Looking back on 2008, and forward to 2009!

Let's see. All of the positive things that have come out of 2008. We found an amazing new church home that has taught us all sorts of new things, one of them being how to handle Small Group break ups, and how to mend some bruised egos during that.

We have learned alot about ourselves from CP, like that no matter how much we disagree on something in the morning Ray's sermon is going to be about that (or pertain to that) when we get to church and by the time church is over that argument seems so minuscule.

God has moved alot in our lives this last year. I have resolved to giving more to God (trying to give all, but letting go is so hard to do). Diana has learned to pray more when there is conflict in the house. Robin gave her life to Jesus at a Revival featuring Matt Redman earlier this year. Austin, Robin, and myself were all baptized this last summer (Happy Bday to Ray, Duh duh duh duh ta duh duh ta duh(sorry bad Darth Vader music impersonation)). Julie has learned like 50 memory verses from school and I must admit she is getting better at listening to her parents, although she still has a long way to go!

My Aunt Betty got to go home to Jesus. I mean isn't that all we should be working for? She is lucky she gets to see him before we do. God is very blessed to have her. This is what I envision my Dad, and Betty are doing in heaven. They are sitting around a table with Moses, Abraham, King David, and Jesus playing Shang-Hi Rummy and my Dad is obviously kicking all their butts because that is just what he does!

Mom has gotten to be here for some awesome events, like the power outage of 2008. 4 days with no electric and we sat around one night and told memorable stories about the past and had a praise and worship night with just the family and me playing the guitar and it was a very spiritual blessing. Then she came up for what was supposed to be our vacation time and we had to cancel it because of me not getting paid on some of the business that I have written, but God knows what he is doing because honestly this time at home had done wonders for mine and Diana's relationship which to say the least had been struggling massively!

Looking ahead to 2009. I am expecting to make 3x more money than I ever have in my life, I am also preparing my field for rain, God is going to pour out some new blessings in my life and open some doors that are currently shut, but He has the power and ability to kick them down. I am not going to go into detail now but someone said something to me a couple of months ago about God being able to move someones heart who I may not think He can, but that person is right. With God all things are possible. I know this person believes in God, but I don't think he is a christian with a relationship with JC which is something I ask all of you to be praying for that are reading this. I have always had this heart to serve and I know that God has something BIG planned for the near future because He has told me that He does, and through this acquaintance I am believing more and more that God will open the doors that need opened to make this a possible and viable act.

May God Bless each and everyone of you who read this.....Keep your eyes on Him in 2009 and He will light the way to a glorious 2009!

Jam Session???

Last night Chris and I met at the church to play a little guitar together (ok normal size guitars but for a little while). Anyways I asked him to show me about half of the songs that we regularly play at church. We spent about an hour and a half just playing guitar and hanging out. I did learn that Chris is a huge country fan or at least he used to be. Man I didn't see that coming. I would have guessed Michael Bolton fan or Yanni....nah just kidding Chris. I seriously would've pegged you more of a rocker though. Anyways thanks for taking the time to teach me some stuff Chris. I know how busy you are so it means a lot.

Black Friday.....Never Again!

Today was the first time that I have ever went out on Black Friday!!! And the last!!! We got to Wal-Mart in Milford at about 1/4 till 12 last night to get in line for some of the deals. We did get all of the things that we had targeted at Wal-Mart except for one thing (that I can get on ebay or half.com for the same price). So with that said we waited in line strategically placing the six of us all of the stores. We did get to meet a nice Christian family that turns out knows Ray and Melissa and are currently searching for a church home, so I invited them to CP for the Nativity and for church on Sunday. We talked alot about their ministry (musical) and their walks with the Lord as well as ours. So all wasn't lost in a long night of chaos. We also did see some other friendly faces such as Kaitlyn Brock, Jan Strimple (not working, not sure how she pulled that off), John Strimple (working, he got the wrong end of that deal, lol), Robin saw Mark Day (at Kmart when we went to pick up Mom from work). So it was a fun yet very tiring day, but as I stated earlier I will never do it again!

Warning...Cookie Monster (Aka. Dan Simpson) Is out and on the streets!

Watch out for this shady character today (his name is Dan Simpson) and he has a serious cookie problem. If you see him near the cookies ask him to kindly set them down and step away. If he resists take out your emergency Oreo baggies and lure him away from the table with those. After he is lured away take him to the nearest phone and call the cookie hotline @ 1-800-ohmyU812. HE NEEDS HELP. DO YOUR PART!

"The Chris Wells Jump"

In case you missed it. This is one heck of a run and "Leap" for Beanie Wells! Man can this guys play football!

Happy Birthday Diana!

Hppy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Diana. Happy birthday to yooooooooooooooooooooooooooooou!

New Movie Review!

Today was a pretty fun day. I got to work at home on some product knowledge. Worked a little on my income tracker. Then I laid down for a brief nap since I have been a tad bit under the weather this week.

After all of that I was awakened by the news that Josh Morgan was here. So I got up to keep the house civilized. Austin and Josh took turns getting beat at Connect 4 while Robin was working for a bit. Josh is a good kid. Very well mannered and well behaved. Good Job Dave and Lisa (Lisa we know all of the credit goes to the ladies of the house).

Anyways we went to see Madagascar 2. This evening we ended up having to push it back till 9:30 because Julie went to dinner with her Papa and I had been promising her all week I was going to take her. We all loved it. It was as good as the first movie and I gotta say that I love King Julian (you know the lemur guy who sings "I like to move it". That dude cracked me up. Plus the new characters and the penguins always rock! Great Movie. Worth a trip to the movies or a DVD buy!

