Good get-away!

We got back from Gatlinburg Wednesday night...had a great time with Holly's family. I'm always amazed how much I enjoy going to Gatlinburg. Been going for years...even honeymooned there!...it's always the same stuff every year, same stuff in the shops, same carmel apples, same food, etc. etc. get the idea? relate? But I love going to watch people and being with family.

We did some swimming...shopping...lot's of eating...played some serious cards (texas hold'em)...and a tradition that we have done every year...pranking my father-in-law. I'm not a huge prankster...but Holly, her brother and wife and I love to prank on Lloyd.

We've done a variety of things over the years. Bug in the ice cube trick (worked!), turning coke into "sludge" (worked), my personal favorite...the exploding toilet! (really worked)

Two years ago we got our hands on the "World's Largest Underwear", we tried to secure them to the back of his car on the way home...he caught us red handed.
So this year we brought them out of retirement...almost worked! The pics can somewhat explain. We laughed.

I want everyone to know that I have the "Worlds Greatest Father-In-Law"...I really mean that, he is one-of-a-kind and enjoys the pranks...usually afterwards, but he enjoys them. Love ya Lloyd...until next year!

Update on Shane

My good buddy George Campbell and I went and visited with Shane last night. We had a good visit...looked a whole lot different than last time we saw him :)

He is still a little slow in some of his motor skills and is having some memory loss (long and short term). His mom said the memory issues should come back in time. He didn't know who we were and for that matter didn't recall going to a camp...he did have a good sense of humor, but was also very tired.

We prayed with him and his family and will come back to visit next week. Shane is a guitar player (even had his guitar in the room)...I told him I'd bring mine along next week and we could play together.

Please continue your prayers for Shane and his family. They all looked very tired and emotionally drained, but in good spirits.

Some R & R

Some random thoughts...

-Here's a great update on Shane Noakes. He's improving daily, word has it he even ate some McDonalds the other day in the hospital. The plan that I have heard is he will be moving to a Lexington hospital on Tuesday...that's really good news.

-I can't begin to type the words to say how incredible God has been through all of this. My continuing prayer has been that He will receive all glory for Shane's recuperation. Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your name.

-This past week I took my middle school group to a week long camp to Crossings at Cedarmore. A great week was had by all. I must admit, I was a little anxious about going on Monday, but by Tuesday that all changed...again because of God's great strength and power through prayer.

-Tomorrow, my family and I are headed to the hills of Tennessee...good ole Gatlinburg. We'll be there for just a few days, but I know it will be a restful time with Holly's family...break out the cards!

-Hey, our house is still up for sale...anybody interested? Give ya a good deal! We had an open house this afternoon...had two very interested folks...I'll keep ya posted.

-Do me a favor and please continue your prayers for Shane Noakes and his family. God has and will continue to use this young man's story to bring people to Him.

Answered Prayer!

Here's an update on Shane...

He is awake, trying to talk, all tubes, etc. have been taken out...God is good and answers prayers, please continue to pray for Shane and his family.

A very surreal past few days

Sunday morning our high school group set out for Camp Willow Falls in Blue Ridge, GA. for a week long camp experience. Everything was going pretty well despite a flat tire on the way down. Had a great Sunday night worship service…again, good stuff and a great group of teenagers. We have been linking up with a friend of mine’s youth group at Pleasant View Baptist in Waynesburg, KY. the past five years.

A long story short...one of Pleasant Views youth, Shane Noakes, drowned in the lake on Monday. He is in a hospital in Chattanooga, TN. still unconscious and in critical condition.

Several guys were playing in the lake at the camp after we had just got back from tubing. They weren't in deep water, but Shane had gone under and didn’t come up. We're not sure for how long ...he was found and pulled out and we immediately started CPR until the ambulance arrived and took him away.

They took him off the respirator on Tuesday and he is breathing on his own...he is somewhat responsive to some stimulation. So far all of the reports that we have gotten have been positive.

