HARMLESS THOUGHTS

This is my current backgroud, thanks to Portland Studios . I just loved this picture when I saw it. I don't know, it kind of reminds me of myself. You should check out their site . They have several different really cool designs, and they even have a section of e-cards that you can send. Great stuff.

pet peeve -- n. Informal Something about which one frequently complains; a particular personal vexation. The left turn lane. There are many stop lights that have a left turn lane. It is a really great idea, you can get out of the way of the other drivers while you are waiting to turn left. That way, all of those people who are wanting to go straight can get going. Some of these stop lights even have a left-turn arrow. Another great idea. This way you can make your left turn quickly, before the light allows all of the oncoming traffic to go. But sometimes you don't quite make it through in time. The arrow changes to yellow, and then it disappears. This means that you can still turn left, you just have to wait until the oncoming traffic has cleared before you can go. So... What do you do? You pull out into the intersection and await an opening. And if that opening doesn't come, you can make that turn when the light turns yellow and the oncoming traffic has to stop. This is OK . ...

(posted by Charity) I can remember being a little girl and truly waiting in expectation for each Christmas to bring some sort of magical "miracle". I bought into the theory that December 25th can produce a joy you did not anticipate in a way you could not imagine. Then I grew up. Sadly, as many of you can attest to, Christmas is usually only as special as you make it with the right focus and a heart of giving and thanksgiving. It can, in fact, be a difficult day with disappointments and reflections that can actually bring pain on this joyous holiday. Loved ones that are absent are missed and the day usually ends, for me, with many sad good-byes. Several people in my life has asked me to write about what I am learning during the recent loss of our baby this past month. I used to have a blog that I enjoyed very much but having given it up, I don't have opportunity to share like I used to. I will in time find a way to record all the things that have happened and the journey ...

(posted by Charity) I've been asked to post some of my favorite pictures from our Christmas visit home. It was hard with so many to choose from but here are a few. We still have to open gifts with the boys this week due to the unexpected ice storm that drove us North early and I'll be sure to feature a few of those later. Enjoy and Happy holidays! -Charity (Click to enlarge) Mom and Charity and the "Christmas Candy" extravaganza! GG looking at the album that I made for her for Christmas. Final candy results...mmm-mmm good! All of the siblings together for the first time in 2 years! Bill, Jeannie, Julie, Charity and Travis Siblings and Spouses Christmas 2005 Little sister...Big Boss! Charity still tells everyone how to organize. Brandi (Travis' wife on the far right- gave us a special surprise with the announcement of a new baby. We had fun crying and laughing together this year...Thanks Brandi, for my special gift.) Dad's Christmas shirt for this year. Jeann...

So... Last Wednesday they told us at school that there might be an ice storm, and they handed out the back-up schedule for the last two days, in case of a delay or a closing due to the weather. Having lived up in the northerly parts of the United States, where they don't close school no matter how "bad" the weather gets, I didn't think much about it. But sure enough, early Thursday morning the ice had accumulated. School was of course cancelled, much to my relief, because I had actually slept in and would have been late, which is one of my biggest fears. I have 4 alarm clocks set in my room each night just to keep this very thing from happening. I didn't wake up until 8:30, and frantically raced around the house until I could figure out whether or not there was school. We immediately decided that with my day off, and the hardships of the past few weeks, we should go out for breakfast. We deserved some IHOP (International House of Pancakes). We set off on ou...

She's Home! Last night after the doctor came to visit her room, he reluctantly said that she could go home. The infection isn't all the way gone, but he felt like she was healthy enough that she could go on home with a couple of prescriptions. He released her around 6:30, but the nurse didn't get around to taking the IV out until almost 10! So, we sat up there one more evening, watching our AFV. Now we are just hoping that she will be well enough that she can travel in a week. We are really (...REALLY) looking forward to this Christmas break. Probably more than we have looked forward to one for a long time. Some rest, some relaxation, some family, some friends... all of these things are looking really good right about now. Thanks again to all of you that prayed for my family these last few weeks. We have needed it, and it is truly appreciated.