Contracted or Contracted?

So this has been a very eventful/uneventful week. I contracted some kind of allergy/flu like symptoms that for whatever reason I just cannot shake for the life of me. I had a fever most of the day on Wed. Thursday I got up went to work saw a couple of clients had Julie's parent teacher conferences and came home to only have my fever go up again and felt like a semi-truck had hit me.

So this has been a very eventful/uneventful week. I finally got contracted with most of my companies that I have been patiently waiting on. Good news is, I am finally able to submit business in my own name to get paid on it. Which eliminates some huge worries and relieves a ton of weight off of my shoulders. God has been diligent with His promises. I am relieved that I know how good He has been at providing for me and my family.

Two different types of Contracted both in the same week.

Center Pointe Small Groups Sign

About 4 weeks ago and I came home to a note attached to our door from the zoning commission in Blanchester. First of all, isn't Blanchester too small to have it's own zoning commission. The note was somebody apparently complained about our sign in our yard. They asked us to move it closer to the house and we complied and moved it about 5 feet closer to the house. Well then about a week ago my landlord and his newlyweded wife came down to fix a few things this week. They have been married since March and we had not seen them in a year and a half since we moved into our house. Well they started to fix our toilet which was leaking a little and Nick (our landlord) messed up the new seal he had bought and had to run out to get a new one. As he and his wife came back in she heard my Klove mix that I had playing from my laptop as I worked. So it started an afternoon conversation about our faith and we realized how much we had in common. It was a wonderful afternoon. Julie (his wife) also noticed our Small Group sign and commented on it and said how wonderful it was that we had it up and that they too attend a Small Group. Yeah! So we told them the story about us displaying our sign and the original request to take it down and they said "don't do it". So today I am sitting at the house working and my cell phone rings. It's the guy from the zoning commission again. He said we have to take down our sign! Supposedly because we are advertising for our church (by the way a non-profit organization) and I pollitely told him that there was absolutely no chance that I was taking it down. He said he understood how I felt and that there would be a zoning meeting that I could go to to dispute these claims. I told him disputed or not I am not taking down my sign. I live in America where I have the freedom to worship where and when I want to and I will be dead before that gets taken away from me. God has done too much in my life over the last few months for me to turn my back on Him and not to honor Him by leaving this sign. He has and always be my Ultimate Deliverer and why would He stop in this case!

Sarah is the News....Simspon...Not Palin!

Well after we had pretty much made our house look like Hiroshima after a few bombs had been dropped on it by rearranging the living room, and dining room. I came accross this picture of Sarah Simpson and I quote her husband Dan by saying "Far Out" lol. Sorry Sarah was a funny pic with the tydyed shirt and all. Had to post it, Please don't hurt me!

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Finally, I am able to take a slight sigh of relief. I have been struggling quite a bit lately with many many things, and God being the Almighty Deliverer that He is. Has been working so much in my life. I had this really big career threatening issue that He has delivered me from. I had this past issue that was career threatening and He has delivered me from that or at least He has made a way. His way. My marriage has been a little shaky lately, Diana being stressed with work and my income not up to full flow yet. That is finally coming full circle too. At first I had some contract issues but God has made His way for that. My contracts are finally getting approved so my income can start rolling in. God has given me this unique ability and I do not want to squander it any longer than I already have. My family has been very patient in waiting for my career to take me where we need and where God has planned for it to go, but I think the trails and tribulations are what makes us who God wants us to be. He has shown me so much over the last few weeks about myself. Such as.......I am not a quitter. I have the desire to succeed. I am a very talented salesman. But most importantly my faith when things just seem like they are going nowhere and fast, stays strong and focused on God. Don't get me wrong, I may not have read my Bible as much as I should have the last few weeks, but listening to christian music can sometimes keep you as focused as need be. I love the song "Never Let Go" from Matt Redman. It is so true when it says (lyrics from the Bible) "and I will fear no evil, for my God is with me, and if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear" I believe that is from Romans 8:29 and Ray read that a few months back at Men's Group which I missed last month and I have to get back too because I really "missed" it. Well that's about it for me....New Posts coming soon!

Dinner with the Simpsons!

So Homer, Marge, Lisa, Lil Bart.....and wait not Maggie yet? Sorry Isaac for calling you Lisa just everyone is so bent on girlyfying you. Dinner was awesome, I love chili. Dan had some habenero cheese that lit me on fire. I love hot stuff though, that is one reason why I love my wife so much ;-). Dinner was great, the fellowship was great. I really miss those guys (and Sarah). It has been a little tough for us especially Diana with the split from the Small Group happening so fast. After last night I think things are much better for Diana, she said she didn't feel awkward last night and that is a good thing. Thanks for having us down last night Simpsons!

Would you vote for some who isn't an American?

My mother sent me this video about a week ago. I emailed it to everyone I knew, but this will get out to even more people this way. Please do your part and email this video to family and friends. Let's keep America led by Americans. Definitely not Muslims.

Something she forgot to mention

3 years ago today we were supposed to get married! By supposed to, I mean, we had a date set, invitations sent, people were planning on coming, we had done alot for this wedding. We had been going through some pretty tough things. I told her 2 weeks before this date that we needed to wait a little while longer before we got married. Oh man, she didn't take it too well. She thought by me saying that, that I didn't want to marry her anymore. That was not the case. She and I broke up for about a month, and then she started realizing that things were going to be better by waiting. Turned out I was right for once. 8 months later we got married and believe or not I think that month made us as strong as ever.

Some newer videos

This first one is Jeremy Camp-My Desire....I love this song. All of these songs are powerful in there own way.



