Major League Baseball Predictions

As the season starts to wind down, I am going to go ahead and make my MLB awards predictions for Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Winners, MVP, and Manager of the Year.

First of all, Rookie of the Year:

American League- Justin Verlander RHP for Detroit
National League- Prince Fielder 1B for the Brewers (he's going to be a stud)



Cy Young Winners:

American League- Johan Santana for the Twins (come on, he is the league leader in just about every category).
National League- If I had to make a guess, probably Chris Carpenter for St. Louis.



Manager of the Year:

American League- I can't go with Jim Leyland. Yeah, he helped turn Detroit around, but he's about to blow it completely. I'm going to go with a strong season end by Joe Torre for the Yankees (and not just because I'm a Yankee's fan).

National League- This is a toss up between Willie Randolph for the Mets and Joe Girardi for Florida, but I think I'll go with Willie Randolph.


MVP:

American League- Well, not to play favorites, but I'm going to have to go with Derek Jeter for the AL MVP.

National League- Toss up between Ryan Howard for Philadelphia and Albert Pujols. I say Pujols goes two years in a row.

Sprint, DirecTV, Gatorade?

Ah, the Titans. Used to be, teams were afraid. No one wanted to go play in Adelphia. Now, the Jets are up 16 to 8 on my Titans. I'm taking a moment to blog because I'm getting frustrated with my boys.

However, throughout the game, I've noticed something that i think may get old soon. I have never been a University of Tennessee fan, but I've always loved Peyton Manning. Let's admit it, he was robbed when he didn't get the Heisman (it was only because he was in the SEC, and all the voters hate the SEC).

Now, I love Peyton (except when the Colts play the Titans). But today, I have seen about 11,000 Peyton Manning commercials. So far, he's had commercials for Gatorade, for Sprint, and for DirecTV. The newest Gatorade commercial portrays Peyton erupting out of a shell (similar to the ones the Gremlins hatched out of when they ate after midnight).

Peyton is great, but do the NFL games all really have to be brought to us by Peyton?

Watch Out for Aliens

Ever since I was a little boy, I haven't really been scared of much. I never really was all that scared of the dark. I wasn't afraid of clowns or spiders. The only thing I was ever scared of was aliens. Yup, that's right, aliens. I attribute that to a lot of episodes of Unsolved Mysteries on Wednesday nights after church, the show Amazing Stories which used to come on Sunday nights, and the fact that I swear there were aliens in our backyard.

I've always been scared of them as long as I can remember. Now of course, why aliens would come all this way to earth just to freak us out is beyond me. It just creeps me out. So on Wednesday night of this week, I did a class based upon my fear of Aliens.

You remember that movie Signs? I loved it, and hated it all at the same time. There were plenty of great spiritual applications though in that movie. Let me share my favorite.

Do you remember in that movie when they had boarded up their home, and headed down to the basement to tough it out? They placed a pick axe in front of the door, and hoped that would keep out the aliens (they can travel light years to earth but can't open a door?). The little boy, Morgan, said that the aliens would be good problem solvers, and would find a way in. Sure enough, the basement used to have a coal shaft in it. As Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix looked around for it, Morgan was standing in front of the shaft, and an alien grabbed him from behind. Just as Morgan said, they found a way in.

You know, Satan does the same thing. He's a great problem solver. Just when we think we're safe, in the privacy of our own home, protected by locked doors, alarms, and whatever else we may have, Satan finds a way in. We protect our hearts by going to church, participating in small groups, reading our Bibles and praying, but Satan still finds a way in.

And you know what the sad thing is? We aren't easily scared of the power that Satan has. We jump and scream at scary movies, but we don't flinch at all when we read of the fact that Satan is alive and well in the world.

Remember what kills the aliens in the movie Signs? Yeah, Water. I though it was cheesy as well. These terrible aliens are hurt by water. They have poison gas flowing through their bodies, but water will destroy them.


About the only thing, however, that will destroy the presence of Satan in our lives is...well, water. Being buried in Christ in the waters of Baptism cleanses our souls, our bodies, our lives. That water, which symbolizes the blood of Christ, is the one thing Satan can't deal with. It drives him away.

At least for a while. Remember, we said Satan was a good problem solver. Becoming a Christian doesn't make you exempt from Satan. Satan can, and will find a way back into your lives. Be watchful, Satan goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Satan is real, but my Jesus beats him every time.

What kind of day will today be?

Last night was our first edition of Primetime Plus, an expanded version of our regular Primetime Wednesday Nights in the Guntersville Youth Ministry. It was a great class with a pretty good turnout. We'll be doing that every first Wednesday of the month, so make sure you bring a friend when you come!