As I said before, it has been a hard couple of months. But you know, you can have family time anywhere! And America's Funniest Home Videos can always bring on that smile. It is currently my children's favorite show, and no family night would be complete without it... Even a family night at the hospital. On a serious note: I would truly appreciate your prayers at this time. We are hoping that this new antibiotic does the trick, and that she will get to come home tomorrow. And even after she gets home, it is still going to be a difficult road to complete recovery. It has been almost three months of non-stop sickness of one form or another. We are really, really ready for a nice restful Christmas break, and it would be nice to have one with a healthy family. Thank you all for your encouraging comments and e-mails. They really have meant something to me.

Well, since the last post that I typed, it has been a busy time. On Thursday, while I was still at school, I received a call from my wife saying that the doctor needed her to come in again. I guess that there was some of the placenta left after the first D&E (Dilation and Evacuation). The first one was really hard. Mostly for my wife. Right after finding out that we had lost our baby, she has to go in for this procedure. And it is a pretty extensive procedure. I personally feel like anything that you need to be put under for, is a little scary. So here we are a week and a day later, and they tell us that we need to do it again! Not good news. So, we go in for this procedure. I am really feeling for my wife, but I am also trying to get geometry papers graded while I am sitting in the hospital. After the procedure is over, all I am hoping for is that my wife can start to get healthy again. It has been so long, that neither one of us can remember what normal life was like. The next da...

(posted by mommy) ....As HE holds our little one, I find myself being held. How comforting to know that His arms are big enough for the both us. Held Two months is too little. They let him go. They had no sudden healing. To think that providence would Take a child from his mother while she prays- It seems appalling. Who told us we’d be rescued? What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares? We’re asking why this happens To us who have died to live? This is what it means to be held . How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. This is what it is to be loved . And to know that the promise was When everything fell we’d be held . This hand is bitterness. We want to taste it, let the hatred NUMB our sorrow. The wise hands opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow. This is what it means to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. This is what it is to be loved. And to know that the promise was When everything...

On Tuesday, October 25, 2005, at around 11:30pm, my wife woke me up and showed me a pregnancy test. I wasn't all that surprised by this pregnancy test, that was being held in front of me. I was expecting her to take one sooner or later. I was a little surprised that she was showing it to me in the middle of the night, but only a little... I have known my wife long enough to not be too surprised about pregnancy tests in the middle of the night. I also need to mention that we weren't too surprised about the results. This is something that the both of us were hoping for. As soon as she showed me those two little blue bars on the test, I was immediately convinced that we were going to have another baby, and that I was now going to be the father of three children... great (I thought) now it is time to go back to sleep. Five pregnancy tests later my wife was convinced. Because of some symptoms that my wife was having, we decided to see the doctor a little earlier than originally pla...

I think that my 8th grade prealgebra class is suffering from a severe case of logorrhea . Thankyou Dictionary.com word of the day, for providing me with the final diagnosis for this class' problem!

For quite some time I have been wanting to write a post about words, about the language that we use. It never seemed like such a hot topic to me, but lately I have met several people who, even though they are professing Christians, don't seem to have a problem using different forms of profanity. Growing up, that was never an issue, those were bad words. And even when I went through a time when I used those words (sorry mom), I never tried to support their usage: I knew they were wrong and out of place for a Christian. In fact, when I finally decided to put my full faith in Christ, that was one of the first things to go in my pursuit of godliness. Now, I have always considered myself an open-minded person, so each time someone has come along in my life and has questioned my beliefs, I have always tried to reconsider whether or not these beliefs were biblical or personal. I have found some to be personal and some to be biblical, and have been man enough to admit when I have been...

My wife has a friend named Anne. I don't know why, but whenever I hear her name mentioned, I think of the Queen Anne's Lace flower. It is probably just the name, but Anne has been a real God-sent for my wife. She met Anne just at the right time, just in time. They have been a great help to each other, and have become true friends. I have become very thankful for Queen Anne.

I will exalt you, O LORD,    for you lifted me out of the depths    and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD my God, I called to you for help    and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;    you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;    praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment,    but his favor lasts a lifetime;    weeping may remain for a night,       but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said,    "I will never be shaken." O LORD, when you favored me,    you made my mountain stand firm;    but when you hid your face,       I was dismayed. To you, O LORD, I called;    to the Lord I cried for mercy: "What gain is there in my destruction,    in my going do...

