Thanksgiving in Orlando

Here our some highlites from our Thanksgiving week in Orlando....




I started every day with a trip to Dunkin Donuts for an extra large coffee with cream. I love Dunkin Donuts coffee! (don't tell the girls at Starbucks....shhhh!!)






Even though it was Thanksgiving....everything was decked out for Christmas in and around Orlando......it was pretty weird to see Christmas decorations alongside palm trees.









And bananas growing in November









Beautiful poinsettias were planted everywhere













Christmas trees were all around Downtown Disney and at the malls











But the best part of being in Orlando for the holiday was getting to spend it with Josh, Alyssa and her parents. The Thanksgiving meal was outstanding (Alyssa cooked it). We laughed and had a wonderful time.












.....'course Eddie pretty much stole the show.

Our dog is a cross dresser

.

Monday morning. No need for an alarm clock today because we're on vacation this week. But our 'aged' dog has no concept of vacation! He decided that it was time to get up at 4am.





He's just a small dog and sleeps at the foot of our bed. But when he leaps of the bed at 4am it sounds like an elephant. I think everything is amplified about a zillion times when your 1/2 asleep. It was a very loud thud. You'd think he weighed 100lbs!

Restless. That is what best describes him after he takes the plunge. He gets on his back and squirms around making grunting noises. This goes on for a few minutes then silence. Then you can hear him flip over on his back and the grunting and flopping starts again. This ritual goes on and on forever....or at least it seems that way when you're half asleep. Then the whining starts. Just repeated little squeaks. I guess he figures if all the grunting and flopping wont get us up then the whining will. And yes it works.

Finally, just before 5am I gave in and decided to get up. I threw back the warm covers and rolled out into the coldness of the room. Coffee. I need coffee. It was pitch black in our room. When I stood up I could sense the dog wasn't far. I bent over and reached down into the black abyss and scooped him up.....but I got more than the dog.

I can't see much of anything but its obvious he has something wrapped around him. What on earth could it be? I began to pull and realized that whatever it was not just wrapped around him, he was woven through it.

It dawned on me that before we'd gone to bed I noticed that Lori had folded her gym clothes for the morning and placed them on top of her gym bag not far from the bed. Some how the dog, in all of his rolling around-back scratching escapades on the floor, had managed to knock the clothes off the gym back. But not only that, he'd managed to 'waller' his way through the arm strap of Lori's bra. He had it all twisted up around him. I pulled and unwrapped until I could finally get it off him.

I was pretty ticked at him for waking me up but almost laughed outloud when I realized what he'd done. If only I would have had a camera!

What a boob!

Credit Card ..... Debit Card ???

I was listening to the radio this morning and happened to catch Kim Komando's Digital Minute radio feature. For those of you unfamiliar with Kim (aka America's Digital Goddess), she hosts a 3 hour weekly radio show about everything and anything eletronic from DVD players to USB drives.

So this is what her digital minute was about today...

Use credit cards rather than debit cards. Credit cards usually allow you to dispute charges and they also typically provide fraud liability protection. Some debit cards offer the same protection, but you might not be able to access your cash until disputes are settled.




Kim, meet Dave.




(from daveramsey.com)
Think a credit card is safer to use than a debit card? Most people do. They convince themselves that credit cards carry a better track record, and you're less likely to have your money stolen from you when you use a credit card. Sadly, those people are wrong.

Credit cards carry a huge risk of allowing the user to incur debt. Debit cards force you to pay with money you already have. If you hold a debit card from a well-known name like Visa or MasterCard, it will have the same policy about unauthorized charges that credit cards have. Don't fool yourself into thinking that credit cards are the "safe" way to go. They'll only get you into trouble and force you to make payments.

Debit cards are being used at an all-time high today and are used more often than credit cards. Last year debit card use exceeded a trillion dollars. Whew! That's a lot of people using debit cards! Although we like to see the increase of debit cards versus credit cards, we still want to make sure you're being careful with your debit card.