Today, the television repair people are coming to look at our television. If you want to see what our television is doing, click HERE. It really looks like a little kid scribbled on our television. I'm anxious to see what causes this.

Our DirecTV issue is still not resolved. They told me now in order to fix it, I have to reset the hard drive on my DVR unit. That means, all the shows I have recorded to it will be erased. Sigh, that angers me a little, but its just a tv show.

Last night, I was watching Baseball Tonight, and they did the Top 10 Webgems of all time. Ozzie Smith had two of the top ten, including number 1. Check out their top defensive plays for each major league team HERE.

Prediction for the Bama game this weekend:

Alabama 35 Vanderbilt 14
Tennessee 50 Air Force 7
Auburn 24 Mississippi St. 14

Titans 21 New York Jets 18

Any thoughts?

Olive Branch, MS: A Thorn In Our Flesh

I just talked with our real estate agent. Her name is Billye, and she's a really nice lady. She's been trying her hardest to sell our home. Trouble is, no one has made an offer. Everyone says its a great home, colors are great, nice yard, etc., but only one or two have even made an offer.

Its been on the market now almost 3 months. I don't want to pay another mortgage payment, but it looks like we may have to. That is until just now. You see, there's a woman from up north who has looked at our house and LOVES it. She just hasn't made an offer because she's waiting for her daughter to look at it with her.

Well tomorrow they have an appointment to look at it together, after two weeks of trying to get it put together.

I know I ask you all to pray a lot for me, but please say a special prayer tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night that this lady will make an offer on our house, and that it will be an offer that we can afford and live with. It really is a source of stress in our lives that we want to get rid of, and we're ready to close that chapter of our life.

Thanks for the prayers!

Titans, Yankees, and The Crimson Tide

Well, every year all great Sports Fans hope that all of their teams will win the big games. I always love this time of year -- when NFL is starting up, the college season is starting up, and the heat of the baseball season is rising.

So let's take a look at my teams:

The New York Yankees:
After Carl Pavano withheld that he was in a car wreck and broke several of his ribs, I'm beginning to have doubts that the Yankees are going to make it. They do awesome by destroying the Red Sox 5 games, and then start losing to Seattle. This morning they said on ESPN that they possibly could clinch home field advantage on Tuesday, but I doubt it.

The Alabama Crimson Tide:
Well, without Brodie Croyle, and the fact that they are picked to be 38th this year, it looks on the surface like a bad season. I just can't help but think that Mike Shula will have some good plays drawn up, and we'll surprise a few. I don't think we'll be great, but I don't think we'll be last in the SEC.

The Tennessee Titans:
Its not looking good. Last night, they signed Kerry Collins, an old washed up quarterback from the Raiders. Billy Volek is good, but not good enough to be a leader. Vince Young is 2 or 3 years away from being decent in my opinion. We have thugs on defense that can't stay out of jail (Pacman Jones has visited 2 times in 2 years). We cut Steve McNair, and about the only decent players left are defensive linemen Haynesworth and Bullock. Is it time that we maybe think about a new coach? I love Jeff Fisher, but he hasn't done much in the past few years. Or is it Bud Adams fault, for wanting to micromanage the team?

SIDE NOTE:
My boy Ndudi Ebi, one of my students from Westbury Christian School in Houston, is back in the NBA. He was signed by the Dallas Mavericks a few weeks ago. He was drafted first round right out of high school by the Timberwolves, but didn't fare so well, and was cut a two years later (even though he had had guaranteed contract money of about 3 million...sigh...i'm in the wrong field..)

A week for prayers

It seems truly that when it rains it pours. There have been many who have been on my heart this past week. I know it would be easy to have a blog dedicated to just prayer requests, but that was not what this was ever intended to be. However, this past week it has been the thrust of many of my posts.

I have another prayer request to add. My mother, Elaine Widick, was put in the hospital on Friday night with a pain near her abdomen. Ended up being her appendix, and she was in and out in a day or two. They kept her in for an extra day due to some extra swelling, but she is now recovering and should be fine.

I knew something was up on Friday evening when I got the message from my father. Kristen and I were at Walmart ( I know, real exciting Friday night, huh?), and I had a voicemal from my father. Two things set me off that there was a problem. First, my dad never calls me on a Friday night at 8:00 in the evening. Second, whenever he leaves me a message, he always says "Call me back when you can, everything is fine, I just needed to ask you something". This time, it was "I'll try to reach you at home also, but whenever you get this message, I need you to call me".

