Spider Disappointment

Spider Man 3 ...... Just one word.

BOO!

Front Page (Porch) News

Melissa and I have been doing community theater, and these past two weeks have been our performances. The press came last night, and this morning, a local internet newspaper put up a bunch of pictures. We were doing selections from different Broadway shows. I had one of the lead parts, and my wife got to do a bunch of dance numbers.

The reviews all week were absolutely positive! People were just amazed that there are so many people in our town that can pull off a production like this. I'm just sad that it's over and there will be no more standing ovations. I'm hoping to do this again real soon.

The local news website Front Porch News has a story up with a bunch of pictures at this link.

XM Sirius Together?

I've had satellite radio in my car and in my home since I was at Happy Hill. I've had both services starting with Sirius and then moving to XM two years ago. Now today, it looks like they are going to merge into one company. What that means for me, I don't know, but it sure looks like The Torch won't be coming back any time soon.

Back to Blogging

Well, I think I've said it before, but wow, being married sure does take the blogging time down about a hundred notches. Anyway, I'm going to try and get this thing back up and running.

Update

Just to update from earlier. I'm here with a bit of a heavy heart as I have found out that the father of three of my taekwondo students was killed the day I arrived here. When I get back, I will be heading immediately to the viewing if I can make it time. Funeral is the next day. He leaves behind four kids, including the three we have at the school (all under 12). They're a great Christian family and it hurts to see them go through this.

And Now, a Public Service Message

Fried

You know what? I am amazed at the number of things you can deep fry. After a trip to the Great State Fair of Texas today, I have decided that you can fry just about anything, put up a sign, and sell it for $5 or more. Seriously, they had (I kid not) Fried Corn on the Cob, Fried Oreos, Fried Snickers Bar, and Even "Fried Coke." The guy at the booth tried to explain it to me, but I decided to keep safe with my giant turkey leg. I wonder what I could batter up and stick in that deep fryer I got as a wedding gift... hmmm.........

Fried pizza anyone?

Great Kick

One of the best jump kicks I've seen this week. :) Seriously, what was this guy thinking?

Not a Yankee anymore!

See, this test proves it!

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

20% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

My new Song.

Back to Blogging

Wow. It's hard to get online to blog when you're a newlywed. Not that I'm complaining. I mean I love my wife and I love being married, so the writing can just wait a bit :)

I have been on the job at the new church for two months now. I do miss the kids from the last group, but I love these new guys. We're going to spend some of the first weeks of the school year going over Dave Burchett's book "When Bad Christians Happen to Good People." Tomorrow, I'm going to sit down and try to see how I'm going to adapt this into youth lessons. I can't wait to see how it works out.

Today, I had my first bad experience though. For seven years, I've never had a problem being allowed on the school campus. Today, I found out that my new school system is a closed campus. They allow nobody on campus so that they don't have to worry about people from "undesirable" groups filing a lawsuit. I certainly understand their decision, but that doesn't make it any easier. There may be a way around it, but I'm not sure I want to do something that could cause a problem between me and the school board. They do a great job with the kids, and I want to be a support to them, not a harm.

In July, I tested for and received my first degree black belt! I tested at the school in front of Master Sustaire from Dallas who was there to judge Mel in her final midterm toward her fourth degree. We now own the entire school and so I've been doing a lot of the business side of the school to let her be on the floor with the students. With the back to school sign ups right now, we have 74 students with hopefully a bunch more coming. The record has been 80, so we'll see if we can pass that up by the end of the month.

Well, work is calling my name back to what needs to get done. So, it's time to have fun with Elijah on Mt. Carmel. Hope the stuffed buffalo doesn't mind pretending to be a sacrificial cow again...

Married Life

Wow! I haven't been online to do this blog thing for a while now.

Married life is awesome! I've been a married man for almost three weeks now. It definitely has been quite the adjustment, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

The honeymoon trip was absolutely incredible. There are way more stories than I can put on this blog, so maybe they will come out over the course of the next few weeks. I'm actually working on putting together the video right now.

On the job front, First Baptist Church of Cumby is about to vote on calling me to the the Minister of Youth and Music. It's a small, but loving congregation with a really good youth program. It feels really good to be back in front of a youth group again.

I'm going to keep this one short, but I should be back online more with a lot more to say.

An Open Note to All Readers

Ok, a couple of people I know have done this since they also work for churches and have personal blogs. So... here goes.

1. Every thought expressed here is my own unless I quote someone else or give them credit for the idea. My thoughts and opinions may not be the same as County Line Baptist Church, it's staff, my senior pastor, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, or anyone else related to the church. I also must say the same things in regards to the American Taekwondo Association.

2. This is a personal site. I'll try to keep negative thoughts out, but sometimes, bad things happen. As a Christian, I believe that hard times can give us the strength to become who God wants us to be. When you read this blog, you will be getting me, in raw form.

3. I am a Christian. I make no apolgies for that. My entire worldview is shaped by my belief in God, the Bible, and what that will create me to be.

4. Please feel free to comment, even if you disagree with me. I love to talk to people, so I will try to respond as much as I can.