Since a debit card is directly linked to your bank account, it's a convenient way to purchase things without incurring debt. When you use a debit card, the money is immediately withdrawn from your account, which means no interest, late fees, over-the-limit fees, or annual fees - all good things to help you avoid debt. Debit cards are also great to use because they don't require you to carry cash or write a check.

Good morning snow

I knew it was snowing when I went to bed last night but didn't expect this when I got up this morning....

Snapped these shots at 4am before I went to the gym.




Looks like the snow is here to stay for a while....

Of lambs and goats....

We started new Journey classes at GCC last night and I'm attending Jason Millers class entitled Spiritual Practices: Celebration. At the end of the night Jason reminded us to do our homework which part of was to read Exodus 12.

So I’m doing my homework (like an obedient Christian should)and I get hung up on this Lamb and Goat thing the first few verses….. First I was confused about lamb’s and goats.I thought they were different animals, but then I started to question myself so I had to look it up.

In my research they are different but of the same family of ruminant mammals.




ruminant (cud-chewing) mammal of the genus Ovis. The sheep is usually stockier than its relative the goat; its horns, when present, are more divergent; it has scent glands in its face and hind feet; and the males lack the beards of goats. Sheep usually have short tails. In all wild species of sheep, the outer coat takes the form of hair, and beneath this lies a short undercoat of fine wool that has been developed into the fleece of domesticated sheep. Male sheep are called rams, the females ewes, and immature animals lambs. Mature sheep weigh from about 80 to as much as 400 pounds any ruminant and hollow-horned mammal belonging to the genus Capra.



Related to the sheep, the goat is lighter of build, has horns that arch backward, a short tail, and straighter hair. Male goats, called rams or billys, usually have a beard. Females are called does or nannys, and immature goats are called kids. Wild goats include the ibex and markhor.

Ok so, now I know I'm not crazy and that lamb's are different from goats but are the same type of ruminant mammal. So maybe lambs were the Lexus of ruminant animals and not everyone could afford one so the GOAT was the more affordable PINTO of the mammals…I dunno!

Just as a side note I did find a marketing website for Lambs for Passover purchase…

SheepGoatMarketing.info originated from the North East Sheep & Goat Marketing Project, a USDA-funded project to improve the marketing infrastructure for sheep and goat producers in the twelve northeastern states. This web site was redesigned as a National information resource for sheep and goat marketing, with special focus on the marketing of lamb and goat to the ethnic and religious markets.

Passover
April 3-10, 2007
April 20-27, 2008
April 9-16, 2009
March 30-April 6, 2010
Type of lamb wanted - 30-55 lbs, milk fed and fat.

Anyway, so I’m in this discussion with a co-worker about lamb, sheep and goats and she says that she’s pretty sure that later in the Bible Goats are the ‘losers’ so to speak. Thought it was interesting that in a sacrifice for the Passover that a lamb or goat was acceptable, but goats became the term for those who refuse to acknowledge God.

Had I chosen not to do my homework I never have known the difference betweeen lambs and goats. Did you do your Journey homework?

Ginormous

1Samuel 17:4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.

They loom around us every day. Giants. Giants that overwhelm us. I have them. You have them. Some are self imposed. Some come from the world around us. The smallest things can evolve into giants if we let them.

Every morning I turn on the news and another major corporation needs to be bailed out, or the stock market (aka my retirement) had plummeted again, or the government is bailing out another gluttonous organization, or another suicide bomber carry's out his assignment. Giants over which I have no control over continuoulsy rain down.

What about the personal giants? My grocery cart is full of the same stuff every week but the total is $50 higher.... Winter is looming, but if I turn increase the heat how will I pay for that cart of groceries.... I made the mistake of opening my quarterly retirement statement a couple of weeks ago.... I try to give experience based advice to my kids but they don't hear it....am I doing what I was created to do....

8-10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves.

Our giants taunt us. They try to convince us they're unconquerable. But, how we choose to respond to them makes all the difference.

