Year In Review: My Top 4 Posts

Okay, I'm a little different. While most people who blog are posting their "Top 5" or even "Top 10" posts for the year I decided to scale back to my "Top 4". It was a very scientific process to choose my top 3 posts. I first had to open my Chrome browser and then choose "2012" from my blog list. It did get more difficult as I then had to read each post that I had written through the year. Yes, I realize that I was a slacker through the year and didn't have that many to choose from, but it was quickly evident that I had my 4 chosen. How? Uhm, I just liked them. Nothing more than that, no hit counts, no popularity search criteria; just my preference on the posts.

So here they are in reverse order, as to build a little suspense:

#4) God's Amazing Grace  - Written on my birthday of this year. I go back through my life and point out the grace of God throughout my life.

#3) Altar-ed Call - After seeing The Rhett Walker Band in concert I had to endure a very extended altar call before being able to purchase a T-Shirt.

#2) A Damaged Testimony - Just some reflections on how a lot of people perceive what a "testimony" is.

#1) The Scope Of your Influence - Yes, I am a huge Duck Dynasty fan. I love that show. The Robertson family uses the platform that God blessed them with to share the Gospel. I just was trying to point out that everyone has a distinct platform as well, or scope of influence, that no one else has and God can and does use that to reach others. Just because we are not millionaires doesn't mean that God can't use you to reach others. Actually that is His most common method, using His body. Plus I linked to clips of Phil and Jase sharing the Gospel before they were famous from their TV show.

Hopefully in 2013 I will be doing a little more writing. Pray for me to be able to do that. Although I am not a "real" writer, I do like to share what God puts in my life and on my heart through my every day circumstances. Hopefully I will be able to share how God is working in the midst of a great trial my family is embroiled in now, but can't at this time due to court proceedings. God has been gracious to me and my family. He continues to extend His yoke and allow us to put our burdens upon Him as He fights for us. He is our Rock and Shelter, He has promised nothing but good to us, even in the face of adversity we know that He is firmly in control and that no attack of the enemy has a chance against His will. We pray for those that seem to be our enemy, even though they do lash out and try to cause pain we still desire peace and to show God's glory through everything. We are not perfect and we have and sometimes still do react out of the flesh, but God still uses that to show us how much we desperately need Him in all aspects of our life - the valleys and the mountain tops. To God Be The Glory! Great Things He Has Done!

The Gifts To The Messiah

Over the past 3 weeks I did a short study with my Sunday School class on the 3 gifts listed that were brought by the Magi (Wise Men) to Jesus in Bethlehem. Admittedly I had thought, "Gold? Yes, I can see that. Frankincense? Uhm....... whatever. Myrrh? What is myrrh anyway?

In our culture we lose what these last two gifts actually are. To the audience that the Gospels were originally written there would have been no denying what these other two, seemingly lesser to us, gifts actually were.

I just wanted to briefly highlight the significance of each of these gifts. This is in no way exhaustive, but I would encourage you to do a deeper study to open the deeper meanings within these three "gifts".

Gold, as we know in our culture, is very valuable. I have seen, in my lifetime, gold increase in value from $39/ ounce to nearly $2,000/ ounce in 2011. That is a large range, but it shows how much value we place on material things. Of course, even in the days of Christ gold had great value, probably more than today as it was much harder to come by. Today we have heavy excavating equipment removing tons of dirt to filter out mere ounces of gold. There are even reality shows, such as Gold Rush, that chronicle the elusive search for the riches contained in the Earth. Just watch an episode or two of this series and you will see just how difficult it is to mine gold. It is not easy. So, I look at how valuable and scarce gold must have been 2,000 years ago and understand that you couldn't walk to your corner Zales and purchase a gold ring or necklace.


Gold in the days of Christ was, for the most part, owned by the elite, wealthy and royalty. So, the gift of gold was to signify that Jesus was royalty, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16). 

Frankincense is one that we lose out on, because it has no perceived "value" in our society. We think, "Oh great, they brought Jesus incense." But when you realize what frankincense was to the audience of Matthew 2:11 it begins to open up a bit and reveal much more.
Frankincense was used in temple ceremonies as part of the worship to God. This was prevalent in the Old Testament, but was also mentioned in the New Testament, Jesus' time, as well. Our understanding of O.T. worship ceremonies is not really good, but the N.T. also uses this same type of worship ceremony (Matthew 2:11). We also know that the name frankincense in the Hebrew language meant "white", which we can also assume stood for purity. Putting all that together allows us to see that the gift of frankincense was an act of worship to Jesus the Messiah.