Call me crazy, but I felt like something was going on around 6 on Friday night, but couldn't put my finger on it.

Update on Little Max Julian, he took a turn for the better and is recovering fine, and all the doctors seem to think he's going to be fine.

And just on a side note, we've been here in Guntersville for almost a month now, and my life couldn't be any happier. We have a great home, a great church family, awesome teenagers, and great parents.

Still another prayer request

I know most of you who read this blog don't know them, but please pray for the Julian Family. Kelly (Stewart) Julian and her husband John. Their new son, Max, is having some difficulties with bleeding on both sides of his brain. He has also been having seizures and blood sugar problems. You can visit a website for support of Max by clicking HERE.

God truly is great, and will hear all of prayers offered up by so many. I would like you also to continue to pray for my brother, Marty. He suffered a heart attack about 2 months ago, and is still recovering. He is at home, and is still weak. He is going through some rehab, and with prayers and determination, he will recover fully.

And while we're at it, continue to pray for our sister Patty Ezell here at Guntersville, C.W. Barnes at Maple Hill, and for his daughter Rachel and their baby.

Prayer Request Update

The other day I asked everyone to pray for Patty Ezell. She basically had pancreatic cancer, and was going to have surgery to remove it because they did not think it had spread to her liver.

Yesterday, she went to Vanderbilt to have surgery. When they did the surgery, they inserted a small camera before they did everything. They found two very small white spots on her liver, meaning the cancer had spread.

They went ahead and cancelled the surgery, and have scheduled chemotherapy to help remove the spots. At this moment, they're not exactly sure what is going to happen, but the news we got yesterday was not what we were hoping for. She came home last night, and will be going back to Vanderbilt to start chemo soon.

Please continue to pray for her.

On a side note, I heard also about a man who is a really special guy. C. W. Barnes is having some complications due to Diabetes, and is having a hard time dealing with it. He was in the hosptial yesterday going over some options he may have in dealing with one of his legs.

C.W.'s daughter, Rachel, a girl who I grew up with and went to school with, has a young baby who is having some complications as well. The child is scheduled to have surgery in October to fix some problems with her skull. Her skull is fusing too fast, and if not corrected, will cause brain damage in the child.

Please say a special prayer for the entire family.

The One and Only New York Yankees

Hey, you can hate them all you want, but the Yankees keep Major League Baseball interesting. I love listening to people complain about the Yankees, and I love defending them. You know that if you're team could afford A. Rod, you'd take him. You know that if you could have a 1 through 5 hitter lineup of Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, and Alex Rodriguez that you would love it.

What I'm just stoked about now is that the Yankees just completed a FIVE GAME SWEEP over their division rivals the Boston Red Sox. How great it feels!

So now as I look back at my predictions earlier in the year, I see that they are going south. The Yankees will win, but the Red Sox probably will not win the Wild Card. I had picked the Yankees, the White Sox, and the Athletics to win, with the Red Sox as the Wildcard. In the National League, I picked the Marlins, Padres, and Cardinals to go, with the wildcard being the New York Mets.

How am I doing? Well, As of right now, the Yanks, the A's, and the Tigers would go, with the White Sox being the Wildcard. I think the Red Sox truly have lost their spot, but the Twins are still in the running for that 4th spot.

Over in the National League, if they played post season today, it would be the Mets, The Cardinals, and the Dodgers, with the wildcard being...? Cincinnati is leading the wildcard race now, but ...

So now, I bring to you my near the end of the season predictions, updated slightly:

American League:
Division Winners: New York, Oakland, and Detroit
Wildcard- Minnesota Twins

Detroit beats Minnesota, New York Beats Oakland

New York beats Detroit because Detroit is inexperienced in post season play

National League:
Division Winners: New York, Cincinnati, and LA
Wildcard- St. Louis (Jason, I know you hate that, but Cincinnati is on fire lately)

New York beats St. Louis, LA beats Cincinnati

LA beats New York

World Series:
New York Yankees vs. LA Dodgers

New York wins 4 games to 2

Am I crazy, or do you think this might work?

Prayer Request

Tomorrow morning, a dear sister in Christ here in Guntersville is undergoing surgery at Vanderbilt. Her name is Patty Ezell. Her and her husband Petty were on the hiring committee when I was interviewed. They have a granddaughter, Besty, in my youth group.

Patty was told a few months ago that she had cancer in her liver area, and it had spread, and that she was not a candidate for surgery. Her and Petty went all over, even sending test results up to New York to see if they would operate on her. Everyone turned her down.