11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.

Fear paralyzes and destroys. It's reactive. What if, what if we put our hope and trust in God and not ourselves or the government....

45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day GOD is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that GOD doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to GOD—he's handing you to us on a platter!"

Faith conquers.

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

Times are tough. There's no doubt. What are relying you on? Yourself, the government, or God?

Burlap to Cashmere release a song a few years ago entitles "Anybody out there" The chorus went like this.....

Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there,
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me

Tire inflation

Early on in the race for president Barack Obama, in his interview at Saddleback church said "Making sure your tires are properly inflated, simple thing, but we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling, if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune‐ups. You could actually save just as much"

Who knew I had an Obama friendly car!


Yesterday on a trip back from Kalamazoo this light came on my dash.



I didn't know such a warning existed on my Civic
.

So prior coming to work today I stopped at Basney Honda to have my tire inflation checked. The service person at Basney advised that they were now putting nitrogen in the tires rather than air and that it would cause the pressure in my tires to remain constant. He said otherwise with the colder weather the warning light would likely come back on after putting air in the tires. He said they could inflate the tires with nitrogen right then if I had a few minutes. I said ok and made my way to the waiting room for service.

Well, $25 later my tires are now inflated with nitrogen. I was looking over the bill and this was printer under my acceptance signature for the service: NITROGEN
CUSTOMER REQUESTS/ACCEPTS RECOMMENDATION TO SAVE FUEL, TIRES, MONEY, FOR THE PLANET EARTH, INCREASE HANDLING, AND PROVIDE EXTRA SAFETY FOR ALL PASSENGERS

Notice the inconsistency in the disclaimer...save money, what savings? It cost me $25, last I knew air was free. I'm also wondering if the nitrogen will make my tires wear less? It will be interesting to see if my mileage increases (I'm already getting about 30+ mpg) or if my tires last any longer. I'm seriously thinking of putting a sign in my car for passengers alerting them that they are now safer because I have nitrogen in my tires.

Maybe I'll get an extra $25 on my next stimulous check for helping to save the planet earth!

The joy of victory? The agony of defeat?

It's over. Are we better off, worse off? Time will tell. I'm just glad that it's not me with the weight of the country on my shoulders. The economy, health care, the war in Iraq among all the other things the new president will face seems pretty overwhelming to me.

I found it interesting and on purpose that my Bible reading came from 1Samuel chapter 12 today. Samuel was dealing with disgruntled Israelites who were begging him for a king. Despite the fact that God had bailed them out countless times, the (v.6 He brought your ancestors out of Egypt)they insisted a king would cause them to feel safe and protected.

So God granted their request.

1Samuel 12
13-15 "So here's the king you wanted, the king you asked for. GOD has let you have your own way, given you a king. If you fear GOD, worship and obey him, and don't rebel against what he tells you. If both you and your king follow GOD, no problem. GOD will be sure to save you. But if you don't obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will fare no better than your fathers.

The voice of the people (or perhaps the influence of the media) was heard again yesterday. Hopefully the new president elect will be able to step up to the plate and hit it out of the park...who knows? Maybe you're ecstatic about the outcome of the vote, maybe your not. Whatever the case, God is in ultimate control. He is always at work even when we can't see it. Whatever challenges we have to endure, God is ultimately in control of the situation. Finding confidence in this enables us to face whatever lies ahead.

Under the influence

We had dinner with some friends last night and of course the hot topic was the upcoming election. One of our big concerns was the "followers", the people who vote based solely on what the hear or see on television. People need to take the time to research the candidates and draw their conclusions on their own, not what the media is dictating to them....

Our wonderful dog got me up early this morning so I decided to logon to my laptop and check out the newsheadlines. How ironic that this was a news headline this morning.