The last gift on the list was myrrh. This one was always a mystery to me. Even the name sounds odd and the spelling is quite odd in our English spelling. Myrrh is mentioned 16 times in the KJV version of the bible and as many as 19 in other versions (ESV). We know the myrrh was a spice and that it's most common use was as a perfume. Also, it was used during the burial rituals after the bodies were wrapped, the myrrh was applied. This was more than likely done to help mask the odors that would emanate from the body as it decomposed in the tombs. We also know that it was a very valuable commodity in the days the bible was being written.
If you read Matthew 26:6-13 you see the story of a lady that did something that some of the disciples got a little upset about. This lady, in the house of Simon the leper, came to Jesus and poured, what is believed to be, myrrh on the head of Jesus. They began to rebuke this lady for "wasting" the oil that she had poured upon Jesus' head and that it should have instead been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus stopped their rebuke and said; "“Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

We can then start to see that the gift of myrrh was to signify that Jesus would die, that He would be our Sacrifice. The myrrh was somewhat of a prophetic gift to the babe in Bethlehem. The obscure view that we have in the 21st Century would have meant very much to the readers of Matthew 2:11. Our view in this, as a side note to the gifts, means we must always look at the context of whom the bible was written. We cannot try to force into scripture our 21st Century lifestyles and instead should first look at the original audience and their understanding.
So, we now see a whole different and wonderful meaning to the gifts of the Magi. Instead of just simply being gold and a couple other expensive things we can see that each gift pointed to something wonderful about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He was royalty, He was being worshiped and He was our sacrifice. No longer will I look upon the gifts as I have my entire life, I will see their beauty in proclaiming to the world that "God is with us!"

(As a side note: nowhere in scripture are there "3 wise men" listed. This is an assumption made because there were 3 gifts listed. The gifts would also be used by Mary and Joseph as they fled to Egypt to finance their journey and life in Egypt.)

Keep On Truckin'

Day 364 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I took the old truck out for a spin today. Actually I had to since I was buying a new wheelbarrow to do some work around the home.

I quickly realized that I am spoiled to air conditioning, since the only air that is conditioned in the truck is when you have the windows down and are driving down the road. Nothing like hot air blowing around inside of a hot truck. The next thing I realized is I need some sort of cup holder so I can put my beverage in it when driving. See, the truck has no power steering and is a manual shift on the column, which makes it really hard to drive, turn, switch gears and hold a Diet Coke all at the same time. I did have a roll of duct tape in the cab, so that actually did a fine job of serving as a makeshift cup holder today.

I stopped by the church office today and talked with the pastor a little bit and JT and Joseph. I was bragging on how reliable the truck was and how it kicked right on every time. Every time until I went to leave the church today. Talk about embarrassing. Fortunately it was easily seen to be a problem with the belt, which was very loose and was not allowing my alternator to turn, therefore not charging my battery. After being taken to the house by Joseph and JT on an errand they were running I grabbed my tool box and headed back to the church and had it fixed, jump started and back to the house in no time, with nothing harmed but my ego.

The truck is a year older than I am and is still running strong (except for today). I have no complaints about it at all, it is what it is - a truck to haul stuff with. It is 44 years old after all and only has 90,000 miles on it, which is less than some vehicles that are less than 5 years old. It doesn't smoke and it starts every time (99.9% of the time). I am over all happy with the truck and wouldn't change a thing..... well, I probably would add an air conditioner if I could.

I do realize how fortunate we are. We have 3 vehicles in our driveway, a roof over our heads, fresh water at multiple locations in and around the house, a cupboard and refrigerator full of food, clothing enough to last years, several pair of shoes and money in our bank account - all of which are luxurious in light of the majority of the Earth's population. I thank God and praise Him for allowing us to live here and for the things He gives us. I do think sometimes that all of these gifts can be hindrances in our faith. After all we have everything we could ever want or need at our finger tips, so we have less to seemingly depend on God for. Those brothers and sisters sitting in mud huts across the ocean are probably more fortunate than us, as their faith is increased every time God shows Himself in supplying their needs, instead of them just walking to a cabinet and opening a door.

So, reflecting on gifts should be done with thanksgiving of the Giver and not of the "things" given. May God give me the heart to do that and to trust Him for the things I lack, but the others that mentioned have in abundance - faith.

Facebook And Microwaves

Day 363 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Say what you want to about Facebook, but it has been a great joy to me. I am on there every day, but each day offers something new and edifying. I have met people from all over the world, that I would have otherwise never known this side of heaven. I just had the opportunity to pray for a young lady that needs God badly, which I wouldn't have been able to do if not for my little world of Facebook.