This song is Phil Wickham - Divine Romance.....man this song moves my heart.



This song is my absolute new favorite christian song and will really get your blood pumping. It is Lincoln Brewster's - Today is the Day

What a great Sunday!

Ok I will admit today did not start out the greatest. I woke up this morning after only 6+ hours of sleep feeling exhausted and fatigued from walking Kings Island last night. It was fun just not my cup of tea. So after waking up this morning I got dressed for church went to let my dogs out to go potty and it was too late both of them had already went in their cages and the smaller of the two FILLED his cage with POO, I have been a little nauseous all week and today was the day. The smell just got to me and thank God the only thing I had in my belly at this time was grape kool aid. So up it came, making me feel pretty awful all morning. We got to church "on time", well barely. Then things started picking up a little. Missy and Trish, Diana and I were supposed to go see "Fireproof" a week or so ago and we couldn't go because finances have just been awful, I mean we have been making it but just barely.

Anyways Missy and Trish decided to take it upon themselves to bless us with a $30 gift card so we could go see the movie. This was truly a blessing to us and shows how much God is doing in our lives and that He can make a way when there seems to be no way (big spot in the movie for that too). Thanks very much Missy and Trish, I do not know how to thank you guys or how to express our gratitude. We love you guys. Man was it awesome. We loved it and it was a real blessing. As Diana and I were leaving she had overheard a "Small Group" that had planned to go out and see it together as well, we thought that was really neat.

Anyways after leaving the movie Diana and I discussed the similarities from the movie to our own walk/marriage and man were there alot. I really encourage all of you to get out and see this movie as well as go out and check this site http://www.40daylovedare.com/ . It is has an awakening presence. Well I got to run my wife is itching to post what she has to say about it.

Working from home....well sort of

Today, James my manager asked me to stay home and work on some excel spreadsheets as well as work on some more contracts. There are a ton of those. But the better variety I have the more I will be able to keep clients happy. So while sitting at home today, I decided to go across the street and talk to Robins' employer again because they had expressed some interest in getting some health insurance. So they asked me to come back after the lunch rush. So I went back at like 3 and gave my first presentation, man was I nervous. I have done many, many presentations, but this was my "first" with the new products. Well it turns out that I can save them $350 a month plus I added some benefits that they do not currently have with their current carrier. Then to top it off in casual conversation after they said they wanted to go with it, they said that they would be happy to give me referals of other small business owners that they know. A pretty productive day considering I worked from "home". I also got alot accomplished in the excel sreadsheet, James was very pleased with its progress. Not doing too bad with Excel considering I have had no formal training with it and I have taught myself via trial and error.

Almost There!

Thursday I went down to Cincinnati with Diana for work and go do some training with James. He had his cousin there to train him as well and he had another young lady there he is trying to get to become his agent. So he was teaching us how to figure out our income potential, and how to draw it up on paper so we could see it on a regular basis. The income potential is beyond anything I have ever imagined. I could more than quadruple my best income ever in my first year if I just apply myself. Well after the money lesson, we started practicing our presentations. I had not done this in front of anyone yet so I was very nervous and I had only seen like 15-20 presentations. After I got done James rated me out of 0-10, 10 being the best and I got 8's on everything but the deductible part which to me is the most important part of the presentation. Anyways 8 out of 10 is not that bad for an average....I would loved to have had a B average in my junior and senior years of high school. Well I should only have a few more days of training because I have to learn some more about the products and to perform the presentation in front of an actual client for James. That will be fun! Nerves will be shot there. Anyways my confidence is starting to come back and my desire is through the roof, I see what James is doing and it's so easy a chimpanzee can do it and he is on pace to make over $250,000 this year. That is after his living/business expenses. INSANE. Imagine how much we could give towards serving God with that kind of income. I love serving God and being able to bless Him back will be a huge reward. I hate to see that I have friends who are struggling and family too, and I am helpless as to be able to help them financially and I will be ecstatic if God allows me to earn that kind of income to use for His glory!

Things are slowly but surely progressing along!

Today I stayed home, spent a little bit of time with my mother and got a few business things situated and in order. Starting a business is very time consuming and very, very costly. I have spent money to get this started that we have not really had. Thank God, He has made a way. Well here is a preview of my first set of business cards and the logo will soon be updated per Kaitlyn Brock, I have asked her to add some color and maybe even alter the design some for me! She said she would she what she could do. Jared Taylor is heading up my webpage for me and setting up some email servers for me as well. Without further ado

One Tree Hill

I know some of you ladies, uh hum and gentlemen are huge One Tree Hill fans and in light of our recent terrorist attacks (aka the wind) most of us were unable to watch the latest episode. here is a link that you can watch the show from and my suggestion is to watch on of the MEGAVIDEO ones because they usually load the fastest and have the best quality, enjoy ladies.....oh and gents.

http://www.free-tv-video-online.info/internet/one_tree_hill/season_6.html

Finally!!

We finally have electric back! Our electric went out at around 3pm Sunday afternoon and just came back on Tuesday at 10pm. I know I sure wouldn't have made it very far on a wagon trail in the late 1800's. Or as a new frontiersman. I was going crazy! Although I think I have read more in the last 2 days than in the last 2 years! I am reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", "Running with the Giants of the Old Testament"(John Maxwell, and truly inspiring) and "Your Best Life Now" (Joel Osteen). The problem is I am really enjoying all three books and its hard to decide which one I want to finish more! So I just take my time, and grab one on instinct alone, but all three speak to me in different ways. Rich Dad=Financial, and Mental encouragement. Running=A new view on what Heroes of the Bible would say to us if they could help us run our race, and Best Life=reinventing who we are on earth in Christ and how to defeat that horrible self image most of us have of ourselves

I'm a little tired!