At least they're admitting it....

http://www.comcast.net/articles/tv/20081031/Campaign.Media/

Leaf me alone

Every time Fall rolls around it reminds me that of all the lots in our subdivision that were open to build on 10 years ago I had to have the one with the trees on it. Our yard was virtually covered in leaves as of Monday this week.






You really couldn't even see much of the grass in the back and side yards.





The weather hadn't been exactly been accomodating for clean up either. Rain and cold seem to be plaguing us day after day the previous week.

Knowing that our schedules weren't going to allow us to even think about raking until near the end of this week I decided to call in the reinforcements. Dan did our lawn for a summer a couple of years ago for a entire summer and he'd also cleaned up our leaves. I've used him a few times here and there for the lawn when we're out of town so I thought perhaps I could get him to do the leaves. So I called him. I wasn't too excited about the cost I was quoted for the job but I guess you pay a price for convenience.

Dan said that he'd be happy to clean up our leaves but the weather had put him behind as well (he owns his own lawn mowing company) and he probably wouldn't be able to get here until Friday. I thought about it and said that we'd try to get them done ourselves before then but if we didn't I'd call him Friday morning and give him a satus. I figured Lori and I could work on the leaves Wednesday and Thursday night. I didn't really want to miss our Journey class at GCC on Wednesday but I wasn't relishing the thought of paying a handsome amount to have them done by someone else either.

As I drove into our subdivision Wednesday evening, even though our house is a ways down the street it looked like there were no leaves in the front yard. As I got closer it became apparent that the leaves had all been cleaned up and the lawn mowed. I scratched my head. How did I miscommunicate my intentions? I have to admit the lawn looked great and I was selfishly glad that I would get to attend my Journey class.

When I got in the house and sat my cell phone down I realized that I'd never turned it on all day. When I powered it I saw I had three voice mails. I called my voice mail and my first message was from Dan. He said that his schedule had changed and that he was going to be availalbe to do our lawn on Wednesday. He said he was sure I'd probably still want it done but if I didn't to give him a call before noon. Well, yah can't really call someone back when you don't know they called!

I think God must have really wanted me to attend my Journey class!

Go Team!

Ok, let's face it. I don't know everything. Sometimes situations arise in which I'm not well versed but need to make a decision and/or take action upon. I have two choices: I can rely totally upon only what I know or I can seek the wisdom and counsel of others to better equip me for the response.

This "team" concept is so evident in my work place at Granger Community Church. It is modeled from our Senior Management Team all the way to the volunteers that serve.

My supervisor, Dave, has been instrumental in helping me grow in this team approach to challenges. I've learned that I don't have to have the answer to everything. Dave is always open to a question (no matter how dumb I think it may be) and I'm become very comfortable in bouncing ideas off of him.

Just yesterday I had one those "issues" arise. I knew what route I thought was correct, but wasn't sure if I'd considered all of the ramifications. I ran it by Dave and we discussed it. I then ran it by a couple other staff and even more helpful information and process evolved. Team effort pays.

From his book, “The Richest Man Who Ever Lived” , Steven Scott discusses our naivete to success in his chapter on “Disarming the booby traps to success. Scott says “More often than not, our vision is far too limited to make the best decision based only on our own knowledge and experience. Solomon cautions in Proverbs 15:22, “Without counsel plans are frustrated, but, with many counselors they succeed.” To make important decisions without the aid of outside counsel is not only naïve, it’s foolish. By bringing in the expert opinion of others, we radically expand our field of vision and become far more qualified to make a wise decision.”

Sure there are day to day things that we should all be able to make good decisions about and follow through on, but there are also many things that have a much better outcome with the counsel of others. Team out performs an individual every time.

creatures of habit

Creature of habit. Probably should be incorporated into my name. And it only became more apparent to me this morning, here's why.......

There is a group of us that are at Panera nearly every morning between 6 and 7. We always sit in the same places EVERY DAY. A few in our little group arrive when the store opens at 6 and the rest of us trickle in by 6:30. But we always sit in the same seats.