Finally, a member here who is an ER doctor suggested she have a liver biopsy, thinking that the cancer may have not yet spread to her liver. Results came back negative, and that opened her up to be able to be a surgery candidate. Their daughter-in-law, who lived in Texas, came to visit them for a while. She went to Vanderbilt, made some calls, and got on a list for a doctor who performs this rare surgery Patty has to have 2 or 3 times a week. Most doctors may perform this procedure once or twice a year.

Here sat a woman who was basically told to go home and live with the fact she wasn't going to make it. She and her husband did not give up, and kept on fighting with the doctors.

She's going to have surgery tomorrow morning, and it will be a 6 hour or more procedure. She'll be there recovering for about 10 days. She'll get to come home for a about 10 days or so, and then she goes back up to Vanderbilt for 5 1/2 weeks straight for chemotherapy, everyday.

Patty, you're one of my heroes, I know many who read this blog will add you to their prayer list.

Blogging from home??

Hey everyone. I am now officially able to blog from home. For the first time in our married lives, we have purchased internet access for the house. Kristen always had to check her email from the office, either or before or after church, or we'd have to make a special trip for her to be able to do so.

So now, after almost three years, we've got the DSL internet package at the home. Its sort of weird, since I've never really been able to do this at home. Hopefully now, those days that I'm too busy to blog at the office, I'll be able to do so here.

Another thing to take notice of is a new link on the right hand side. Check out the link to Jonathan McKnight. He works in Huntsville with computers of some sort, and was one of the groomsmen in my wedding. His father, Gary, was my Choral director in college and conducted our wedding ceremony as well.

There's a lot of excitement in the air also at church. We're about to begin moving into the new adult eduction wing and fellowship hall. We'll be doing that in about 3 weeks. The real excitement for us will be after that, and in the next few months, when the old fellowship hall will be transformed into the new youth group room. We're rather excited about that. If you have any ideas for the room, let us know.

We're hoping to have a contract on our home in Olive Branch offered up on Monday...so here's hoping!!

Being Someone I am Not

I realized something the other day. It is so very easy to be someone you really are not. After a 75 minute conversation with Bank of America on Monday about a fraudulent charge on my supposedly cancelled account, and an ongoing 28 minute conversation with them this morning as I type this, its frustrating to think that someone is posing as me. Well, not really me, but just using my account information to purchase a train ticket in Sweden.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. I actually had a fraud alert put on my credit when I lived in Houston, TX. Someone had gotten a credit card application at my old address, and tried to fill it out. Fortunately, the credit card company caught it before it went through.

Is it really that easy to be someone else? I love those commercials on tv where people who are identity theft victims are talking in the voices of the thief. An old white haired woman talking like a motorcycle gang member has got to make you chuckle. I personally don't own a credit card now. I only owned one when we got married. If I don't have the money for it, I don't need it.

Stealing someone's identity is becoming a more and more common occurrance. Now they have identity theft insurance, to take care of all the charges made on your behalf by someone else. I stop and wonder now, however, have I ever stolen someone's identity? Have I ever tried to be someone who I am not?

Everyday, it seems like I try to be someone else. There's those moments in the car when I put on my shades, turn on my music, and I turn into a different person. Maybe I'll walk into a store, and I'll push my chest out and shoulders back, and walk with a different kind of swagger than I usually do.

Then there are the times when I try to be the Christian that I so often times am not. I'll watch something on television or a movie that I probably shouldn't watch, and I'll go into work the next day a minister. There are times when I let my anger get the best of me before class on Wednesday night, and teach everyone like nothing ever happened. Why is it so hard for us to just be the Christian that we claim to be?

Fortunately God loves us unconditionally, and sees through all the masks and different identities we try to assume. God loves us for who we are when we came to Him, broken and pushed down, tattered and torn, scarred from all the battle wounds in the fight of life.

Thank you Father, for always loving us, and for never ever changing, and for never trying to be someone you are not.

Thoughts on the past weekend

I had a tremendous but task filled weekend. It started on Friday, with a trip to Huntsville to have lunch with my good friend Jason Bybee. We ate at some Mexican place called Lil Rosie's. It was good food, and great to catch up and talk about our ministries.

Friday night, Kristen and I stayed home and relaxed for a bit. I got to hang a medicine cabinet in our master bathroom, and it only took about 2 hours. (usually probably a 15 minute job, but I'm an idiot, so it took a little longer). We ate some sort of Pepperjack Cheese Chicken Dish, yum.