This week has been my first full/half week of training. I started on Wed. Trained from 830am until 9pm my first full day, then the next day I trained from 900am until about 5pm, and thank God today was a little shorter, although it seemed like a long time because I had to sit at Diana's work until 530pm anyways waiting for her to get done working. Training has been nothing short of phenomenal. James has been very thorough and gracious in his training, today we went with his boss (another Dave) and he treated us all to lunch. I am supposed to be out in the field on my own in no more than 2 more weeks, providing I learn ALL the products I have to learn.

I must say one of the things that I love about this system that I will be using is that is not a push-hard type of sale. I have been with James to 9 appointments, 5 of them were sales and not one single time did he have to hard-close these people, he made 4,800 dollars in literally 4 days and the 4 that he didn't "close" this week all have appointments for James to come back out next week and pick up their "signed" applications too. Oh, and the $4,800 was what he collected from his appointments this week, that is not including the $2,000 in applications he picked up from the week before. It is incredible. He is just so nonchalant about it, i have seen it and can hardly still believe it. I mean, I know I can do exactly what James is doing and maybe even some more stuff. He has a low week because he was training other agents and that took away from his appointment setting. We get 30 leads a week and I am going to do everything I can to set 25+ of them a week, I can sell 50% of them and the average sale I will earn about $800-$1,000. I cannot wait to get out in the field. Well I better get back to studying so that I will be able to in two weeks!

Knowshon "The Show" Moreno

Here is a clip I thought Jared might like....maybe just a little bit. I gotta admit that this has got to be one of the sickest moves I have every seen on a football field. He actually hurdles the Safety and makes him look very, very stupid!

Losing a loved one!

Losing a loved one is never easy, it sometimes can be really difficult for people who do not know how to handle grief. I do personally cannot stand going to funerals, my first funeral I attended was my Grandfather Smith's when I was 5, my next was my Father's at age 17, since then I have been to a couple of visitations, but no funerals. I would have went to my Grandma Smith's had I known that she had passed away, I found out 3 months after it had happened.

As many of you know my Aunt Betty had been battling cancer for the last 9 months and my Mom had put her life on hold to go and help her fight through this not only physically but spiritually as well. My Mom and my Aunt Betty were as close as two sisters could be. They look alot alike, act very much the same, and have always been there for each other and for my Mom to be there until the very end with Betty, certainly had to be a struggle for her.

Betty had fought over the last couple of weeks hanging on with everything she had, and there is no doubt in my mind that because of her hanging on, someone in that hospital has been blessed by either Betty's strength, my family's faith, my cousin Heather's church's unity in helping out, or any number of things that have transpired because of Betty being in the hospital and the belief that everyone there shared.

As for me, I am glad that the last time I saw her she was in good spirits. I like to remember the good in people and remember them for the impact that they have had on my life. My Mom told me some time ago that her and Betty prayed together every week that I would stop living for the world and start living and serving our God Almighty. Her prayer has been answered and I could not be any happier than I am today because of the faith they believed on my behalf.

Some of the best times in my life happened at Betty and Jody's house and I know I owe them sincere gratitude for all of the times they have looked out for me and some of the greatest hospitality that you could ever find any where. They were and amazing couple.

My Aunt Betty will be greatly missed, I wish I could have told her one last time how much she had meant to me and told her that I loved her and what a wonderful blessing she had been to me and my family!

Direction and Storehouses

God has really been speaking to me alot about the direction I am heading and the direction He wants me to go to in the future, I'll be the first to admit that up until we started going to Center Pointe, alot of what Ray preached about yesterday echoed in my head. Constant doubts of where I was headed, what I was here for, if I was in the relationship God had intended me to be in, if His word was 100% completely true, and if He was truly here for me in every way. Like most people I knew at times, but I wasn't sure 100% of the time. I mean there have been great glimpses of GLORIOUS things that have happened in my life over the last five years especially, but there was still a little gray area that I was unsure of.

I do not know how the rest of you feel that are reading this and attend Center Pointe, but I know that God is real and He is working in so many ways. My favorite way is through Ray, every message that Ray delivers is from God....without a doubt in my mind Ray is so much like David (you know David writer of Psalms and King of Israel, not to mention that he killed one of the biggest men on the planet, Goliath) Ray is a man after God's own heart, he diligently seeks God to prepare his messages and allows God's word to flow through Him. Ray's messages every single week that we have been at Center Pointe (since the 1st week of April we have missed 2 Sundays) show how God is moving, at least to me. These messages just affirm things/battles that are and have been going on in my own life. Satan has been attacking and by me enabling him, has been winning at times, but with sermons that hit home every Sunday he is not winning any longer. I know that Ray's sermons have been ministering to others as well.

As most of you know, I have sparingly been working over the last couple of months and even when I was working "full time" we were still struggling because most of my income was going to child support and gas to drive to and from work. God has been speaking to me directing me as I read my bible to verses that have been about storehouses and work ethics. I believe that this is to prepare me for what lies ahead with my new career field, God wants me to be able to save so that I in the future will not have to worry about us, or our dear and close friends that struggle. Diana's dad has had some rough times. My mom has had some rough times, and I see that Danny and Sarah are struggling some, I know what Diana and I have been through and are going through and it pains me to see us and others go through these times of trials. I don't know where we would be if Diana wasn't as dedicated of a person as she is, she is very dedicated to God, her family, and her work (sometimes that is a bad thing). Please keep her in your prayers, as she is still carrying us through this time and being completely stressed out. I appreciate her so much and she means more to me than she will ever know.