Unless. Unless an intruder invades the space. Such as happened today. I arrived at 6:20 and there, sitting in MY CHAIR was a stranger. A stranger in my chair. It can totally mess you up. My eyes met with the group of regulars who were sitting in their same seats. They knew my look and the all burst out laughing. Reluctantly I sat down at a table outside of the comfortable sphere of our group. And pouted! Not really but I wanted too!

As I sat with my laptop open at the table in the foreign, uncharted and untamed area of Panera, I'd look up every now and then and see my friends, who were sitting in the safe confines of our common space, grinning at me. I'd stick my tongue out at them and return my look to my computer. Of course, that caused uproarious laughter explode from them.

Well it wasn't long before one of our veterans got up to leave for the day. I jumped on the opportunity to slide back over to the 'homeland'. The universe had once again been righted. Well for the most part. The stranger still occupied my chair which was causing a slight imbalance. If he's there tomorrow I guess we'll have to give him the 'membership package' and the assigned seating arrangments!

Funny how our little group ALWAYS sits in the same places, but we don't protect the space each of us occupy??

Autumnal Equinox

Cold weather is not for me. But when you live in northern Indiana it's pretty much a fact of life. I decided to let my dislikes for the upcoming inclimate weather aside and surround myself in the uncomparable colors that only God could create........












And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September


And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn
......Nicole Nordeman

Maze, the other corn

Each month I'm part of a meeting called "Check Point" composed of staff from operations and finance. It's a time for us to talk about leadership in our specific areas and seeking God's wisdom for that area of our lives. Each month one of us has the opportunity to take the reigns and lead the group in a study or activity.

Tom was in the 'hot seat' as the lead person for the October meeting. On Monday I realized that we'd never rec'd an assignment for this months meeting and wondered what we would be studying. But at 2:41 in the afternoon my question was answered....well sorta?

Subject: Check Point
As I have been preparing for weeks on our topic for tomorrow, I have decided we will need more then 1-1/2 hours to cover in full, this in depth study I have prepared. Plan on blocking out the rest of the day for our time together. I need for each of you to bring 4 different translations of the Bible, 3 sets of cards, 2 metal pots and a partridge in a pair tree!!!!!

But then again, most of you may know me and know me to well to know that I am a procrastinator and have waited until the last minute to prepare. I can say that I have at least been thinking about our time together. So scrap all the above that you were suppose to bring, but make sure you do bring clothes for some outdoor activity. You may want to wear your outdoor clothes in and then change when we return, (Rain or shine for I have no backup plan) . Yes we will be meeting offsite. Directions will follow in the morning.

Quite honestly I was a little aprehensive. The 'rain or shine' thing really put me on edge. I don't like to be cold and wet and have to spend the rest of the day like that. Jokingly (maybe) I did a reply all and responded to Tom that I didn't have an outside clothes. Tom emailed back and told me to wear some of my wifes out door clothes...I replied and said they were too small...my wise cracking wife repsonded that I wore them at home all the time...and it just went down hill from there. We bantered back and forth for awhile until it just became outrageously funny. Just the same I still wasn't too excited about the potential of an outdoor activity in the rain.

So I get up yesterday morning and its cloudy but relatively warm. Of course, the first thing on my mind was this outdoor activity today, but it seemed like the weather was going to cooperate. I did my gym thing and went for my usual morning coffe/reflection time at Panera. It was time to head to work and I walked out the door from Panera and it was raining. No only was it raining, it was pouring and the wind was blowing furiously. Wonderful, NOT!

Eleven am rolled around Tuesday morning and it was time to go to leave for the undivulged location. Fortunately the rain had stopped, but it had cooled off considerably. Tom had given Dave an envelope with directions earlier in the morning, so the two Lori's, Mel and I all piled in to Daves SUV and headed out. Tom was meeting us there.

Tom's directions were very creative. He used a combination of landmarks and street names to guide us to the final destination, but we quickly figured out that it was the corn maze on Douglas road.

