!

God's perfect timing!

Last May we put our house up for sale. After many months of being accused by our son that we are "cleaning Nazis" and after many showings and open houses...we think we have a buyer! We had some folks come by out of the blue last week...saw the house, next day made an offer, after a counter offer...deal!

So it looks like the house is sold! We are waiting to hear the results of the home inspection, finalize some paperwork...come mid next month we'll be closing the deal. Woo-hoo...

Our home that we've been building is almost complete...about 3 more weeks. Finishing touches are being done...Holly and I were out tonight at Loews picking out tile for the tub and new appliances. That's been a lot of fun to do...we picked this cool fridge that has the ice maker on the front (never had one of those!).

Through this process of selling and building our prayer has been perfect timing...not only the sell of the house, but only having to move once. Looks as if our prayer is being answered.

God sure has been good and faithful...and I don't say that just because everything is working out the way we wanted. If our house was still on the market...God is still good and faithful. But I don't want to act surprised when God answers a prayer, as if it were a first or something like that...you follow me? There are plenty of passages in the Bible that speak of laying your request before God...we shouldn't be surprised when that request comes to fruition. I just want to bring glory to God's name for answering our prayer.

I'll keep ya posted on the house...if you are in the Richmond area sometime around Nov. 20th-ish and have bulky muscles and like to lift things...give me a call.

Sinners saved by grace?

Alright, sorry so long with the hiatus...been a busy time of the year. But I wanted to throw my two cents in to my previous blog question. Don't know how many have given it much thought, but here's my response...

Is the following a good description of a Christian:

"We are sinners saved by grace"

My answer would be absolutely NO...it is not a good description...it's an accurate description, but not a good description. Matter of fact, nowhere in scripture is this idea (sinners saved by grace) taught. Yep, I was a sinner, and yes I've been saved by grace...scripture teaches that Christians are now "saints" which means "holy one". We may think of ourselves as sinners saved by grace, but then the emphasis is still on being a sinner, not a "holy one." Peter Lord says that such a mind-set results in a believer being enveloped in feelings of unworthiness.

Just a few thoughts about how we view ourselves as Christians...let me know what you think!

Is this a good description?

Growing up in the church most of my life I've heard many sermons and teachings. Of many of the pastors that I have heard or been under I've heard many use the following phrase:

"We are sinners saved by grace."

Is this a good description of a Christian? Or better yet, is it the most accurate description of a Christian?

Before I give my thoughts, I'd like to know what you think. Let's hear some feedback from ya!

Dad and Lad Night

This weekend Holly took several girls from our youth ministry to Knoxville, TN. for the Girls of Grace conference. Kinda odd this afternoon seeing everyone off and not going.

So since the girls are away...the fellas will play! Bryan and I had one of our famous "Dad and Lad" nights...some serious guy time. Here's the breakdown:

-Dinner at Johnny Carino's
-Went to Circuit City to look at BIG tv's (it's a guy thing!)
-Went to the dollar movies...saw Barnyard...hilarious
-Went to Barnes and Noble and looked at books and drank coffee
-Came home and played video games
-Getting ready to watch a few M*A*S*H videos and then go to sleep

tomorrow's schedule:
-EKU Homecoming Parade
-Brunch at the Baptist Student Union
-Going to BW3's to watch the Louisville / Cincinnati game (sorry EKU!)
-Going to Dick's sporting goods to look at stuff

Holly and the girls will be home around 8pm...I love dad and lad weekends because my "lad" is so cool and rawks the house!

PETA goes way overboard!

I love animals...I even have a cat that I'm very fond of...but this going overboard and crossing the lines of "get a life"...

funky stuff

Life for the past several months has been a bit different for me...I feel like I'm in some kind of a "funk" or something. Now, I don't disclose this info for pity's sake...so don't hear it that way. But trying to describe these past several months...I can only come up with the word "funk."

I have some suspicions why the funk...I think a huge part has been Bryan's medical attention. It's been tough watching him hurting and not being the typical full-of-life kind of a kid. In all of the suffering that he's been through I've been asking God to teach me something's through all of this. I've had several revelations...but the one that hits home more than any other is a question to God. In watching my son Bryan suffer I'm thinking..."God, how did you do it?...How did you watch your Son suffer the way He did?" And then to think...He did that for me. That's been very humbling and makes me very grateful.

Not real sure how long the "funk" will go on...now don't get me wrong, I'm not walking around constantly in a zombie-like trance, feeling really blue. No there's joy in my life...and that totally comes from God. That's life as a Christian...even during the "funky" times...God is still God and His grace definitely is enough.

It's raining, it's pouring...the old man is snoring

This morning I woke up to some serious rain coming down...as if we needed the rain. I think my backyard is still trying to recoup from the "Noah's Ark Type" flood that we had a few weekends ago.

Anyhow...I love a good rain, especially in the morning. I got into the office early today, about 7:20am...usually it's like 8:30am before I come in, but I have a handful of things to get accomplished today.

I began this morning with some personal worship time with God...man, it was some good stuff...the rain was tapping on the window...the thunder was rumbling my whole office...I decided to read some passages out of Psalms and I had one of those connect moments while I was reading and thinking. It was awesome time with God ...I look forward to what's in store the rest of the day.

Random stuff...

-Last week I called Bell South to make a change to our phone service..an hour later I had switched from cable to Direct TV, switched from cable to DSL, and changed my phone plan. We end up saving like $60 a month and we are getting like $300 for making all these changes...can you say Christmas Money? So that's why there hasn't been much blogging for a little while, we just got the "hook up" today.

-Bryan has been doing much better. Last Monday he had another surgery to fix some complications that stemmed from a few weeks ago. Dang I hate to see my son sufferering and in pain...but he's better and we really appreciate all the prayers.

-We are still trying to sell the house...we've had lots of prospective buyers, but no offers, yet. There are a couple of folks we are hoping will come through sometime this week. Talk about a s-l-o-w buying market! Our new home is going up well...see the pic below. They should be finished sometime towards the end of November.