Saturday, I finally got down in the basement to sort through all the boxes and junk we had tossed down there. I got the bowflex and the treadmill set up, so now look out world, I'm going to be buff and fit.

The most exciting thing about the weekend, however, was the installation of DirecTV. I've been with them for about 4 years now. I love having the DVR service through them as well. However, this time when we got things set up for them to come and install, it took them 2 weeks to finally actually do the job. But, I pay $60 (after taxes and everything else) for DirecTV and with Charter, for the same package, it was going to be about $85 with taxes and everything else.

All is well on the Guntersville Water Front. It is indeed taking some time to get acquainted to life here, particularly life without our good friends Michael and Catherine from Memphis. However, I'm sure in time we will find some friends who we can share life with here in Guntersville. We do have our good friends Jason and Sunny who live in Huntsville, but that's just a tad bit too far to do something with them very often, and some other dear friends Jonathan and Rebecca McKnight, who live even further away. At least we do have some close friends nearby, though.

This week, I hope to get back to some regular postings, and draw you back into my life.

-Lane

Top Ten......

Um, I have a confession to make. You see, since we've moved to Guntersville about 10 days ago, we haven't watched any television except for what we have on DVD. We haven't had our DirecTV installed yet, so its been rather awkward around not knowing what's going on in the news.

So, since we do not have tv in the house right now, i seem to have lost all remembrance of my favorite shows. I promise to resume the top 10 shows in a little while, after I get my bearings straight.

But I will say that all is going well here. We are almost unpacked, at least in the house. My office is another story.

For those of you who I used to email all the time from my Ross Road account, it is no longer active. If you want to email me temporarily, email me at lanewidick@hotmail.com, and make sure you change your email accounts to accept that one. Michael, I can't remember your email address since it was under my old account (which got deleted before I even left!). Email me and remind me!

Hopefully I'll be getting my Alabama Driver's License today...we'll see how that goes.

Top 10 Television Comedies

Hey everyone. Spurred on by recent posts by Jason, and MSN's top Television shows of the 80's, I thought I would do my own. I'm starting with my Top 10 TV Comedies, followed by Top 10 Drama Series, Top 10 Action Shows, and Top 10 Misc. Shows.

Let me know what you think, if you agree or disagree.

Here they are, starting with Number 10, finishing with what I believe to be one of the greatest.

Number 10: Perfect Strangers: I remember watching this show, laughing at Balki Bartokomous and Larry Appleton, two cousins who end up living together who couldn't be more different. This show was tremendous.

Number 9: Newheart: My favorite episode was when the whole hotel staff were having nightmares. Julia Duffy, who played the maid, was like 45 years old in that show, but she really only looked about 25.

Number 8: Family Ties: Michael J. Fox at his finest. He was the political mastermind of the 80s, and I didn't understand any of it until I got older. Going back and watching old episodes makes me appreciate it even more.

Number 7: The Cosby Show: Say what you will, but this could easily be one of the most influencial television shows of all times. It was one of the few television shows we watched as a family. All the characters were lovable, except Vanessa. My favorite episode was when Theo wanted to be treated like an adult, and so everyone in the house pretended not to know him and turned the house into a real life situation for him.

Number 6: Night Court: One of the catchiest theme songs ever, I'll never forget that this was the last show my sister and I could watch before our 9:00 bedtime. I loved Bull and his crazy shenanigans, but Dan was a tremendous character as well. Most overlooked character was Mac, the black guy who was basically the clerk of the courtroom.

Number 5: Seinfeld: Probably one of the more quoted sitcoms ever, and probably shown in syndication more than any other show, this is a classic. A show about nothing, and it worked. Kramer, George, Elaine and Jerry made this show a pop culture phenom. Yadda, yadda, yadda is a phrase I still say, not that there's anything wrong with that. Favorite episode might be the one with Keith Hernandez..."Go ahead, Kiss her...you're Keith Hernandez...".

Number 4: The Simpsons: People argue with me all the time about this show. I say this show might be the most realistic and family valued show of all time. Everyone in town goes to church, the father is more real to life than Bill Cosby ever was, and the siblings fight like...well...siblings. My favorite episode of all time is when The Simpsons have to go into the Witness Protection Program, and are renamed the Thompsons.

Number 3: Everybody Loves Raymond: This has recently cracked into my all time favorites list. It is hilarious, and I owe that to Jason. He always talks about how good it is, and truly is a great show. You can catch a lot of their shows on TBS. My favorite episode is entitled "Tissues" and is when Ray is given freedom to pick out things around the house.