When I first started blogging, there was the novelty of the whole thing. I could post something with this service, and they would put it up on the internet. It was new, it was cool, and I was excited about it. My posts didn't have much sense to them (not that they do now... no comments), but it was fun. Then I felt like I was on a mission. I started doing book reviews and little lessons from the Bible. The teacher in me felt it necessary to post things with meaning to them: something that would leave my readers thinking. Then I felt like I was in bondage to the blog. I couldn't get away from it. If I didn't post nearly everyday, I felt like I was letting the internet down or something. Stupid, I know. But I still felt that way. This was right about the same time that I started paying attention to my different statcounters. I wanted the numbers, and I knew that the best way to keep the numbers up was to post everyday. Now I am back to the fun stage. I post when s...

another half dollar

This is the best complement that I have ever received as a math teacher: I hate math, but you make it bearable. A couple of other Quotes: Student Quote -- #2 Student Quote -- #1

Here is an insult that I overheard one student hurling at another student: You're gross. Shouldn't you be smart? If you think about it, it is actually a double insult. But I am not quite sure whether or not this particular student even knew what they were saying. Another Student Quote: Student Quote -- #1

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous    and his ears are attentive to their cry; Psalm 34:15 (NIV) God is watching. He sees everything that we are going through. Nothing escapes His attention. When we cry out to Him, He hears us. Even when our prayers don't seem to reach beyond the ceiling... it doesn't matter, they don't need to reach beyond any ceiling, in fact, they don't even need to pass beyond our own lips. He hears even when no one else can.

Alrighty, I figured it out. I finally figured out how to put one of those little icons next to the address up in the address bar. It should look like this now: If you add me to your favorites, then it should show up in your favorites list as well. If you would like to add your own icon to your own site, then here is what you need to do: First : Create your icon, making sure it is 16x16 pixels and has the name favicon.ico Second : Save your icon on your webserver. Third : Somewhere between the tags <HEAD> and </HEAD> , you need to place this code: <LINK REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="http://www.mydomain.com/favicon.ico"> After that, it should work... Update: To see the little icon (if it doesn't show up on its own). Watch this video .

That's right ladies and gentlemen... Christian Conservatives are the new evil. Not only are these Christians the new evil in America, they are going to be destroying society. ...well, at least that is what Jimmy Carter is saying in his new book. Check out this article on that book. I couldn't believe it when I read it.

Want to have a little fun? Check out this site ... hilarious!

After discussing the standards in my Algebra II class, "This isn't challenging, its hard." hmmm...

"He who thinks he is a leader but nobody is following...     is just taking a walk." ~John Maxwell I can't remember who John Maxwell is, but when I was in college (back in 1994...) I wrote this statement down. Here I am a few years later, and I have to say that I still agree with this quote. However, I would like to add one thing to it: He who thinks that he isn't a leader but has many following... will still give an account for where he has walked. I want to add this last part because I have seen many a person disclaim leadership. They are even repulsed by the word, but so many are following them. I have come to believe that there are certain people that God has gifted with leadership. And even if they don't want that gift, they have it, and God will hold them accountable for the stewardships that he has gifted.

May God be gracious to us     and bless us and make his face shine on us,      Selah. Psalm 67:1 (NIV) This is my prayer today, at this moment.

When words are many,     sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue     is wise. Proverbs 10:19 (NIV) Some people just need to learn to shut-up. Close your mouth, zip the lip, say no more! Between the mouth and the brain there is a flow valve. The brain thinks something, and the valve decides whether or not to let it pass to the mouth. Some people have non-functional valves. Thoughts just flow right out of the mouth: Some good, some bad, some ugly. The most interesting thing about these people who don't know when to be quiet, is that you really get to know who they are. Jesus put it this way, "...out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." When something spills out, saying, "oops, I didn't mean that..." isn't exactly true. The truth is: you said exactly what you meant.

You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;       you have stolen my heart       with one glance of your eyes, Song of Solomon 4:9 (NIV) 16 years ago today she stole my heart and never gave it back.

I love reading stories to my boys. I have lots of fun with it. And I think that I have the most fun with a little Dr. Seuss. So, I decided to post one of my favorite readings. The audio quality isn't the best, but I hope that you enjoy it. Marvin K Mooney (mp3 audio) (It might be best to right-click and save before you listen to it.)