Each morning I pull a quote, actually two, one for my page and one for the Real Truth Matters Facebook page. I try to keep these short so people will read them, but do you know how hard it is to put a theological thought into a sentence or less? Yeah, very hard. I keep them short because we have all become accustomed to instant gratification and a desire to get as much information in as little time as possible. This goes right along with the rest of our "microwave society" that wants things fast or doesn't want them at all. We love our instant things, microwave popcorn, instant potatoes, instant pudding, minute rice. We can't get things fast enough to please us.

Maybe things will revert back some day. Probably not, but a guy can hope though, right? I am all about the slow life, well, most of the time anyway.

PS
Blogger was having major issues when I was trying to post this. It is now well after midnight and I have yet to succeed in making the post for today. I will try again in the morning.

Cat-A-Tat

Day 362 in my "year In My Life through Pictures" blog series

This is Chandra/ Allan's cat "Kick". I once again used the nifty iPhone App InstaGram for today's picture. This cat actually has 3 or 4 names, which are 1)Kick 2)Roger 3)Stinky Cat 4)CAT! The last 3 are what I call it from time to time, but since it is a cat it answers to none of them.

I think Roger is the one I call it most. That name comes from the movie "Open Season 2" from a cat that was kind of less than average intelligence and annoying at times, which defines this cat to a "T". Not a big fan of cats anyway, but this cat got off to a wrong foot from the get go. Oh sure, he tries to butter me these days, but it doesn't work. I'm fairly sure that I will remain anti-cat for many good years to come. I'm not even mentioning my allergic reactions to them, which was probably the first reason I never liked the feline family.

Anyway Only 4 more installments of this series and I couldn't be more relieved. A lot of hours have gone into these past 362 days so far. I am ready to retire the concept and pass it along to whoever is willing to stick with it. Feel free to take the concept and do with it what you will.

Knock Knock: InstaGram

Day 361 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I downloaded a new app for my phone, InstaGram. It's a photo app that gives old style looks to pictures taken on my iPhone. Kind of ironic, since we have spent the last few decades actually trying to stop pictures like this through technological advances. But, alas, everything old is new again.

I took the main picture today at a cemetery in Fulton KY, in a cemetery that is right across the street from the cemetery my grandad and great grandparents are buried in. I had to run an errand to Fulton this evening and whenever I am in that area I stop by their grave site. When I was leaving I happen to notice the angel grave marker across the street and thought it looked really neat. There is something about the artwork of grave markers that gets my attention. Sometimes I wonder if I missed my calling to be a stone carver or something because I am so fond of the craftsmanship poured into these works of art.

Sometimes I like to go to graveyards to take photos of the carvings and grave markers. It's not some morbid curiosity by the way, so don't think I am a freak or anything. I can just respect the love that these markers have behind them. Add that to the craftsmanship and there is something that should be appreciated. Plus, who wants their loved one to be forgotten? I am sure most graves get very few visitors, especially those that were at least 2 generations removed. That is probably why families seem to have their "family plot", to carry on the history and genealogy of the family.

This second picture is actually the first picture I took with the InstaGram app. What else would I take a first picture of besides a Diet Coke? Well, I think my first picture in this series was of my wife, so there's the answer. I was just playing around and wanted to see the looks available with this neat little app.

Speaking of first picture of this series, the last will be coming up this weekend. Don't think that I will carry on past it with the series, because I am beyond ready to set this project aside. I do have some stand alone posts in the works, mentally anyway, so stay tuned for those. I am sure that the one main one I am processing will cause some sparks to fly, which is not the effect I am after. I want to only shed light to a area that needs it. I really desire to do it in a manner that will not be meant to offend, but to share truth, so please pray for me in this area. I have a habit of being too blunt and straight forward a lot of the time, which my wife points out quite often.

Scanning The Globe

Day 355 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

These things are really cool. They are QR Codes that can be scanned with your smart phone that can do any number of things. Scan this one to see what it says. First person to reply what it says gets...... absolutely nothing. Sorry, I have a tight budget on this side of the keyboard.