The corn maze had twelve clue stops already set up with questions about, go figure, corn! With permission from the farm, Tom went to all the clue stops and posted his own questions about the 12 disciples of Jesus with multiple choice answers. He gave us maps and told us to head out. When we all returned we'd tally up the points to see who answered the most correctly.

Mel headed out on her own and the rest of us kind of moved together in a group. I couldn't make heads nor tails out of the map and had I not followed our little group I'd probably still be wandering around that corn field! All in all it only took us a little more than 30 minutes to complete the maze. We had a blast. Each time we found a clue/question someone would read it outload along with the choice of responses. One of us, (mostly Dave) would respond with an incorrect response trying to throw us all off. We laughed and had a great time.

Yesterday was probably one of the most creative Check Point meetings I've attended since I started working at GCC a year and 1/2 ago. Thanks for your amazing creativity Tom! It was an incredible way incorporate scripture with leadership.

My aprehension and reluctance were totally unfounded.

Gum Girl

We started our second round of Journey classes at Granger Community Church (GCC) last night. We enrolled in Dr Bob's "Spiritual Practices: Prayer" class. The center auditorium was filled to the brim with people eager to absorb all that Dr Bob had to say about prayer.

In his unique, from the heart, amazing way, he captivated us with how we can learn to pray like Jesus and listen for his response. Despite how captured I was with all that Dr Bob had to say I was somewhat distracted at the same time.

Sitting in the row directly in front of us was a family that included a probably junior high age girl. A girl with gum. She also had a pen with a removable cap. The gum and pen became quite the focus of entertainment for her throughout the entire time Dr Bob spoke.



I first noticed the antics about 10 minutes into the session. She had removed the gum from her mouth and was wrapping it around the cap of the pen. The more she stretched the gum the more she was able to wrap around the cap of the pen. She finished the 'wrapping job' and the cap of the pen went into her mouth and back out. Minus the gum.

A few minutes later the gum was back out of mouth and she was rolling it between her fingers until it had be come like a short piece of thick string. Then she pushed it up into the cap of the pen, pulled it back out and popped it back into her mouth.

I don't know if it was her older sister sitting next to her or her mother, whichever, she did nothing. I saw this older person look over at here during the antics a couple of times and just laugh.

I, in the meanhwhile, I'm desperately trying to reel myself in and concentrate on what Dr Bob has to say but perpetually distracted by the "gum olympics" that were going on in front of me. Focus. Focus.

It wasn't long until the gum was out for another rousing round of 'twist around the outside of the cap' However, as instead of the cap being reinserted into her mouth, she meticulously rolled it off the end of the cap and popped the wad back into her mouth.

I managed to take my focus of the girl with the gum and returned my full attention to Dr Bob. I was feverishly taking notes when gum girl caught my attention again.

Apparently the gum was beginning to not come off the end of the cap to the pen so easily now. I notices that her index finger and thumb were now sticking together. Furthermore, she seemed to have this annoyed look on her face. She began to pick off the stick bits of gum from her fingers. I kept seeing her hand move towards her lap. I was mortified. Surely she isn't wiping her fingers on the chair! She repeated this process over and over.
I couldn't watch any more.

Dr Bob wrapped began to wrap things up and showed us some extend research we could to in our handout in regard to prayer through out the rest of the week. When we stood up to leave I couldn't help but to look at the chair in the row in front of me to see if it was covered in gum. It wasn't! God hears our prayers.

Where's the beef.....or pork?

.....apparently in the $700 billion dollar bail out bill! Isn't the problem a little more serious than that. IT'S A $700 BILLION DOLLAR PROBLEM for cryin' outloud!

Perhaps those that voted 'no' the first time have a conscious. Perhaps that those who voted 'no' the first time are really interested in what their constituents have to say. Perhaps those that voted 'no' the first time really want a sound resolultion and not a quick fix.

I dont think I'm among a minority of people who think that adding things like....