I have noticed several different blogs with these nice little e-mail icons. So I found the site and decided to share it with you. Here it is!

I have been reading a book called How To Overcome Evil by Jay E. Adams. It is an interesting book, but it isn't what I expected it to be. I thought that it was going to be a book on how to overcome the evil in our own lives, I wouldn't say that is exactly what this book is about. For starters, it is an exposition of Romans 12:14-21. This always makes a good book. Anytime someone takes the time to exposit a certain passage of scripture, they are bound to uncover some excellent truths. The reason why I am sharing all of this with you is because I was reading in it recently, and I ran across a very profound thought concerning the turning of the other cheek , as described by Jesus. I have always liked the idea of turning the other cheek, but for some reason, in the back recesses of my mind, it never seemed quite right. Are we just supposed to let people walk all over us? If someone takes our cloak, are we really supposed to offer our coat also? But the real problem was my understa...

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesaistes 4:12 (NIV) Yup. Three is definitely better than two.

Everyone is at home and safe tonight.

I am hearing voices... OK... not really. I spent the entire day Saturday and all afternoon today, working on my car . That wasn't really what I would have liked to do on a weekend, but that is what I did. In fact, the entire time that my family has been gone, I have been extremely busy. It was for the best that they weren't here because of all of the stuff that I had to do. And in my free time, I have been trying to get ahead in my school work. I am hoping that when they return, I will have lots of time to spend with them.

I am on the 8th day of being alone, and I am very much looking forward to my wife being home. I love my boys very much, and I am looking forward to seeing them, but it is my wife that I miss the most. She has become part of me, and without her, I don't feel like a complete person. This morning I was thinking about her and these two verses came to mind: "The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life." Proverbs 31:11-12 (NASV) I think that it was the first phrase that stuck in my mind the most. In the NIV it says, "Her husband has full confidence in her..." and I do. Even though I worry from time to time that something might happen to her, I never have to worry about her. I don't have to worry about what decisions she makes, I don't have to worry about how she is parenting the children, I don't have to worry about how she is spending money, I don't have to worry abo...

At our church we have been going through the book of Hebrews. It has been very interesting, and I have learned a lot about the book. We are almost at the end now, and the book has several different thoughts that we are going to be covering. The verse that for tomorrow is: "Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." I am looking forward to this verse because this is a thought that I really love. I love this planet. I love my family just the way it is. I love both of my boys, with all of their perfections and imperfections alike. I love my wife and could ask for no other. But . This city doesn't last. No matter how I build it up and no matter what kind of walls of protection I put up around it, it won't last. The sands of time wash over my city, and eventually it will be no more. And "...here we have no lasting city..." So, along with all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, "...we seek the city that is to come." A city tha...

One of the few nice things about being a husband staying alone, is that people feel sorry for you. Then when they feel sorry for you, they invite you over for food. And even if they don't invite you over, they don't feel awkward if you invite yourself over. All of that to say that I am going over to my sister and brother-in-law's house tonight. I think that we are going to our favorite place to eat. I would put the name of the restaurant up here on the blog, but I am not quite sure how to spell it. I am not quite sure what we are going to do after that, but I am sure it will be fun. I am guessing that it might include some kind of gaming or movie watching. Well, only a few more days left. I can't wait to see them again.

Yes, I am still here, and I am still alive. There is a cat that keeps coming to the house. It started coming a few weeks ago, and the boys loved it, especially Josiah. They were giving it food and letting it come into the house. They loved petting it and loving on it, probably because the only cat that we had ever owned before was Willow, who was a hairless cat. My boys just weren't used to these furry cats. Well, since they have been away, I was thinking that the cat would get the picture, and stop swinging by to mooch off of us. Unfortunately tonight when the cat came around to see if anyone was home, I caved in and gave it a little snack. A little bowl of milk and a bite of meatloaf. I just couldn't help it. Darn Cat.

Food. My meal choices are much, much different when I am alone. That's all I have to say about that.