Technology is amazing. To see how far things have come since just my youth have been amazing. Although we didn't have to crank up the phonograph with a handle to listen to music, I have lived over several different types of music players. When I was young we only had a record player, then we added a console stereo unit that had an 8-Track player. While we still had that unit cassettes came out, in which I had to get a cassette adapter to play them in the 8-Track slot. Then came the walkman and car stereos with cassette players, which were the top of the line when I got my drivers license. Next up were CDs when I was about 20 years old, but were too expensive to put a CD player in my car, so I recorded them to cassette for portability. Now we have made the jump to iPods, MP3 players, jump drives and SD/ Micro SD cards that can hold many CDs worth of music on them. It has been amazing. I can even remember telling my son, when he was young, that when he got older he would probably have something about the size of a stamp that he would slide into a stereo for music, so I was right about the memory card.

I wonder what the next 20 years will hold technologically wise. I can only imagine that TVs will be paper thin and you will be able to roll it out on whatever wall you choose. Video games have already advanced to no controllers needed with the XBOX 360, so where those go will baffle me no matter what advancements are made. Wireless seems to be the newest thing, which I was told by the DirecTV installer to be ready for wireless Satellite TV in the next 5 years, no wires and the signal would be broadcast wirelessly through your house.

No time in history has the ability to reach everyone on the planet been able. Satellites and computers can take the Gospel anywhere across the globe. This could very well be the "end of days" as the Lord returns for His bride. I will not set dates, but will say that Day will probably be soon. I am ready, are you? Do you know the true God of the Bible? Have you seen your utter sinfulness before the Holy God of the Universe? Do you realize that just one little lie is enough to damn you for eternity? We are wretched people and in need of a Savior, because we are sinful through and through. We can't make a payment for our sins no matter how hard we try. We can never be good enough to deserve forgiveness. We can never do enough good works to buy our way to forgiveness. We can't do anything except see our state before God and cry out to Him for mercy. Repent and turn from your sinful life and turn to Him. See the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary as the payment for your sins and trust in Him. Only the blood of Jesus can pay for your sins. It is a legal transaction in which Christ takes everything you did on Himself, even though He never once sinned. No prayer will save you. No walk down an aisle will save you. No affirmation by a evangelist or preacher will save you. Only Christ can. Turn to Him. Repent and believe.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I can help you find a solid bible teaching church in your area to start learning what the bible really says about you and me and more importantly what it says about Christ.

Directly Stated

Day 350 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

We had DirecTV installed today..... again. We had it once before and the price started climbing and so we went back to Comcast. One reason we went back to Comcast was because we wouldn't need any additional boxes on each TV. Well, scratch that because Comcast now requires boxes for every TV. This is even for new TVs with digital tuners. To me this is a big issue, because you buy a TV with a digital tuner and you expect to be able to use it. Comcast has different ideas, so we thought that if we had to have a box on every TV that we might as well have Hi-Def boxes and more Hi-Def channels. So, that's it in a nutshell.

All of my evening was filled with the installation process. I rushed home from work to meet Carl, the installation technician. Over the next 7 hours we became kinda of buddies. I helped him as much as I could, I un-packaged the receivers and hooked them to the TVs and waited for him to do his thing with the dish and cables. It was going really smooth until activation time. Things went south quick and stayed there for about 3 hours longer than he anticipated. It all worked out after troubleshooting the system and Carl was on his way. Unfortunately I did not get to share the gospel with him since he was outside or on the phone the majority of the time, but I will one day. I'm going to send a thank you letter to him and in it share the gospel. I am also going to send a letter to DirecTV and let them know how frustrating this job was and yet Carl kept his cool and delivered, above and beyond. I'm going to recommend a raise for him, even though it might be unheeded.

I did get to sow a few seed along the path with Carl today. I pray that God uses them to His glory in whatever way that He can.

Not Feeling It

Day 348 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I have to admit something to you. I am not feeling like writing anything tonight. That's kind of ironic since I am not writing about not wanting to write, but the blog must go on. Or the blog series must go on anyway.

I embarked on this experiment called "Year In My Life Through Pictures" on my birthday last year, July 2nd. As you can tell by the nifty little calendar in the bottom right of your monitor my birthday is 2 weeks and 2 days away. That means that this series will be coming to a close. I am actually a little relieved that it is. I have had some days where I have had to rearrange what I was doing in order to post something, but that's the nature of the beast, as they say. Some days I have struggled to find pictures, some days I had several to choose from, but every day I have had something to write about..... except today. Not really sure what the block is either.

So, today I decided to just do a fun design and post it and tell that I didn't have anything to write about. Original, I know. Not. But should I really try to stumble through busting my brain and "settle" for something? Nah, I didn't think so either. So, this post has been about absolutely nothing, no point other than to fill space and tell you that I didn't write about anything.

So, I am done now. Bye. Maybe tomorrow I will have something interesting to say. Or not.