Number 2: The Office: This is a love it or hate it show. The first episode I ever watched was about the dumbest thing ever. However it won so many awards for its first season, and there were only 6 episodes. I figured I'd give it another shot, and watched a few more episodes. Once you understand the concept of the show, you realize how masterful it really is. My favorite character is Toby, the HR guy. His one liners are hilarious. Dwight is possibly one of the best characters in TV history. That's what she said!

Number 1: Friends: I know many people who frequent this blog who are probably throwing things around, thinking how on earth could Friends be number 1? Well, it just appeals to me in a way no other show does. Like Jason Bybee, who watches Everybody Loves Raymond on DVD all the time, my wife and I watch this in our bedroom at night while going to sleep, or if there's nothing else on TV. My favorite character is Chandler, who is the most sarcastic character in tv history. Its a show I never get tired of, and still laugh at no matter how many times I've seen it.

Honorable Mentions:
Taxi: Great show with one of the greatest ensemble casts ever assembled. Favorite Episode was when Jim tried to get his Driver's License "What does a yellow light mean? Slow Down"

Frasier: I didn't care for Cheers, but I loved Frasier. I always thought it was a unique and funny show.

Dishonarable Mentions:
Will and Grace: I just really hate this show.

Golden Girls: Nothing like listening to four crabby old women for 30 minutes.

There you go, my top 10 favorite comedies. Let the debating begin.

Our New Lives Have Officially Begun

Hey everyone. Today, August 1, 2006 marks a new day in history for us in the Widick household. You see, today, I am officially the new youth minister at Guntersville Church of Christ in Guntersville, AL. There are so many things that I am excited about, too many to list today on this simple blog, but I'm going to sum up a few of the most exciting things:

1. The People in this Church: I have already been overwhelmed with support and encouragement. When we moved on Saturday, there were over 30 people at the house to help us unload the truck. To all of them I say thanks. Then, they fed us pizza and had time to fellowship. On Sunday, we were taken out to lunch. Every place we have been to since we have been here we see someone from church, and they always come to us and introduce themselves and give us words of encouragement.

2. Living in Guntersville: This place is a small little piece of paradise, nestled in a valley, surrounded by small little mountains and Lake Guntersville, right next to the Tennessee River.

3. Living in Alabama: Now I can finally be a Crimson Tide Fan and not have to make excuses (except to those crazy Auburn fans).

4. I can walk to my office: With gas at $12 a gallon, plus a deposit of your firstborn child, its nice to know that when my tank is running low, I can go out the back door, walk 100 yards, and be at my office.

Now that I'm at a new church, I have some new things that I want to start doing with my life as well:

1. Exercise on a regular basis: We now have our Bowflex and our treadmill in an area where we can exercise in the house, and not have to rearrange everything to do so. 180 pounds, here I come!

2. Starting fresh: All the problems, issues, or anything else I had in past experiences, I can let them go, and start fresh here.

3. Rededicating my own Spiritual life: Now that I'm in a smaller town with less distractions, I plan on revamping my spiritual walk with God. The hardest part about being a minister, in my opinion, is taking care of your own spiritual life. We spend a lot of time dealing with spiritual issues of others, but less time for ourselves.

4. Being more selfish: I also plan on making sure I take time out for me, and for my family. I could easily spend all day planning activities and hanging out with the teens, but I also need to make sure I get into the habit of spending time with myself and Kristen.

Thanks for everyone's prayers as we have made the move. Be patient with me as we start here, and I hope all works well here in Guntersville, Alabama.

One Last Post before I say goodbye

I have to admit, saying goodbye is not easy. I didn't think it would be that hard. I mean, how close can you truly get to people in just one short year? Answer: Very.

Sunday night, they had a going away party for Kristen and I. They had youth group junk food and a banana split bar. It was wonderful. A few people got us some gifts, and there was also a small money tree, which was a big surprise for us.

As several people got up and talked about how they would miss us, tears started to flow from my wife's eyes. However, I tried to do the man thing, and hold them all in. It worked until we stood up for a prayer, and I could no longer hold them in.

I'll miss this place. It was a great place for us to be. Granted, there were some things that frustrated the stew out of us, it was still the place God led us.

I'm thankful for Tara Swope, and for her going on the St. Louis trip with us, and hopefully she knows that meant more than anything else she did all year long. I'm thankful Brandon Davis, a guy I admire a whole lot, and I guy who I wish had stayed around all year, for him going on the trip as well.

I'm glad that Abbey Randolph gave me a hug goodbye. I'm also glad her sister Emily did as well. I'm glad Tia was able to be there for our last night as well.