Oh and BTW, I am finally starting my official training tomorrow, and very, very excited about it!

Volunteer Appreciation

Well lets start this off with some funny jokes! Jared and Christine were not there tonight and I think it had something to do with Jared being a Georgia Bulldog fan, he was probably mistaken when he heard "VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION NIGHT", he must've thought Tennessee was coming to town.

Okay on a more serious note. Tonight was awesome as usual at Center Pointe. It truly is a blessing for us to get to serve with all of these truly gifted and unique individuals. God is doing some wonderful things in this small group of people and we are happy to be a part of it.

The sanctuary was set up into what looked like a fancy resturant with all of the tables neatly set and candles lit on between every seat. The food was exceptional for being a carry in dinner from a rib place....hmmmmm, I love BBQ. It really was alot of fun and it is good to see that a church loves to give back. I love the certificates and the funny gifts and the picking Ray did on me, all in good fun.....I joked with Missy that Ray must read all of Diana's blogs thoroughly because she said something about my affection for candles some time back. He kept joking about it lol, and I really do have this weird obsession with candles. In fact I think I have picked out every candle in our house.

The Father of my first teenager?

My son Austin, turns 13 today, Wow that is truly hard to believe. He is growing up so fast and has become quite the young man. I love his spirit of worship for God (he gets that from his grandma Smith and I). He reminds me so much of myself sometimes and that scares the crap out of me! I honestly think that what scares me the most is the fact that in 2 and 1/2 years he will be driving.....YIKES. Most of all I am very proud of him for the young man that he is and for the love he has for God through all of the hard times that I have put him through and that his Mother has put him through, I know that when he is an adult he will look back on these experiences and know that God has something better for him in store. One more thing about Austin's bday that is special not only to me but to him as well, He shares his bday with my "little brother" Jake Kirk (so happy bday Jakey). I love you Austin.

New Verse of the day!

Psalm 77:14

You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

For those of you who have been praying whole heartedly for my Aunt Betty thank you very, very much. Please continue you to pray for her for a healing miracle from God, and for her family. A couple of my cousins are not taking this in a good way and are looking for anyone they can to blame for it, especially God! My Cousin Brent and I have always been like brothers and he is blaming God and my Mom for the fact that his Mom is not healed yet. Just please keep him and everyone close to this situation in your prayers. It has really just been another way that Satan has been attacking me lately, and man has he been coming from all fronts. Thanks, Scott Smith

A little football humor!

Due to the upcoming football season tomorrow, I thought a little humor was in order. If you haven't seen this side of Peyton Manning be prepared to laugh and fall on the floor and spew soda pop from your nose! This is a skit from a couple of years ago on Saturday Night Live!

Yet another rough day! Let's restart VOD!

After a not so good day today, I went into my bedroom and sought out the Lord for some direction. I asked Him to show me how to deal with a situation laid out before me and low and behold 5 minutes later He showed me this verse and it spoke to me in such a huge way!

Romans 16:17-20 (New International Version)

17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

The Ultimate Encourager!

A few years ago, I was struggling with my "path". My mother had advised me to read Proverbs once a day because there are 31 of them and she challenged me to apply the concepts I read into my daily life. I had not been doing that for over a year and then a couple of weeks ago, Paul Peterson was at church and mentioned that we should read 1 Proverb a day and 5 Psalms, I confess I have been faithful in reading the Proverbs but not the Psalms. Last night I came home and needed a little extra "God" encouragement, I had kind of been hard on my wife the last few days, even though she is the most spectacular, faithful, extraordinary woman I have ever met. Wether I have told her or not she had exceeded ever expectation as a wife that I could have ever asked for and I know that her strength in putting up with me has got to come from God. So Last night we get home and I start to read Proverbs 31 from "The Message" and it was like I was supposed to read it and of course I really was supposed to read it. It really spoke to me about my wife and I went in to apologize to her, but she was still a little upset with me so I had to wait until this morning!

But if you need encouragement and you are not reading your Bibles on a daily basis, I offer this advice, get plugged in to a Small Group, hang out with friends from church, get as close to people who love God with all of their heart and be blessed by them as much as possible, let their light shine through to you, it will encourage you.

A Great Day!

Today was my first day of training for the brokerage firm! I have decided to name my company Buckeye Insurance Brokers! James said that this was a good move because of being in Ohio and most people (in my opinion, smart people) like the Buckeyes and it is the state tree lol and Ohio is called the Buckeye state. We ran only one appointment and he had an absolute lay down of a sale, he would've had to be a moron to mess this up. If it was me doing the selling I would have made $1,100 in less than 2 hours! I think I could've handled that, there really wasn't much too it at all. I am really looking forward to being able to get out in the field on my own again and make some serious money, and with ten different companies to choose from you can always get them the best rates. Ooooooooooo, I can't wait!

Finally!!

Today I am meeting with James Humphries regarding the insurance job that I have been wanting. I am riding with him to a few appointments and we will see how they go. I am still not sure if we are training or if this is just a "come with me and see if you like it" day. I am eager to see how things are done and I love learning new things and the income potential is what ever I want to make out of it. If I want to make 150K a year it is in my hands. I want more than that though I want to be blessed by God and be able to bless His people in return, while living comfortable. I do not believe that God wants His people to live or settle on mediocrity. I have a great desire to succeed in the insurance industry and I have seen the benefits of not only being in this industry but from working hard and being persistent at it! Fourteen years ago I loved in Florida with my Uncle Ron. He had been working hard for awhile and loved in a modest 3 bedroom home which is all he and his wife Sally really needed. Two years ago he and his wife owned 5 Auto insurance offices and he managed another one for Nationwide. He sold all of them but the most profitable and then he moved to Georgia and he bought a home and paid cash for it, but more importantly are all of the ministries that he supports. He helps support over 20 different ministries at Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida (the same church that Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts attends as well as many of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). I know that God has put this opportunity in my path for a reason and I am going to seize the moment and make this happen.