Old Is The New New

Day 341 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I decided to look around my pictures folder today and came across some files that I had done up earlier in my blogging days. The main picture is one that I thought turned out really nicely with Glenn Beck. The second is one of a few I did with The Hulk and various heretics, this one Joel Osteen. My skillz as a photoshop expert are minimal and I actually didn't use Photoshop one these, I used the free program Paint.Net. I didn't have Photoshop back then and even to this day still use the free Paint.Net program more.

It's funny how you get used to things, for example the Paint.Net program, and then do not like to change to something else. Photoshop is the ultimate photograph/ graphics program, but is pricey. Paint.Net is a free, open-source program that just happens to be what I used for a few years and learned its workings. Photoshop now to me is a little hard to learn, since I know the nuances of the free program. It's not that I don;t want to not change, but I am much more proficient with the Paint.Net program over Photoshop. I do want to be productive with Photoshop as it works better within After Effects, which is nice.

Now, After Effects I am still learning and probably will be from here on out. It is a powerful program and I know I will not learn to do everything I have seen done with it. I have seen some awesome special effects and other things made with After Effects, I have been impressed. I am also a little overwhelmed by the process, but I am learning each time I do something. It is a process and my processing skillz are getting slower with age along with my nerves, so I take it in small doses until my frustration level starts to rise, which means it's time to log off for the evening.

I do keep in the front of my mind the reason for learning After Effects. To glorify God and to bring honor to His Name. I know that if God is in this He will supply whatever I need to accomplish what He wants me to. If I am to do a video, He will give me the know how to put it together. If He wants me to do more advanced things He will supply me with the newer version of the Adobe Suite - CS5.5, which is a little pricey for me right now. But He will supply or He will allow me to flourish with what He has already given to me. I just want to be obedient and not go beyond what He has in store for me.

This is yet another part of my life that He has allowed me to seek Him through. I fail often, but He picks me up and points me back to Him. I need Him every moment of every day and I need to keep focused on the Lord rather than on myself.

The Grill Deal

Day 331 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

It's that time of year again. Time to clean off the grill and start searing some meat. Oh, but wait, our grill is messed up and is only half working. The propane burner is only burning on one side, which means that it is not going to be able to be used as is. I priced a new burner and they clock in at about $30, so with my frugalness and not wanting to repeat the same thing next year I think we will buy a better quality grill.

I thought that a charcoal grill would be nice, since you get a better flavor, Chandra thinks differently and wants the convenience of a gas grill. I admit that gas is much easier to work with, but you do not get the full flavor that charcoal affords. I think that convenience will win out this round though. I can always take the nonworking grill and make it into a charcoal grill and use it too. Wonder if I can make it into a smoker somehow so we can smoke our own meat. May be too much trouble for that, but I am liking the recycling into a charcoal grill idea.

Tomorrow is the kickoff to the official summer season. People will be out at the beach, boating and grilling. It is actually Memorial Day though, but it is now just used as a marker date and an extra day off for people. According to Wikipedia, Memorial Day was first known as "Decoration Day" and was a day that was set aside by formerly enslaved African-Americans to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars. The first "known" observance was in 1865 and the name did not morph into "Memorial Day" from "Decoration Day" until 1882.

I do think we should remember those that gave all for this country. We should also be thankful for those currently serving and readily tell them thank you whenever we can. Please take the time this Memorial Day to thank a veteran or a currently enlisted soldier for their willingness to serve and protect us. It is an honorable thing to be a soldier and I greatly appreciate each and every soldier's many sacrifices, as well as their families. So, officially to every soldier current or past I say "THANK YOU".

Reese's Are My Friend

Day 328 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Ahhhh. Reese's Eggs. These little morsels of goodness have been in my direct line of view since my wife gave them to me for Easter. She knew that I was on a diet, but she also knew these are my favorite. I have been good though. These are still sealed up and I haven't touched them since putting them on the shelf on my desk, right above the TaxCut box.

I have always loved Reese's Cups, but the addition of the Reese's Eggs years ago really hooked me. I have really had to restrain myself from eating these, but keep telling myself one day I will have reached my goal and then I will eat one. This is looking like it might be a while, so I am looking at different options. The main reason is I hate to waste anything and wasting these delicacies would be a travesty. So, #1) I could give them to the boys to devour. #2) I could freeze them for my day that I reach my goal, thereby rendering my weight loss stopped and actually reversing for a while #3) I could eat them in one sitting now, get fed up with my lack of self control and gain a renewed spirit concerning my dieting.