I couldn't resist putting this picture on the blog. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Nobody calls me. I am a very happy Vonage customer. I love all of their extra features that come free with the service: call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail, voice mail sent to your e-mail, etc. But there is one service that I am hating this week: the call record. If you look back over the last month, there are literally dozens upon dozens of calls each day. Some lasting as short a minute, some lasting much, much longer. But you can mark the day down that my family left the house. There has been one call each day. And both of them are from my wife! Nobody has been calling the house! I don't know why I am surprised by this, when I am home, and I answer the phone, they never want to speak to me. They usually just say, "...oh hi Matt, is your wife there?" I think that Sam even gets more calls than I do! ... But wait. Why am I complaining about this? I don't really like talking on the phone anyway.

Well, another soccer season has come to an end. I don't have alot to say about it, but I did want to do a post just so I could have a good excuse to put this little soccer guy on my blog. I do enjoy coaching, but I don't like being away from home so much. Especially with little ones. If I stay for practice, then I only get to see my boys for about an hour or two a day. And if there is a game, then I won't get to see them at all. As they get older, I am sure that things will change, and it will be me at home while they are out and about. But for now, I am going to try to enjoy their littleness for as long as I can.

Alright, today I noticed a new I'm all alone behavior: I talk to nobody... out-loud ! That's right. I have caught myself talking out-loud to nobody. There I am, having a one-sided conversation with... the air. And it is one-sided. I am not actually answering myself, but I do occasionally answer nobody . It sounds something like this: me : I wonder what I should watch tonight nobody : me : Yeah, that is what I was thinking, but I don't know if I want to stay up that late, I mean... nobody : me : I know, I know, but I never get to bed early! I don't care how lame it sounds. nobody : me : Sure, I guess I could watch that tomorrow, but what about... nobody : me : That would work. nobody : me : I'm hungry too, what should we have? and so on...

Fear. Twice today my mind began to drift. Actually it drifts all of the time, but today there were two very specific drifts that occurred. Both of these drifts really stuck out in my mind, because they were both fear-based. Two times today I began to contemplate the loss of my family. I hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose it is because I am alone right now. So my mind drifted off to a reality where I had lost a member of my family. How would it feel? What would I do? Could I handle it? There are a lot of people in this world that I have close contact with on a weekly basis, and many of those people I truly care about. But there are only three people that I can't imagine being without: my wife and my two sons. Losing any one of them, or all of them, is my greatest fear. If I allowed myself to think too long about, I could almost get panicky wondering where they are and what they are doing. Are they safe? Are they being careful? And then... God, are you watching out fo...

I genuinely do not like being alone. I used to think that I was a loner. One of those people who could survive on a deserted island, and actually like it! You know how it goes: I have my coconut dishes, my bamboo plumbing, that goes to my completely fortified tree house, and my only concern is how am I going to get food for the next day. But as I get older, the more I have realized that I don't do so well being alone. I get lonely. Now, I don't need alot of people. There are some that are like that, they need people around them all of the time. I am not like that, which is why I was originally led to believe that I could do well alone. And even as I am typing this, I am realizing that it isn't that I need people, it is that I need people to need me. I love serving and working for my family. There are jobs around the house that I genuinely don't mind doing, because my family needs it. But put me alone, and those jobs become tedious and boring. The things I do, when I am ...

I have to thank Tim for this link: I was a little disappointed in tonight's episode. No questions were answered, and there weren't any really new questions to ask. Which is usually my favorite part of the show; you know, answer a few questions and introduce enough new stuff to ask some more. I will say that I am probably drawn to the show because of the 27 connection . Every 108 minutes? Sure enough that is 27 minutes, 4 times.

Dr. Paul Tripp is coming to our church . I have heard him speak on two different occasions, and both times he was great. I have even heard part of this particular conference. He has great wisdom and insight, and he pulls some great stories from his own life to help illustrate different points. If you live anywhere near Greenville, SC and would like to go, drop me an e-mail. He will be here November 4-5, and I am sure that there is some small cost, but I would love to have you. You must register by October 30th, so let me know quickly.

My students were testing today, so I ended up with a study hall that lasted from 7:50 to 11:15. (That is a really long time to be in study hall.) So, while they were quietly sitting, I decided that it was time for a new template. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time, but just never had the chance. It still needs some tweaking, but I wanted to go ahead and get it up. Well, time to actually do some real work. Gotta go!