A wild end to a great day!

My day started out awesome, Up early getting ready for church. I was in an awesome mood this morning I knew today was going to be a great day. Left for church got their a few minutes early, worship was awesome, Ray's message was phenomenal as always. Went to the CPFL football draft had an awesome time there annoying Chris...lol. Then we ran home to do a couple of things then back down to Danny and Sarah's house for Small Groups. Tonight was the first time I had ever played the guitar in front of anyone with the exception of my family, I think it went well! Nobody left and no dogs were howling outside. Small Groups was fun as always, we had a nice surprise...Ray and Melissa showed up. Then the wild part started, we went home! After we got home I called my cousin Brent back who I had put off because of all the days activities, and started talking to him about his mom (Betty Curtis). He was just blasting God saying there was no God and pretty much saying anything he could in blasphemy. I was as polite as I could be and just told him that I loved him and that I was praying that God would change his heart, I guess this pissed him off somehow. Then we got on the subject of his mom and her cancer and he is blaming the doctor who is a christian for his mothers condition. I told him that maybe Betty had done what God had called her to do and maybe it was her time to go to heaven, he got more mad and said that's just something Christians just say to make their selves feel better! Like we don't still hurt when we lose a loved one! He should know he was as close to my dad as I was 17 years ago! I told him that I too once blamed God and my eyes are finally open to His majestic presence! Then he had to go and talk about my momma! He started off by calling my mom a liar because she had said that Betty had gotten better. This just irked me like no other, my Mom cares for Betty like no other! They are sisters after all and why would my Mom do anything to put someone she cares so much about in jeopardy. I wish God would smack him right across the face and knock some sense into him before I have to do it again!

Two Mouths and One Ear!

I went to the grocery a little while ago and as I was driving home I saw one of those church signs with a funny saying on it! It instantly made me think of Ray. It read "If God wanted us to speak more and listen less He would've given us two mouths and only one ear!" Ok before you think that I am saying that Ray speaks way too much, you are right......just kidding. I was actually thinking about how he was such a good listener, on one of the VBS nights I was having a pretty bad day/night I kinda blew up and vented to Ray and he was feeling awful on his own fighting pneumonia. I just kept going on and on about my problems and he just listened...finally after we pulled back into the church he offered what had been some of the best advice I have ever received. Then last Sunday I was battling with some past issues that have been kind of haunting me again lately, I admit I was slightly distracted from worship and life in general and Ray came over and prayed for me. Later that evening Ray and I were talking and he told me that God had told him to come and pray for me. At first I felt like it had distracted me a little more, but as I reflected on it I knew that God had sent him to do that. Ray, I love your obedience and I love that you are an awesome listener, Thank You brother. If you have a similar story with Ray or anyone else please share it, these are testimonial blessings.

Thank You for your prayers!

This is a photo to help you put a face with the name. My Aunt Betty has always been a very important figure in my life as well as my Uncle Jody. I feel like I am a million miles away from this situation and completely helpless. My mom (Bonnie Smith) has been in Texas since the 1st of July nursing her to health or at least trying to. My mom has been a nurse for 30+ years and this is probably one of the hardest times she will ever have because her and Betty are so close! Anyways please continue to pray for her and the entire Curtis family, she has been battling cancer for several months and she had been progressing rather well until the last two weeks she had been pretty weak and finally she had some blood work done and they said she had anemia, so that was causing her to be weak and they hospitialized her then the ran some more tests and things look a little bleak at this point as Betty had stopped breathing this morning! My cousins are flying out to be there and just pray for there safety as they travel and that God will move and still heal my Aunt Betty!

Movie Night at Center Pointe Church

Tonight the Simpson/Smith Small Group presents "Facing the Giants". Everyone from Center Pointe is invited out to enjoy the film, snacks, drinks and pizza will be provided. It will be a great night of fun, fellowship, and food! The movie starts at 6pm so don't be late! See you there.

New book and a crazy dream!

I started re-reading Joel Osteen's book "Your Best Life Now". Man God sure has put a positive spirit in this man. He talks of expecting God to do more, and not only in your spiritual life, but every aspect. If you set goals of mediocrity that's just what you will get, but if you set your goals on God sized goals, that is what you will get. It makes alot of sense. Anyways, I have really been battling with a few things in my life and employment just happens to be at the top of the list, but recently I have had a few unipue opportunitys come and go and then some other promising ones kinda fizzle from a better view! But, the one job I have had my eye on for a few months now is standing strong, but there are some downsides like the thought of going back to 100% commission. A few others that are no where near as big as that. So this afternoon I laid down to take a nap, and I had this really crazy dream. We (my family and I) were in the back of a big SUV (which we do not currently own) and a huge cloud of tornados in a perfect line like they were standing at attention. There were quite a few of them and the just came along and took us up and the last thing I remember was asking if we were in heaven! It's kjnd of crazy how things work out, but I was reading that book yesterday and it is talking about stepping out in God's name believing His favor and taking faith in His name. I woke up really groggy and a little confused as I went to the rest room, I thought to myself...can it really be that easy. This insurance firm that I am going to go to work with has many different companies (the funnels maybe) and the pay is supposed to be very exceptional (thea heaven maybe), I know God will give us everything that we need and I need this! I need to feel like I am providing for my family, I need to feel like I am giving my all to church and this will give me both feelings and the time to do both! Please pray for the Holy Spirit to just wash over me and make this an even easier decision than it seeming like it will be already! I choose to believe that God has great (not good) things in store for me and my family!