I guess I just like to punish myself in the time being though. Looking at these every day is not easy, but I know that I don't have to. Maybe subconsciously I am testing myself and tenacity to follow my dieting plan. Or maybe I am just a glutton for punishment. All I know is that I have been a little over 4 months without sugar, bread and all other forms of carbs.

This is a trying time, but with God I am achieving the weight loss I started out desiring. I am down quite a bit and get compliments all the time. With those compliments I try to share with everyone that God has been doing this, not me. My willpower pulled an Elvis and left the building a few years ago, so I heavily lean on God for strength through the desires. It may sound trivial to some, but total dependence is what He wants from us. I am not perfect at this by any means, but through His love and grace I am learning more daily on how to. His grace is sufficient. I need to remind myself of that constantly.

David Crowder Band Calling It Quits

Day 324 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Oh David Crowder Band, you hit us with bad news today. This year will mark the release of their last CD and last tour as a band. You can read about it on the DC*B website, so I will not go into detail here.

Since being converted I fell in love with Christian music. The first Christian CD I ever bought was Jeremy Camp's "Carried Me: The Worship Project". I listened to that nonstop and learned the songs forward and backwards. Even now when I hear a different version, a different arrangement and/ or from a different artist I always think they are doing it "wrong" because it's not how Jeremy recorded it. After Jeremy Camp I fell in love with the music of The David Crowder Band. I thought lead man, Crowder, looked mighty funny with his Q-Tip hair do (or hair don't is better) and his long gotee. But the lyrics to their songs, the unique sound of their music and the innovative things they did always brought me back for more. I have all of their releases, including the re-mixes and live releases that are normally the songs off of the release directly before those. I even have the CD "All I Can Say" by the DC*B forerunner group from the University Worship Band with backing vocals by Robbie Seay. I have yet to find a copy of the first release of "Pour Over Me". If anyone has a copy of this I would be interested in purchasing it, so send me a message.

Over the years since my conversion God has awakened me to the music I listen to. He instantly took away the secular music that had root in me, then over the following years He has slowly shown me that not all professing Christian bands are releasing actually God honoring music. I would say that a lot of the professing Christian bands and singers are probably deceived about their salvation like the rest of the false converts are. I do have a few knowledgeable friends of the CCM industry and I have heard stories about groups that profess Christ, yet have their groupie stories and drinking stories while on tour. Some really ungodly activities from some well known groups. Also, if you really stop and listen to lyrics every now and then of the songs played on the radio, or even in your own collection, you will soon discover that most of the songs are really man focused and only mention God or Jesus as a side note. The David Crowder Band has not been one of these questionable bands to me.

I can almost say with certainty that we will still hear from David Crowder and I would also guess that other members will make appearances here and there. I know that the "split" is under good terms and that there is no bad blood between any of them, they are all buddies and I think that will be displayed from here on out as they help each other out with their respective projects. I am just not too happy to hear we only will get one more release of new material and especially one more tour. I have seen them a few times and really enjoyed it each time. I am also trying to figure out how in the world I will be able to make it to any of the dates on the "7 Tour" because none of them are within a good driving distance of Paducah KY. I think Indianapolis is the closest at just over 5 hours away, which would mean that a hotel would be necessary as well as a vacation day to get there in time to not be rushed or risk being late.

I bid the band adieu. I thank you all for your contributions, your music, your humor and your down to earthedness (yep, just made up a word there). I will pray for you all on this last endeavor and beyond, when you cross my mind. God has used your music and I believe He will continue to use it for many years to come. I love you guys and your music will always be a part of my testimony to the Lord.

Day Skipper

Day 318 in my "Yer In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

It happened. I missed a day in this series. After 317 days, I missed yesterday. I have an excuse though, or rather a reason, as I don't want to put blame anywhere but on me. I got wrapped up in working on the sermon jam I have been working on for a while now. I was having rendering issues and stayed up to 1:30 this morning trying to figure it out.

Turns out that I had a few other issues with the video too. I changed the parameters on a couple of the elements within the video and messed up a section of the video. So, I changed that back and added credits at the end of the video. Really I added them at the beginning and the end, but somehow the beginning got cut off, so I'll have to get that fixed again.

Seems like this has turned into a really good lesson for me on some basics of After Effects. Hopefully I will not make some of these mistakes going forward and will know how to adjust the settings properly. I just have to keep in mind why I am doing this in the first place and not dwell on my mistakes. If God is in this, then God will take control of it. I pray that I am not wasting my time and efforts in this if it is not within His will to do so. I must always seek Him through this process and give the results to Him.