Well, I survived another Windy Gap experience. Some personal highlights : 1. Played on the Faculty Men's team against the Varsity, and only lost by one point. 2. Made a fool of myself again on stage, doing those teacher skits . 3. Drank a raw egg. 4. Ate some baby food. 5. Had another teacher crush an egg on my head. 6. Hooked kids up in the zip line, and I didn't have any of them fall to their death. 7. Helped organize the unloading of 4 charter buses in the rain. 8. Pulled a muscle in my leg. And many other interesting developments . I do love being a teacher, but sometimes I think that it would be really fun to work at a camp full-time. You would miss the opportunities to develop those long-term relationships with the kids, but man would it be lots of fun. I also think that it would be a great place to raise a family. But hey, that is just me. Talk to you all later. (After I recover from these last couple of days.)

Well, the school where I teach is off for Windy Gap tomorrow. It is a beautiful camp, there is lots to do, it is great being with all of the kids, etc. But... I miss my family. I really hate being away from my family. I hear about these dads that like to get away, but I really don't understand it. I love my family. My wife is the greatest! She is absolutely my best friend! She is fun to be around, she is funny, intelligent, and I just love her and love to be around her. I could not have asked God for a better wife, and my heart aches when I am not around her. My boys are great as well. I really think that they are about the greatest two kids that a parent could have. I might joke around from time to time about them being bad, but I really believe that they are about the best behaved kids. So, I hate being away from these people. I feel bad sometimes. If there is the option for a school event, I always opt not to go. If I can leave early, I do. If there is a way out, I...

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Man! I just want to have a normal life! I want to go to work, come home, play with the kids, watch some TV, and go to sleep!" Have you ever thought that? I have. Many times over. Every time something bad happens; the car breaks down, one of the kids is in the hospital... major life changes always seem to be happening to me, and there are all of these people who seem to be living these normal lives. So I sit there and I think, "I just want to have a normal life!" But as I get older, I start to wonder if there is actually anyone who exists, with the coveted normal life . Sure, there are people out there who might seem to be leading a fairly normal life, but as you get to know them... well, they're not. It seems that nearly everyone that I know has a messed up, trouble filled life! This normal thing doesn't seem to exist! It is all a big conspiracy! But consider Romans 8:18, 24-25, "I consider that our present sufferi...

Lately I have been reading through the book of Joshua. The other day I read through chapter 9 , and read the story of how the Gibeonites deceived the children of Israel. Right after the children of Israel cross over the Jordan River, they encounter the city of Jericho. Most people know that story. After that they set off for the city of Ai, which is much smaller, but they get defeated because there is someone in the camp that did not follow God's commands concerning the treasures of Jericho. Shortly after that the Gibeonites send a group to talk to them. The group that the Gibeonites send, disguise themselves like men from a far off country. They come to the camp of the Israelites and ask them for a treaty. The children of Israel are suspicious, so they examine the men, who came complete with worn sandals and moldy bread. Verse 14 says this, "The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD." When I read it, I had one of those, "hmm.....

If you hadn't noticed, I have a few other blogs. One of my favorites is called Let Me Not Wander. I have a button for it on my sidebar, that looks like this: It is a daily Bible reading blog. I post a verse a day, Monday through Friday. I try to keep the commentary on that verse simple. If you would like to read a full explanation of that blog, read here . And if you would like an explanation of the name of that blog, read here . I have really enjoyed this blog since I started it, but from the very beginning, I have known that it would be a difficult project, so I have been looking for another writer, to help with the load. And I think that I have finally found the person... My Sister! If you have never checked this blog out, I would like to strongly encourage it. Especially if you aren't currently in the Word every day, this would be a great way to start. Swing on by and check it out.

"...those who have a natural talent for calculation are generally quick-witted at every other kind of knowledge; and even the dull, if they have had an arithmetical training, although they may derive no other advantage from it, always become much quicker than they would have been." ~ Plato ~ (Being a math teacher, I couldn't resist posting this quote. Dang, I want this guy's beard!)

My church had a team down along the gulf coast. They were helping at a church, and doing several other things while they were down there. We were also going to send another team down this weekend. They were going to leave last night. My wife was very excited because she was going to go on this trip. Unfortunately, because of Hurricane Rita, the fire dept. of that city was going around encouraging people to evacuate. The team that is currently down there is packing up their stuff and heading back. I do think that there is a family that they are bringing back with them. We had decided, as a church, that in addition to any supplies and work that we could bring to the gulf, we also wanted to help at least one family completely relocate. So, a couple of weeks ago, we had an impromptu offering and collected $25,000 (in one offering). Needless to say, we were all stunned. So, we are going to use that money to help a family, that lost absolutely everything, to relocate to Greenville. I still c...