I'll continue this blog when we move to Guntersville, but it will be different. It will be about my life there in Paradise Alabama, not here in Memphis, TN.

God bless you all, and I'll see you all when I get to Guntersville. Give me a few days, and I'll be back up and running! Roll Tide!

Youth Group Trip to St. Louis

So we left on Tuesday afternoon to come to St. Louis. Yesterday on the way up, we stopped in Sikeston, MO and ate at none other than Lamberts, home of the throwed rolls. It was great food and the kids had a blast. Then we continued on to the luxurious hotel we are in at this moment, Econolodge at Six Flags.

Today, we went to Six Flags, and it was awesome. I made the decision to come to during the middle of the week to avoid the crowds, and it worked. We arrived at 10 a.m., and by 12 noon, the group of kids I was hanging out with and I had ridden every ride in the park, including twice on the Boss. It was awesome....until around 7:00 this evening, the biggest storm of the year to hit the St. Louis area struck at the park. The park people called it a phase 6 situation, which means they had to pull everyone inside a structure. The lightning was terrible, and debris was flying all over the place. We made it safely to our two vans after being quarantined in a diner style restaurant for about an hour.

Tonight we will get some rest and go to the St. Louis zoo tomorrow. I'm real excited about that.
I've heard its a tremendous zoo. We'll spend a few hours there, but unfortunately its supposed to be 102 degrees tomorrow (you know, its all that global warming). The heat index is supposed to be 110 degrees.

After we get back from this trip, we have a few short days before we depart Memphis and head to our new job in Guntersville. It will be bittersweet, because we have some tremendous kids in our group, especially the group I hung out with today at the park. All of them were awesome! We are actually officially moving now on July 28th and 29th....so if you were going to come and help us move this weekend, we've postponed it a week. Sunday is still our last day, but we are going on "vacation" next week, It will be a small vacation at home actually, but still it will be relaxing.

God bless you all.

My best trip ever to Honduras

Wednesday night, July 12, we returned home to Memphis real late at night, around 10:30 or so. Around 11 p.m. we walked into our home, full of all the comforts and joys we left behind. It was great to fall asleep in our own, queen size bed once again.

The entire trip was spent working with Mission Lazarus in Choluteca, Honduras. This is a special project begun by a guy named Jarrod Brown. Jarrod and his wife Allie basically are in charge of this project, which has a full board and about 50 employees. The reason I loved this particular group is because their main goal is to enpower the local people who are in Honduras, instead of having a bunch of Americans run the show. They support the local preachers, the local culture, and let the Hondurans run the show as much as they can.

Our trip was excellent! We had 16 people total go on this awesome excursion. We worked on painting some classrooms at the congregation in Limon, a poor city that has about 17,000 people. The congregation is the largest in Honduras, with about 400-500 every Sunday, and about 250 or so of those are children. The kids often wanted to help us do our work, but since we were painting, it wasn't the best idea. We did however let them help us clean the brushes and rollers, help us clean up the rooms, and various other things as well. You go to serve others, but you end up being served. Its a great feeling.


We also had opportunities to pass out food to poor families. We broke up into smaller groups and went with the local preacher to hand the food to people in the congregations of the area that needed help. It was so rewarding to see our teenagers go into these homes and show the love of Christ to them all.

Give me a few days, and I'll have more pictures posted and more things about the trip. Thanks for all your prayers.

Honduras

Wednesday, July 5 we will be leaving to go to Choluteca, Honduras. I'll be travelling with my wife and 15 others. Most of these are teenagers from Ross Road. We meet at the church building that morning before the sun has woken up, and head to Choluteca via Miami and Teguicigalpa.

We'll be gone through the 12th. This will be my 11th or so visit to Honduras. We'll be working with Mission Lazarus, run by Jarrod Brown.

I hope that I'll be able to post while I'm there, but I'm not sure if I will be able. If you would like to be included in the emails we are sending out, send me a request at rroadteam@hotmail.com and I'll include you.

Pray for our safety, our work, and our travel. I'll miss you all, and let you know how it went when we return home.

Complacent Christianity

So the other day I asked one of my teenagers who is going on our Summer mission trip to Honduras "Hey, are you excited about going to Honduras?". The answer, "No, not really". It floored me. Here's a person raising $1000 to go to do the Lord's work, and the answer of "No not really" was not what I was expecting.

Move to last night, as I'm teaching my teenagers. The point of last night's lesson was simply to point out the complacency in Christianity. I brought to their attention how rarely ever does it seem like people are excited about God anymore. I pointed out that the complacency in the lives of adults is now dulling the excitement of our teenagers. No matter what you try to do for them, they don't seem to get all that excited.