I do think that the newer version of After Effects, Premier Pro and Photoshop would be a major plus to have. I believe the process would not have as many hiccups and headaches as I have now. The newer technology is really mind blowing and the intuitive programs that Adobe puts out is really impressive. I have been trying to find out if Adobe offers a similar discount for non-profits organizations as it does for education, but come up short. So, if anyone happens to read this that knows please let me know. Also, if you feel the need to purchase the CS5.5 Production Premium suite for me I would be more than happy to let you :).

Time Is Ticking Away

Day 307 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

It was bound to happen. After 306 days of writing a daily post I almost missed a posting. I was about to call it a night and hit the hay when I looked at the clock, 11:55 PM. That is really late, especially when I have to get up at 5:30AM, but it makes it even later when I have only 5 minutes to make a post.

I've been working on a "sermon jam" for Real Truth Matters and time gets away quickly when I get engrossed in the project. Granted, I should have been finished with the project a couple of weeks ago, but a lot has been going on in my neck of the woods these days. I will probably be finished with it this weekend, so keep your eyes out for it on Facebook and also on the Real Truth Matters website. I think it is turning out fairly decent for my first go at it.

This is a real learning experience. I am learning a lot about these programs and I am learning a lot about patience as I sometimes mess up an hours worth of work in a single keystroke. It is also frustrating because I can see how I want to do something in my head, but translating that through After Effects is another thing all together.

I must go now so I can post this before my time limit for the day is up. Please check out the Real Truth Matters website and all of the free resources available. I highly recommend the "History Of The Modern Gospel" video series that has been produced by my dear brothers at RTM.

A Monumental Day

Day 299 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

This is a monumental picture today. Not because of the content necessarily, but by the one that took the picture, the same one that sent it. My mother. My brother gave her a cell phone a few months ago, which she is still figuring out the nuances of, like making calls and answering calls. I love my mom, but when it comes to technology if it has more than a on/ off button it is over her head. For an example: she figured out over the past 12 months or so how to program her VCR (yes, VCR) to record certain shows at certain times, AKA program the timer. For the previous 25 years or so she had me set it for her, even after a power outage she would ask me to come out and reset the programming. So, you can see that she is not rally tech savvy.

Since she received the cell phone from my brother I have been trying to show her how to send text messages. Now that the water is encroaching on her property again I showed her how to send picture messages, several times. I showed her once again a couple of days ago when we went out to get some of her things she didn't want to risk losing to flood waters if they got to her house. I walked her through each step at least a couple of times, but she did not really seem that interested in learning. I told her that instead of explaining to me where the water level was that she could just message me a picture and show me.

Fast forward to today at about 8:15 this morning and the picture above showed up in a message on my phone. I was blown away. Not by the water level, but that she actually sent me a picture message. I thought, "Yes, she figured it out". I found out later that she had actually gotten a neighbor kid to help her with it, but anyway it was a milestone moment for the less than technologically adept mom'o'mine.

I think I will once again start pushing the idea of a DVR to replace her VCR now that she is making leaps into the 21st century. Maybe I should help her with baby steps though and not rush it too fast. Even though a DVR is much easier to work than a VCR, for her it would be like me trying to learn Spanish in a single 5 minute class. But, anything is possible and she might pick it up rather quickly. She is not one to try new things very readily.

On a serious note, please do pray for her and her neighborhood as the flood waters encroach. As of right now we are supposed to be fairly rain free for a few days, but then it is supposed to start again. Pray that the water stays at bay and that she remains safe through this time. She is well supplied, so food and drink are not a need, but safety and well being is. Right now she would need to be reached by a john boat or a really high sitting truck, neither of which I have immediate access to. I know that God will do what is best and I totally trust Him. So please pray for her and that God will reveal Himself to her in new ways through this time.

Quality? Who Needs It?

Day 294 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I was looking for a video tp post on Facebook of two different song. The first was "Sunday" by Tree63, which I thought would be a good Good Friday post, seeing how Sunday is coming. Then I was looking for "Amazing Love" by the Newsboys and/ or Chris Tomlin and quickly discovered something, that their is a lack of good quality videos of Christian songs on Youtube. I might just have to remedy that. I think just a basic computer program that automatically puts your chosen pictures into a slide show would be better than the video portion of these videos.

I am not quite sure, however, what the copyright laws are. I do know that some videos that people upload with certain songs gets the audio disabled by Youtube. I assume that their technology is similar to the iPhone app "Shazam", which allows you to capture small portions of songs and then tells you the name, performer and gives you a handy link to buy the MP3 version of the song. Great technology and actually kind of impressive.