My sister has become quite the photographer. The last few pictures that I have posted on here have been taken by her. Maybe I am biased, but I think that they are very good. She just scanned this one and sent it to me the other day, so I thought that I would share it with you. I love this one because this is exactly what Sam likes to do. He likes to swing, and I think that he could literally swing for hours. If I am working outside, I usually make him go out there with me, and he will usually hop on the swing and within a few moments, he has himself flying through the skies. Can you remember when it was like that? Life was so simple then wasn't it?

If you have been reading my blog lately, you may have noticed that I was able to take a trip to Pascagoula, MS. It was absolutely amazing. It was really hard work, but I was filled with joy every step of the way. Well, my church has decided that they want to finish strong with this endeavor. They do not want to start something up, and then after a few months we have no involvement with those who are in need. It will take years to get this area back to normal, so we want to be a part of this for as long as we can. Because of this mind-set, there is more than one way that we are trying to help. This was never meant to be a one time trip down there. This was also a scouting party. We went looking for needs, and man did we find them. We have already adopted a family that lost everything during the storm and helping them relocate. We have lined up housing, job interviews, and have started purchasing all of the necessities of life. Everything from the kitchen table to living room furniture t...

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. Proverbs 12:1 (NIV) This is one of my all-time favorite verses. It has been for quite some time. But I had forgotten about it until yesterday. My pastor, who is currently preaching through the book of Hebrews, mentioned this verse, in correlation with the passage that we were studying. I originally liked this verse as a teacher. It came in quite handy when I was trying to correct a student. There are always those students who just don't handle being corrected as well as other students. So when one of them got a little testy, I would break out the Bible and have them read this verse. Now, if you didn't know this already, when someone is being corrected and they are handling that correction poorly and then they are asked to read this verse, their reaction can be quite interesting. Mostly because of that one word... stupid . Notice that it doesn't say that there were stupid actions taking place, ...

Thanks to the people at Google, there is now a brand new messenger out there. And I must say, I really like it. I have even had a few voice conversations with my mom, who lives about 12 hours away, and she is still using a modem. But the conversation sounds good. But I would also like to thank the people over at HotRecorder... They have an application that will work with Google Talk and several other Voip applications. It has a recorder, player, and even a voice mail feature. Today, I recorded my first Google Talk Voice Mail Message. And this is one unique voice mail, because I used my newly acquired guitar and guitar skills (both thanks to my sister) to compose a voice mail song. Click here to listen to my new voice mail message .

I am typing this post in Microsoft Word. Blogger recently released an add-on for Word, so that you can type your Blogger posts in Word, and publish them from there. I can definitely see the benefits to this, but I don’t know if I will actually do this. If you would like to try it out for yourself, then simply go here .

(To see a large version of the picture, just click on the thumbnail.) Here is a picture taken at the donation site. My wife, who really wanted to go on this trip, but was unable to, ended up being one of the major contributing factors in making the trip a success. In front of the church there were mounds of clothes that had been donated. Just try to imagine losing everything that you own... That is what those people are in need of. They were also pumping free gas out in front of the church. We talked to people who had been waiting in line for over 2 hours for free gas. One lady's car died right when she was the next one up. When I popped the hood to take a look, there was mud up around the engine. Many of the cars in the city had been flooded. The Church parking lot had 4 feet of water at one point. This is where we set up to prepare the food. Over the course of the day we fed nearly 1000 people. We brought meals and lemonade to the people in the line for the free gas. We also took...

Man, I am so far behind, that it's not even funny! I am so glad that I was able to go on this trip, but now I am paying for it. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely worth it, but I have spent the rest of the week trying to catch up. Hopefully after the weekend I will be all back to normal. Which for me is only a little bit behind.

I am back home. But already, as I sit here, I am thinking about all of the people that I met in the last few days that don't have a home to go to. I am specifically thinking about the people at the church where we were helping. Some of them had lost everything and there they were with a smile on their face, dedicating all of their time to the church. Amazing.

(Click to listen to the audio post.)

(Click to listen to the audio post.)