It makes me think about that movie "The Never Ending Story", when the creature called "The Nothing" is attacking the very imagination and life of everyone and everything. Eventually, the Nothing destroys it all, and there is nothing left. Mainly, because people didn't care anymore.

I wonder if that is how Christianity suffers next. Simply from nothingness, Christianity could be dealt a severe blow.

Notice the next time you're at church how many faces do not have happiness on them. I have a vantage point of getting in front of the congregation weekly while I lead worship to see the faces of everyone in the room. Out of 200 people in the auditorium, I'm lucky if I see 5 or 6 smiling faces. The rest of them have that look that I like to now call "The Look of Nothing". Its not a smile, its not a frown, its a very complacent and apathetic. The joy of God may be in them, but they're doing everything they can from proving its there.

This week I'll be at Impact at Lipscomb University. I'm hoping while I'm there I can solve the apathetic and complacent attitude that I have in my life from time to time. From there, maybe I can help others realize the joy of God, and how they can help share that joy with others.

Think about it, seeing anyone smile nowadays is a rarity. When you see someone smile, its immediately noticeable. The smile catches on, and it spreads happiness, albeit just for a fleeting moment, but the happiness is spread.

Does anyone else feel like this? What do you think?

The Selling of an American Dream

I believe everyone at one point wants to own a home. Its the American Dream, to say that you own a home in this great land. Just about 8 months ago, we bought a home. Now, we must say goodbye to it.

It has been a good home to us. It has provided us warmth and comfort, a roof over our heads, and a garage to store lots of junk.

It has a small yard that can be cut in less than 45 minutes. It has three sad little trees in it. There's a crack in the driveway, flowers in the front yard, and a oil stain from my old cruddy car.

There's a pile of fur in the corner of our living room under our dog's bed. There's a small stain where she...well, you know.

Lots of sweat have gone into making the house into a home. We painted all the walls, I replaced the bathroom floor, and several other things, including a toilet, door frames, and other minor things. It taught me how to do home repair.

In the back, there's an exterior light I replaced that taught me a huge lesson in electricity: Make sure its cut off before you work on it.

The home we live in is a great little home, but now its time for someone else to own it.

Know anyone who wants to live in Olive Branch, MS? I've got a home for them.

Workcamp

Hey everyone! We're doing Memphis Workcamp this week, so I won't be blogging. We'll be scraping and repainting homes in downtown ghetto Memphis! Pray for us all! I'm actually in Orange Mound, which everyone here knows as "The place you never go, even in daylight..." but its not so bad.

Right now I have 4 crazy guys in my office...so I need to run!!!

A place called Guntersville

Guntersville, Alabama. About 30 miles Southeast of Huntsville, God made a place called Guntersville, Alabama. Complete with the Tennessee River and Lake Guntersville, this could be that little paradise place that many people don't know about. Rolling hills, a beautiful golf course, and all the boating and jet skiing one can imagine.

But that's not all that is there. Nestled at the foot of a small hill in the older part of town is the Guntersville church of Christ. There, about 400 people meet every Sunday morning to worship God.

The people there are really friendly, down to earth, and supposedly really good cooks. They are kind and courteous, rather laid back, and just enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

And after a year in the excitement of a big city like Memphis, it is a very inviting place to go to live. About 3 weeks ago, my wife and I were offered a job to go and work with the church in Guntersville, and we have accepted. We will be moving there in July.

Now, with this great town called Guntersville, and all the excitement it may offer, it also means we have to say goodbye.

We have to say goodbye to Emily and Abbey Randolph, two our teenagers here who have had such an impact on us. We've seen them grow spiritual while we've been here to the point that they are going to Honduras with us later this summer.

We have to say goodbye to the Henry family: Bud, Julie, Megan and Nick. The Henry family is just about one of the best families we've ever known.

We have to say goodbye to Stephanie and Anna, two junior high girls who live in the neighborhood. One Wednesday night they were riding their bikes in our parking lot. Almost a year later, they are still coming every Wednesday night.

We have to say goodbye to John and Keith and Karen, a great office staff that I get to work with almost daily.

There's so many, and the list could go on and on. Its funny how much of an impact people can have on you in just a short year, but it happens. I thank God for the year we've spent here. We've grown closer to so many.

Pray for us as we begin to make this transition. Summers are already busy enough as a youth minister, and now we've got to sell our house and move.

Thanks everyone, and God bless.