A rough week! Yet eye still on God!

Hey everyone sorry but the net is still down at our house, and I have been resorting to going to the library to surf! Tonight Diana brought home her broadband card so I get to do some blogging/venting. So anyways, I found out that 2 of the jobs I was looking at sort of fell through, kinda depressing but I am looking at it as a blessing, God will provide something even better. I also scratched my right eye pretty bad this week and haven't been able to wear my contacts for 3 days which has really sucked. My eye is still bothering me and kind of pink because I have been scratching the crap out of it cause it's been so itchy. But I know God will heal it. Life can always throw us many curveballs and it is up to us to either swing away or to leave the outcome to God! I choose to leave the outcome to God.

Dinner at the Simpsons!

Last night we went to the Simpsons to make dinner for them since Sarah is wore out and Dan is a little bit crippled at the moment. It was alot of fun and a blessing to get to serve them, as well Danny and I got to play some Madden together. The kids played well together, and we had alot of fun. It really was a blessing to spend time with them and to fellowship, unfortunately Sarah wouldn't eat my cooking because Isaac said something about me being Shoooey when we got there so she thought it would translate to the food, but ya'll know Dan he will eat anything!

Small Group at the Simpsons

Last night we had our first of many successful small group meetings. We had a ton of awesome food (Sarah's mom made an awesome cheesecake) and (my lasagna was a hit too or so I heard). We had a great time getting to know people in our group even more. The teens sat in with the adults and listened to Dan and I give our testimonies. I learned alot about Dan that I didn't know and it helped me understand more of where he is with his walk with God and that is a truly amazing place to be, to see how much of a heart of service that he and Sarah both have is a real blessing! I got to share my testimony as well and it was the first time that I had the oppourtunity to do so since my return to my walk with Christ and it felt amazing. Jared and I talked a ton more college football and he and I could talk NCAA for hours. I honestly think aside from the food that my favorite part of the night was the prayer at the end, we had some unique special prayer requests and we laid hands on Dan and prayed for his surgery that he is getting right now. All in all it was a great night of food, family, fellowship, and fun!

Finally a good day!

Finally a good day! So I get up this morning and head down to CTI Freight Brokers to sit in on some calls with Dave Begley, I wasn't there more than half an hour and had posted a comment to Paul Peterson regarding church and his Insurance situation, within 30 seconds he asked me if he could call me to help him with it! so I emailed my number to him and he called a couple of minutes later, I asked if he would like me to come by and sit with him and Sherri to explain it to them, so I was on my way and decided to stop by the American Family office down stairs to get a business card for Paul and less than 3 minutes into the conversation she is offering me a job selling Life Insurance (So I am meeting with her on Monday at 4pm) then I got to the Peterson's to help relieve the confusion for Paul, and less than five minutes after I am there Paul was comfortable playing footsies with me! 30 minutes after being there I got a call from this Manager from an Insurance Broker that I have been planning to go to work for in August! I was beginning to worry that this job may fall through, but now with the call from him I am even more confident and willing to get started, It seems like things were looking down and I would never be back to doing sales and now in less than a week I have three jobs offered to me at once all of which may be getting some feasible time from me! Also on top of that I found out this morning that the company that I have been driving a truck for for the last 5 weeks, got me a load that picks up at 9pm in Dayton and delivers at 12am in Toledo and I will still make $500 (guaranteed) money from them ....thus eliminating all of my "commission only worries"!

Simpson/Smith Small Group Cookout Kickoff

Wow what a great time we had hosting everyone out at our house today! We put alot of effort into cleaning up the house with what little time we had to do it in and we appreciate all of the help that we had cleaning up afterwards! Fact is Diana is way too busy to clean everyday and I clean like a man lets face we are dirty creatures lol! It was great to spend some more time getting to know Jared and Christine Taylor. It was generally fun to have everyone down let them know what the Simpso/Smith Small Groups plans are and what we have learned from the Small Group training and how we intend on applying it! Plus we had some awesome food, talked football, video games (talked and played), went over the Simpson/Smith meeting from July 4th that went so well. Plus discussed some more ideas that some people that had not been to Small Groups training! All in all it was a great night of fellowship, food and fun. We were honored to have you all down and we love you! Please remember to keep my Aunt Betty Curtis and her inoperable tumors....God is going to deliver her from this, I know it in my heart!

One of those days!!!

Today was one of those days where you just wish you hadn't got out of bed! Everything that could go wrong today has and on top of that I have a wife who is stressed out because of her job. Julie fell and hurt her arm tonight hitting the concrete I thought she might have broken it and was a little scared that may have been the case! Thankfully she is ok only a minor scrape and a little blood loss and she will be as good as new in a couple of hours more than likely! Also lost to Danny in Madden tonight....Not a happy camper there! I had time set aside tonight to fix the brakes on my Buick and Diana's dad was going to help me, but evidently I didn't get here in his time schedule and he left before we could get them change and then gave me an earful about making him wait! Oh well new day now lets make the most of it!

Small Groups, Small Groups, Small Groups, and More Small Groups!!