•Bicycle commuters. Provides employees who commute by bicycle limited benefits to offset commuting costs. Estimated cost: $10 million over 10 years.

•Children's wooden practice arrows. Exempts wooden practice arrows from excise tax, currently 39 cents. Estimated cost: $2 million over 10 years.

•Film and television productions. Allows more film and television show production companies to use the domestic production deduction. Estimated cost: $397 million over 10 years.

•Commercial fishermen. Allows commercial fishermen and others affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill to average any settlement or judgment-related income over three years. Estimated cost: $49 million over 10 years.

•Motorsports complexes. Extends seven-year cost-recovery period to the end of 2009 for land improvement and support facilities placed in service after Dec. 31, 2007. Estimated cost: $100 million over 10 years.

...to this bill just to get it to pass is the right thing to do. It just sounds like manipulation to me!

Romans 7:8 (The Message)
8-12 Don't you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of "forbidden fruit" out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me.

Is adding 'pork' to the bail out bill intended to seduce lawmakers to be blinded to things within the bill that won't benefit the purpose of the bill.

I've been watching the websites of several people I trust to have sound informaton and feedback on this topic. Among those is Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com). Dave has laid out 3 steps to change the future of this nation. His first step is -

Pray for them to resist a spirit of FEAR and to embrace WISDOM. Even if you don't like them or agree with them, pray for them and tell them you are praying for them. There is a spirit over this problem that must be broken. Also, most of the media personalities are afraid as well and that is affecting their reporting. Pray for fear to be removed from them; they are making this worse.

Dave's FIRST STEP put's God first. Is this nation putting God first or finding solution in a quick fix without him?

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)
13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

I'm not saying the bail out bill is a bad thing. The 'pork' has added another $110 billion dollars to an already uncomprehendable $700 billion. Yes, I think we need a solution quickly. But we need a solution. A solution requires evaluation of not only the problem, but a careful and wisdom filled analysis of the best way to fix it. Adding little teasers to sway a 'yea' vote isn't the means to a sound resolution.

Autumn

Well...it'official, Fall has arrived. How do I know? I couldn't bring myself to wear flip flops and had to wear actual shoes. Cold weather stinks!

Love will never do....

I usually listen to pop music on my IPOD when I'm working out on the elliptical machine. I like upbeat dance-able music. I helps me keep rhythm. And sometimes it's just noise that keeps me going.

As I've mentioned before, I think God speaks to me often during those 40 minutes of cardio. The other day an old Janet Jackson song, "Love will never do without you" came up on my playlist. As I was listening to the words God moved in and turned them from just noise into something applicable to my time with Him.

Our friends think we're opposites
Falling in and out of love

Isn’t that just like the human in us! We fall in and out of love with our heavenly Father at a moment’s notice. Something goes awry, or we let the world wedge its way in between us and God.

They all said we'd never last
Still we manage to stay together

In our hearts we know what is true, we know what is real. We believe it despite our inclinations to drift.

There's no easy explanation for it
But whenever there's a problem
We always work it out somehow
Work it out somehow

Unbelievers say that we’re foolish. They say it’s just a fad. But we know deep down they’re wrong and we cling to God, sometimes by a thread, but we cling.

They said it wouldn't last
We had to prove them wrong
Cause I've learned in the past
That love will never do without you

How easily our focus gets shifted. We’re tempted by things that only provide momentary satisfaction when we’ve known all along that the only lasting satisfaction comes from God. We may not want to replace God, but the same traps are out ther enticing us over and over. What if I stumble? What if I fall?

Never did I have a doubt
Boy it's you I can't do without

But it comes back around to God every time. We know that we cannot do without Him. We know this deep within. It’s in our core. He is our hope.

I feel better when I have you near me
Cause no other love around
Has quite the same ooh ooh (ha ha ha!)
Like you do do do do babe

There is nothing better than connecting with God and having Him near me. The way He makes me feel is uncomparable. I’m protected. I’m loved. I’m cared for…

They said it wouldn't last
We had to prove them wrong

And prove them wrong You did. You rose from the grave. You are infinite.