(Click to listen to the audio post.)

(Click to listen to the audio post.)

Even though in the last two weeks the school where I teach has put together over 300 shoe boxes of toiletries for the victims of the hurricane, and even though they have had bake sales to raise money, and even though they have had "t-shirt day" fund raisers, and even though they only had two days' notice... They still wanted to help with the trip that I am getting ready to go on. They called each other on Wednesday night and then they promoted it in their classes on Thursday. And by the end of the day today, the highschool had donated over 80 cases of water. Thank you Shannon Forest!

Here is where we are going:

Well, after much distress and trial, we have a truck. Cardinal Moving and Storage has graciously donated the truck and they are also going to pay for the fuel. It took them a little while to find a truck that wasn't already scheduled for something, but they pulled through. Also, I thought that I would mention the ministry that is working on supplying the food. It is called Food for Life ministries . Paul Blumer, who is the head of that organization is working with the pastor of my church to organize this effort. As far as I know, the town that we are going to was hit pretty hard, and I don't think that they have been given any type of aid from anyone else yet. The whole thing is pretty exciting. Mostly because I feel like God has used me in some small way. And there just isn't anything better than being used by God! I will keep you informed on how it goes. By the way, if you live in Greenville, or know anyone who lives in Greenville, and would like to donate to the ca...

During the summer I am a mover. I work for Cardinal Moving & Storage , a North American Van Lines agent. So, today I called my boss and asked him if he would be willing to donate the use of one of his moving trucks and the cost of fuel, so that I could go down to the New Orleans area with a shipment of supplies. Now, I don't actually have any supplies, but I just wanted to ask. My boss said that he would love to do that, but I still needed some stuff. So then I called the Red Cross. I think that they are a little overwhelmed with donations and help, and they said that they really appreciated the offer, but they didn't have anything that needed shipping, that wasn't already being taken care of. So, truck... but no stuff. Then I called my church, North Hills Community Church , and sure enough, there was a guy that was organizing supplies for a town. He had a truck that was going to be used, but the offer kept falling through. So he had stuff but no truck. You might be wo...

Are you ready for some more sightseeing?!? Here we have the Golden Gate bridge, located in San Francisco, CA. This shot is a little closer. You can even see the cars.

Literally... I know that it seems like being a teacher, you get all of these days off. All of the holidays, and special observances, but it only seems that way. In reality, as a teacher, I stop looking at these three day weekends as a short vacation, and start looking at them as a chance to get caught up. My whole life I have been about one step behind where I need to be. Always having at least one more thing to do before I was completely able to relax. So, being a teacher, this has only been heightened. Every night I bring home about 3 or 4 things that I really need to get done, and I think to myself, "If I could just get these few things done, I would be completely caught up." But it never happens! I get home and I want to see the kids, and I want to chat with my wife, and there is this errand to run, etc. So, when an extra day comes along I think to myself, "...an extra day! Man, I can get caught up!" Unfortunately, in my house, I am the only one who thinks of ...

I have been using Flickr to host all of my pictures since I started blogging. I have never had anything to say against them. They have always treated my well, until today! For some reason they have changed the way they host pictures, so now, all of my pictures have the wrong name, so they aren't showing up on the blog. This is very frustrating.

I pretty much like about everything that Google does. They do cool stuff. One of my favorite new programs that Google has come up with is called Google Earth . To the right I have added a picture of Google's Earth. I know that it may not seem that impressive at first glance, but then you start to zoom. All of the images are real satellite images. And you can really zoom in. It is awesome! Find your house, find your school. But then, I really got to thinking about this. I could see the sites! I could visit (via Google's satellite imagery) some of the wonders of the world! So I have started a trek, and I would like to share it with you. I decided to start with one of the oldest, and most impressive ancient wonders. The great pyramids. I looked along the Nile River, and there... right where they were supposed to be... The pyramids! Of course, I could only see them from the top, but it was still awesome! I was looking at THE pyramids. And the coolest part about it is that this pic...

I just refurbished the "Destroy Cloy" T-shirt. After I e-mailed my pastor, he made a couple of suggestions, but in general, he really liked it! Here are the updates. Once again, if you can't read it from the picture, it says, "Destroy Cloy." And then in small print, "Go for Real Joy! (Ps. 16:11)"