We decided to leave our camp on Tuesday and come home…wasn’t sure how effective we could have been throughout the rest of the week and I know that parents were wanting to see there babies and vise versa.

Please continue prayers for Shane and his family and for our each of our youth ministries. Tonight we had a bon fire at our house for our youth who were there. We just wanted to be together…we talked about how we have been feeling after two days of being home…shared some thoughts and read some passages from scripture. I think it was helpful in processing everything.

Lot’s of lessons have been learned and will be learned from this. Maybe in the weeks to come I’ll blog about them. I know one thing is for sure…as James 4:14 says "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Make the absolute most of everyday of your life…what’s really important? What are we investing our lives in? Who are we investing our lives in? I pray that God will receive glory from all of this.

A vast amount of random things

Okay just a few random "what's going on" stuff:

-To elaborate from my last blog just a bit. Last week's class went very well and very quick. After the last day of class I met with my advisor and we got the ball rolling on the whole graduation process. So glad to be finished with my degree...thanks to Holly and Bryan for their patience, especially the last year! Graduation will be in December...I promise to show the pics!

-Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for our high school camp week. We've been taking our high school students to Camp Willow Falls the past five years. It's always such a special week...it's really amazing how in tune you really hear God when you totally get away from everything…so not much blogging the next week or two. I'll be getting back on Friday and then packing up again on Monday to take our middle school group for a week long camp.

-Oh yea...our house is up for sale. Anybody interested? We've had it on the market for about three weeks now. Several lookers, but no offers as of yet...some folks are coming on Monday from Virginia to check it out. Man, I pray it will sell. Below is pic of where we are building. They should be starting sometime in the next week or two. We've always have wanted to build a place...so this is where she'll sit. We're going to document the whole build process with pics and stuff...again we'll keep you informed.

-Life is good! God is so good...actually life is good because God is so good. have I told you how STOKED I am that I'm finished with school?? Maybe I'll start my doctorate???

I'm done!

Done deal as of yesterday...happy days are here!

So far so good...

Two days down and two to go! So far my class has been flying by...lots of data being thrown out, but good stuff.

I'm sitting here at one of my favorite "havens"...Barnes and Noble. I've got some internet access here and I've been able to work on some of my projects as well as check e-mail, etc.

Tonight I'm meeting up with my sister (and her family) and mom for dinner. We are going to "Smokey Bones"...that sounds like a good place to eat.

One more time!

Tomorrow following our evening worship I'll be heading to the 'Ville (that's Louisville). I'm taking my FINAL seminary class at SBTS and then you can "stick a fork in me...cause I'll be done!" My degree requirements will be complete and come December I'll be "walking" in the graduation ceremony. I wish SBTS had a summer graduation, but they don't...I guess that will make the Christmas season that much sweeter.

The class I'm taking is called "Bible Teaching: Principles and Practice” So far the class prerequisites have been reading three text books. So far, great reading! I'm halfway finished with the last book. Here are the books, in case you are interested:
1. Creative Teaching Methods by Marlene D. LeFever
2. Design for Teaching and Training by LeRoy Ford
3. Creative Bible Teaching by Richards and Bredfelt

So there you go! Probably won't be able to do much blogging next week...the class goes Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm...I'll be staying with mom, which is always a great bonus of going to Louisville.

I would appreciate your prayers...I really strive to be a creative Bible teacher and I pray this class would help refine me into a more effective teacher of the most incredible book ever penned. Talk to you soon!

Burning down the house

Well, today was the day of my birth...June 1st, 1968. I did go out and play 9 holes of golf, went to Lexington with Holly and Bryan, went to the Fayette Mall, Came home to a little b-day cake that was loaded with wax from all the candles...a good day!