Mark 16
1-3 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, "Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?" 4-5 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished. 6-7 He said, "Don't be afraid. I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He's been raised up; he's here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there, exactly as he said."

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

Cause I've learned in the past
That love will never do without you

What is your music saying to you?

Friends

The first verse of Michael W. Smith's song "Friends" reminds us that, despite how much we want things to always remain the same, change is inevitable. Jobs change. Relocations happen. Kids grow up and move out.

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
Cant believe the hopes hes granted
Means a chapter in your life is through
But well keep you close as always
It wont even seem youve gone
cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

The way we always thought things would be isn't always true. How we react in those parting moments shapes the next chapter of our lives. Our hearts ache for things we forsake.

And friends are friends forever
If the lords the lord of them
And a friend will not say never
cause the welcome will not end
Though its hard to let you go
In the fathers hands we know
That a lifetimes not too long to live as friends

I hate to see relationships that have blossomed into incredible friendships over the years become damaged or even irreconcilable. I've witnessed more than once in my life, both in my own family and most recently among friends I hold dear to my heart.



Sometimes the pile of bile (aka the crap) gets so distorted that the window of hope gets nailed shut never to be opened.




With the faith and love Gods given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy youll live in
Is the strength that now you show

Faith and love wash away the "crap" that nails the windows of a friendship shut. There is a bond that between a mother and daughter that, when it finds its strength from God, returns to joy. It's my prayer that the bond I know exists between my friends is grasping for the strength from God to survive and live in joy once again. The friendship you shared is not worth a cavern between you.


'Cause friends are friends forever
If the lords the lord of them
And a friend will not say never
cause the welcome will not end
Though its hard to let you go
In the fathers hands we know
That a lifetimes not too long to live as friends

Wettest Day Ever

Saturday went on record as the wettest day ever in Michiana with a record rainfall of 6.43". June 25, 1968 previously held the record of 4.69" in one day. As of 6pm on Sunday the total weekend rainfall in Granger had grown to 10.50 and 11.75 in South bend.



High water levels caused many road closures throughout the area Saturday morning, and caused some damage to area homes.









But our two days of rainfall can't compare to the devastation that hit Texas.












On Granger Community Church's website (www.gccwired.com) you can find a synopsis of the weekend series entitled "Fear" In the brief series description is says "Fear is like an emotional flood that overwhelms our senses..."

This past weekends topic was the Fear of the Economy. Mark Beeson taught us that the firt reason that people desire money is to shelter themselves from pain.

Money couldn't protect the homes of many from the ramifications of the hurricane. It's flooding wrath even spread to the midwest.

Fear is like an emotional flood that overwhelms our senses. Despite the many warnings thousands didn't pay heed and chose to ride the storm out. Officials were asking them to write their social security numbers on their arms, so if necessary, their bodies could be identified.

Fear is like an emotional flood that overwhelms our senses. Is holding on to your home more important than holding on to your life? Mark pointed us to a some key verses in Matthew 6.....26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]? Yet fear causes us to hold on to the "stuff" we have.

The second reason, Mark told us, that people want money is for pleasure and stuff.





But this is what can happen to stuff. Fear is like an emotional flood that overwhelms our senses. We buy and we cry.



God knows we need stuff. The problem that arises is when our desire for stuff becomes greater than our desire for God. There is always an abundance of great information in the Granger Notes portion of our weekend bulletin, but I think these points tied it together well....You don't have to be rich to be happy...You don't have to be poor to be holy...Without self control our yearning capacity will always exceed our earning capacity.

At one point in his message, Mark pointed us to a verse in Proverbs 30 that summed it up well, v30:8-9 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'Or I may become poor and steal,and so dishonor the name of my God.

Fear is like an emotional flood that overwhelms our senses. I wanted to grumble about our never ending rain this weekend. I don't think I will. I don't think I can.