Happy Birthday Mom

Today is a very special day.

Today would have been my mom's 95th birthday.

Yes.

You read that right.

95 years old.

My sister and I were born to my parents somewhat late in life.

That did not mean that we were "mistakes" or were not loved by our parents.

It just means that they were older than our friends parents.

And that was not a problem.

My mother had many characteristics and attributes that were strong examples to me.

My mom had a very strong love for the Lord.

She loved the Lord with all of her heart, mind, body and soul (cf. Mark 12:30).

On November 25, 1986 my mother passed away.

I had gone to pick up some things from her home as we were preparing for Thanksgiving.

I had knocked and knocked on her front door with no answer.

I knew that something was wrong.

I used my key and went inside.

I found her on the floor where she had died the night before.

My mother had many physical problems and everyone of them are gone.

She no longer has any pain or discomfort.

And most of all she is with the One that she loved and lived her life for.

I know that even though my mother is

absent from the body she is present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).

The Passing Of Another Birthday

I am glad that birthdays only come once a year.

If they came more often than that then they would loose

that fuss and special warmth of being loved by your family.

I began my birthday this year with a four day weekend.

Yes - you heard right.

A four day weekend.

We had a special dinner at home of Suf & Turf.

Missy picked up a steak

and we had some shrimp in the freezer.

The results were a meal that was totally amazing.

After dinner was gift time.

My family gave me two cds

("Monster Monster" by the Almost and

"Response" which is Phil Wickham's new release.)

I also got a 3G Kindle with a boatload of books my wife

had loaded for me.

It was a grand time of celebration,

hanging out with my wife and daughter,

and going to church at the end of a nice long weekend.

Honey Is Gone

Honey is a 1997 Ford Escort.

She has been a very reliable vehicle.

With very few problems she has run like a top.

She has been like a family member.

We bought Honey in 2002 from a car lot in Fort Worth, TX.

We had a pick-up truck that we had sold and we needed something to replace it with.

That was when we found Honey and bought her.

We have been preparing to take Mercy out on her maiden voyage

(go back a few posts to "Meet Mercy") and we have been downsizing.

It is not always easy to do that.

It was time for Honey to go.

My friend Ivan wanted to buy Honey for his mom in the Texas panhandle.

I gave him a price and he took it.

On Monday Honey left us.

Ivan and Hannah came and drove Honey away.

I do not know when Honey will return to Texas.

I think Hannah wants to keep her.

Good bye Honey. We will miss you.

2011 Men's Retreat

This past weekend I went to the 2011 AZ Calvary Chapel Men's Retreat.

It is held each year on the first weekend in November.

The theme this year was Abiding In Christ.

It was an amazing time of teaching and worship as we covered John 15:1-17 in depth.

This was my fifth year to attend the retreat.

Normally the weather is really nice and sunny.

But this year the weather was a little different.

On the way to the retreat from Grand Canyon

I fought really high winds all the way there.

On Friday night as we were

worshipping and the

teachers taught there was a massive rain storm.

Then overnight the snow came in.

But the weather did not slow down the teaching or the worship.

A good time was had by everyone.

The Lord did some amazing things in many lives.

Afterwards many of us headed over to In-N-Out Burgers for lunch.

It was fun to see the place overrun by a bunch of believers.

We just couldn't get enough of that good fellowship.

I must admit that I am already looking forward to next year.

Meet Mercy

Please welcome the newest member of our family.

This is Mercy. She is a 29 ft AlpineLite.

We picked her up a couple of weeks ago.

We will escape the winter months at the Grand Canyon with her.

Her name is from Lamentations 3:22-23.

Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

She is a picture of God's mercy and a stark reminder of how faithful He is.

We are looking forward to heading out this winter.

It Came In The Mail

In the late 1980s I heard The Choir for the first time and went nuts over their music. The first time I saw them in concert was 1990. They were touring to support "Wide-Eyed Wonder." I remember being totally blown away. The music was relevant and the lyrics were not shallow. I was hooked for life and I began to look for all of their music.

Last year The Choir recorded an acoustic version of one song from each of their albums. The result is "de-plumed."
This year Derri Daugherty stepped up to the plate and released an instrumental album of atmospheric guitar work entitled "Clouds Echo In Blue" and this is his chance to shine. This is a beautiful album of instrumental music that is perfect for those cold nights when all you want is a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.

It is always good to open packages that come in the mail.

Good-Bye Bill

In February of 2008 we bought a cargo trailer.

Since it is our custom to name everything he got the title of

Wild Bill.

Wild Bill actually got used a whole lot.

He made a few trips with us

but he was used for storage more than anything else.

Bill recently got a face lift inside.

We painted his walls white and the floor red.

He actually looked pretty nice.

Then he got sold.

Wild Bill has moved down the street to a new family.

Who (or what) will be sold next?

We have sold Tex, (our camper)

and now Wild Bill!

Stay tuned. It looks like we may be selling

a long time family member.