Alright...here's the gift from Holly, Bryan and my mom. (a little history to this gift first) I am a sunglass nut...I like sunglasses and it seems I go through several pair each year. I really like Ray-Ban sunglasses! I had a pair in college...the aviator "Top Gun" style...wore them for years and they literally fell apart. Well, I don't want to fork over the cash it cost for Ray Bans today...but I'm always eyeing them when we are out and about. Sooooo....

Holly and mom made it easy for me...they gave me the cash to get a pair of Ray Bans (or any pair that I wanted) We went to the Sunglass Hut in Fayette Mall where I tried on many pairs...this is what I decided on and I am happy with the decision. They're even polarized!

Tomorrow's my birthday...

Does this look like the face of a soon-to-be 38 year old?

What will I do tomorrow to celebrate?
-I'm playing golf in the morning with a couple of buds
-I'll take Bryan to the doctor
-Maybe browse Barnes and Noble a bit and suck down a frap
-Recieve a surprise gift from my wife...I have no ideas, but she swears I'll love it.
-I'll hang with my family
-On Friday we are going to Joe's Crab Shack for the birthday dinner...scarf down some snow crab!

Weekend in Chattanooga

Thursday night we all piled in the car to go visit with our best buddies Geron and Lydia Brown. They moved to Chattanooga, TN. a couple of years ago and there have been voids in our hearts since!

We enjoyed catching up with each other, played some X-box (not Holly and Lydia), Geron, Bryan and I went and saw the new X-Man movie...most excellent and two thumbs up...played a great card game called "hand and foot" (Holly and I lost two games to the Browns...rematch!), we even went to Ichiban, a great hibachi grill.

Of course a visit to Chattanooga can't be complete without going to Clumpies Ice Cream (some good stuff...I had "Two scoops of Ice Cream in a Waffle Cone")…Saturday morning we went to IHOP and Geron had “Two scrambled eggs and a cheap T-bone.” We would’ve gone to this great coffee house, where I would have had “Two cups of coffee and a big ole’ scone”, but we ran out of time!

Of course our visit was way too short...we really enjoy our friends company...they are very dear friends to us. We definitely look forward to seeing them again, real soon!

Below are some pics of "DOWNTOWN" Chattanooga, which really is a beautiful city.

My son Bryan...

I have always been a proud papa of my boy Bryan. If you have read any of my past blog post you've seen several of them "showcasing" Bryan for different things.

Last Thursday night Bryan graduated from 5th grade! Man, I was excited for him because of his many accomplishments (Honor Roll, Beta Club, etc.) and then I was saddened because they showed this slide show of all the 5th graders. Pics from the past (their first day of school, field trips from past grades, you get the idea) I found myself tearing up a time or two...

As part of the 5th grade tribute he played the drums as part of the talent show...and as always he rocked the house. He played several different Latino beats (calypso, partino alto, bossa nova) he was great...and I was so proud.

He'll be in sixth grade next year...and he'll be in our youth ministry. Man, I'm getting old! Bryan, I am so proud of you!

The JP Invitational 2006

So this past weekend was the 11th annual JP Invitational at Barren River State Park. What's the JP Invitational? Why it's by far the biggest golfing event of the year...it's 3 days of golf, eating, golf, watching Sports Center, playing cards and oh yea, playing more golf.

We had a great time this year as eight bro's in Christ gathered from Lexington and Richmond. It was a mix of ole' college and church buddies and a great time was had by all! I can't tell you how much these guys mean to me...they have been true comrades to me over the years. For some of the guys we've gone through EKU together, been in each other's weddings, been there for the birth of our children...prayed and worshipped together. Jammed out to many concerts from Ichthus to Bruce Springsteen. Laughed at weird things like, “What’s a Belgium waffle?” Robo and I one time while in Hiltom Head on Spring Break during the college days, walked like 3 miles on the beach to go see John Mellencamp’s beach house (he wasn’t there)…Many other adventures and not enough space to write. Great weekend guys! Let's do number 12 next year!

IT'S OVER!!