So, where do I start? Maybe with these 2 videos that I mentioned. I'm sure it would be a great undertaking to make videos that would actually compliment these songs and the thousands of others on Youtube. Who knows, I might just start playing around for the practice of using the great programs that I am fortunate to have.

Old Dead Guys

Day 290 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

The picture today is of the inside of a book I just purchased off of Ebay. If you do not recognize who this is, it is Charles Haddon Spurgeon, also known as "The Prince Of Preachers". A very influential pastor from days gone by.

The title of this book is "Sermons of the Rev. C.H. Spurgeon Of London". It was published in 1858, which was still during Spurgeon's life time. I have not read the book, so don't ask me about it yet. I do know it is available online for free through the Google Books website, which is great, because I do not really want to risk messing up further a book that is 153 years old. The book is not perfect by any stretch, some water marks, yellowed pages, the spine is missing and replaced by some kind of tape. Overall though, 153 years and it is still readable is a major feat in itself. I am, however, not sure if the signature in the front is an actually signature or if it was printed. I am leaning toward printed, but who knows, it might be the real thing.

I highly recommend checking out the "old dead guys" and reading their sermons. Examine how God centered they were and it will open your eyes a bit to how man centered a lot of messages are these days. Spurgeon, Wesley, Newton, Luther and Flavel would be some place to start. A good website that has several of these "old dead guy" messages is Puritan's Sermons . This would be an excellent website to start your delve into the mind of yesteryear.

Out With The Old

Day 288 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Another "Free Dump Day" has come and gone here in Paducah. Getting ready for today started, for me, on Thursday evening. I had originally planned that taking a vacation day on Friday would be the best time to start loading stuff up. We ended up having a huge chance for rain for Friday, so I started loading Thursday evening and covered the truck load up with a tarp. Good thing I heeded the weather forecast, because it rained - and it rained a lot.

I ended up making 2 runs to the dump, which saved us about $50 in fees. It was a fairly painless process and I only had to wait with the first load, because everyone in front of me had big trailers full of trash and debris. No big deal, because 15 minutes gave me time to take the tarp off of the truck and quietly watch the goings on.

My picture today was taken while I was waiting for the go ahead to pull into my designated drop off location. These workers were the ones taking the appliances that people were disposing of. Honestly, I didn't see these people working very much while I set there for my 15 minute wait. Not saying that they didn't do anything, but for that 15 minutes they were highly overpaid. The other workers were very friendly and helpful and complimented my old truck. I even had one guy ask me if I wanted to sell it on my second trip, which I declined to do.

I completed the tasks I set out to do this morning. The rest of the day was spent with my beautiful wife and the evening with the whole family. All the boys were here, including Matt, who brought Emily over to visit. She is really showing a lot now at 30 weeks along. So, counting baby Elliott, we had 7 folks here for dinner and a little talking. It was a great day and I thanked God for His provisions throughout the day.

Looking forward to tomorrow now, awaiting what God has in store for services. He is doing something within our body and it is wonderful to see His hands in each family at Oak Grove.

Flavor Of The Day Limeaflower

Day 283 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog sereis

On my diet I do not have very many options when it comes to things to satisfy my sweet tooth. I suppose if I had not fulfilled my sweet tooth cravings so much in my past I would not be in the condition that I am in currently. But, I do still crave sweets and I do need some kind of release from that, so I have recently discovered sugar free pudding and have been partaking of that yummy treat lately.

While looking at the pudding choices I saw the sugar free Jell-O right next to the pudding and decided to get some of that too. It's actually not Jell-O, but the store brand, so I may get in trouble if I keep referring to it as Jell-O, but what else do you call it? Like a Q-Tip, what else do you call the sticks with cotton on the ends of them?

Tonight I decided to make up some lime Jell-O and had to follow the directions because I can't recall ever making Jell-O before. I was moving along fine, boil a cup of water, stir for 3 minutes, add cold water, chill, add fruits or vegetable. Vegetables? In Jell-O? Who would do a thing like that? What kind of vegetable is proper for Jell-O? What vegetable compliments lime Jell-O? Since I'm on a low carb diet can I add green beans to my orange Jell-O without it clashing? How about cauliflower to the lime flavor?

I've really wracked my brain trying to figure this out. Can anyone please fill me in on this conundrum? I know I may not be the best cook in the world, but c'mon. Next thing someone will want to put something like carrots into a cake and pass it off as good.