The Spring semester is officially over as of Saturday, May 13th at 11:15pm. Say "Hoa"...say "hoa-hoa"...now everybody SCREAM!!! Dang, what a long semester it has been...from Genesis to Malachi...and Acts to Revelation...91 lectures watched on the computer, 5 book reviews, forums and worksheets, etc. etc. It's OVER!

Thanks to my family for allowing me the time to do this...I am looking forward to spending more evenings with you guys and not staying up so late anymore.

Allright...I'll get a few weeks off and then I have ONE more class left. I'll be doing another J-Term class June 5th-8th at Southern Seminary. Cramming a whole semester in four days...that's my kind of class! So now I have three books to read before June 5th, better get crackin'.

Proud Pappa!

Sorry for a delay in blogging...had a full week of stuff, got some kind of stomach virus on Saturday (almost over it!). So here's an update on my karate kid son Bryan!

Bryan of course has been taking Aikido with Master Sensei Ron Boyd of the Bushido Aikido School. He started back in January of this year...every Thursday night he attends an hour-and-a-half class. They work through all kinds of cool moves, etc.

Well this past Thursday night Holly went and picked up Bryan from Aikido...he walks through the front door and he's wearing this way cool YELLOW belt. It was testing night for him and he had no idea. Of course that is the idea, so they can't like prepare in advance. So according to Sensei Ron and the two other black belts...he passed and moved to the yellow belt. See pics!

His goal of course is to one day be a black belt. But today...I can still take him, but not for long. He demonstrated some moves on me...he knows his stuff! I am proud!

Who would of thunk it?

The Cincinnati Reds have THE best record in baseball! I will savor this til at least June...that's when the wheels usually fall off...but who knows, maybe this is the year! Go Redlegs!

One of my favorite things

It's Tuesday morning and it's a SOGGY, RAINY Tuesday morning. Just got back from our weekly Prayer Breakfast with our youth...I had to come home and fix the gutter that I didn't finish last night!

Okay I have many favorite things that make me smile and feel all happy inside. One of those things is our fountain that we have on our front porch. (You may think this to be corny, but that's why it's called "MY" favorite things) We got this fountain last year around the beginning of spring time. It lights up at night and looks and sounds...relaxing. There is something about dripping water that is so tranquil to me and I'm sure many others. But I really dig this fountain...it's nothing fancy, but to me it says, "Spring and Summer Time are Here!"

I like these kinds of rainy days...life seems to slow down a bit! Have a blessed day.

CSI: Junkie

All right, I'll admit it...I'm a CSI junkie! Which one? All of them! Monday night, Wednesday night and Thursday night...when I am able I watch them. I love the shows and story lines, and yes the characters. Especially the lead guys.

Now in the beginning when there was just CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...well Gil Grissom was "da man"...he had a suave' about himself (not a Rico Suave!), just a suave'. Anyhoo, as CSI: Miami hit the scene you have Horatio Caine who is the head honcho. Now Horatio always seems to be standing sideways and has some very corny one liner’s, but they've grown on me over the years. But, still Grissom was the coolest in my book.

Then CSI: New York was born from the other two...at first I didn't like it, it seemed kinda of dark to me. But after awhile it grew on me. The man in charge is Det. Mac Taylor (played by Gary Sinise...you'll remember him as Lieutenant Dan).

For sometime I have thought that Gil Grissom from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ruled as "top dog" of the head honchos of all of the CSI's. But as of last night...the tide has turned! I now believe Det. Mac Taylor to be my favorite. I like his humbleness, yet assertiveness in his character. Grissom has gotten a weird to me and Horatio stands sideways too much! Oh well just my opinion.


If you are a fan of CSI...who is your favorite? I can't wait until CSI: Richmond, KY. makes its début!

Lazy Sunday afternoon...

How's this for a lazy Sunday afternoon. This is one of Sparks' favorite places to be lazy...it's kinda like her throne.