The more and more we talk about, get prepared for, and get closer to beginning our small group the more and more excited we get about it! I know some of you may have read the post I did earlier on some of our plans for small group, but we had lunch with Dave, Trish, Danny, Sarah and their families ( I love these guys and gals) and I gotta tell you that I love everyones enthusiasm regarding the commitment of having a successfull small group, we really have some great ideas not only for our group "in house" but also for some "in group" outreaches. I have been practicing on my guitar so much the last 2 weeks I can barely hold down the strings because my finger tips hurt so bad. Thank God for new thinner strings, they won't hurt as bad! I have been playing alot better now though which is helpful, it wont sound so bad. Just got a call from Dave B, I was planning on going to help the Peterson's move but he said that they are all moved in, so looks like I will get to abuse my fingers some more tonight! I may enjoy a flick at home by myself too, although I have some mowing to do, after it cools down a little.

This is some school spirit!

Small Group Plans!

Well we didn't have alot of plans for the 4th of July and evidently neither did Danny and Sarah Simpson. So we set aside some time today for God and we got together to celebrate our independence and freedom in Him, by discussing our plans as a group for our Small Group that we are Co-leading, I gotta say out of all the couples that we have hung out with in the past Danny and Sarah are my favorites! I have almost as much of a man-crush on Danny as I do Adrian Peterson (of the Minnesota Vikings, Dan knows why!) and Matthew McConaughey...just kidding Dan! Anyways we had the opportunity to speak freely about God in a public place (Don't vote for Obama or that may not be happening for long). Isn't our Independence great! So we discussed out plans about our group and here are some of our ideas! Oh and BTW I will be posting a poll on some ideas for our group activities!

1. Our first night we are all (as in Me, Diana, Danny and Sarah) going to give our testimonies! We are also going to have a very laid back time of fellowship a short remix and a Game Night, Diana and I have an awesome board game to bring! Kind of a get to know everyone a little better night!
2. We are going to schedule a fun night once a month away from the host house (ideas welcome), kind of like how the Men's group meets in different places each month!
3. We will have a sign up sheet for snacks so that we can alternate so the Hosts are doing everything on our own!
4. We are also going to have a sign-up sheet for SERVICE...I mean helping people in the church or their immediate families that may not attend CP that have had babies, or surgery and may not be able to do as much as the normally can!
5. We are working up some ideas for community Outreach! I have already cleared a Car Wash through Ray to collect money for the Church's Benevolent Fund. This will be coming soon, and the church gave out $200 a few weeks ago to a needy family and we want to bless God by returning that to our church to help others in the future!
6. We need a phone/email list of the people who know that they will be attending our Small Group! If your read my blog my email is reddog45107@yahoo.com you can email it to me anytime or you can call me @ (937) 603-4599
7. We are going to have an in group prayer chain! We want dedicated people who will call one another to pray for our wonderful church and for our awesome leadership team! I am sure that everyone of us says a little prayer for Ray every day, but I'm also sure he can use all the prayer he can get seeing as how Satan is always attacking him and his servitude for the Lord!

We love you all and we are all really excited about the small groups and the opportunity to grow together towards God!

BIG DADDY WEAVE CONCERT!!

Wow what an amazing performance, I thought they were as good as Matt Redman and he is my favorite artist! We made the drive to Hillsboro despite the threat of rain, and I had prayed earlier that God would hold off the rain until after the show, guess he heard my cry for help! The rain held off until 10 minutes or so after we got into the car! They played all of my favorites plus a few other peoples hits it was truly amazing. "Every Time I breathe" was so awesome and is my favorite song by them, and they performed a new one that is very exceptional off their new album that comes out July 22nd, get it you wont regret it. At one point during "Fields of Grace" "Big Daddy Mike" their lead singer said this was his favorite part and it instantly made me think of Pastor Ray "There's a place where religion finally dies" and the next line in the song is my favorite "There's a place where I lose my selfish pride". I have to tell you that it was a privilege to see the band perform it in person but Chris Wall and the CP Orchestra can bang it out pretty close to as well as the band that wrote the song! A couple other highlights of the night was getting to see my cousin David, his wife Michelle and two of their kids, we ran into them, had no idea they would be there and sat with and worshiped God with them it was pretty awesome, and on top of that we ran into Jeff Meyer and his family from our old church Dove and found out that they had planted a new church in Hillsboro and were still attending Dove like once a month! But the most amazing thing of the night was getting to enjoy the music with my wife!

A New Start! and Vod

I finally found out when I start training for my new job! I have been wanting to get back into the sales field for the last few months....when I am not selling it feels like something is missing in my life! I absolutely love selling, the competition of it, the personability of it, the building of client relationships, closing the deals, the o so high feeling of making the sale, the general excitement that selling and learning new things everyday brings! I am super excited about starting training! I start August 4th and it is a 4 week training session which I do get paid for, not only that but they also help me build a "bank of money" up so I can be paid the 2nd month while I am out selling and building my own business! This almost builds up to the excitement that ny wife and I have shared for Jesus and our new home Center Pointe, which has brought many wonderful new things into our lives! We are eager to get started with the small groups. We are eager to further build relationships. We are also eager to keep growing in Christ, as much as we have grown in the last few months, we want more, and more, and more....you get the idea! God has been awesome to us and his faithfulness remains the same today as it was yesterday and all the days before! I cannot even being to say how much our growth in Christ has meant to us over the last few months all I know is that is has changed us both tremendouly and I will never turn away from God again!

Romans 8:28 (New International Version)

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

VoD 6/30/08, Spiritual Warfare, and more

Ephesians 6: 16-18

16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

I believe that this is the verse that Danny was addressing in small groups training last night! Awesome verse. I also absolutely loved small groups training. It's really funny how

God gives you confirmation through others that have absolutely no knowledge of where you are at and what is going on! My Mom on the other hand does and not even 2 weeks ago her and I were talking about spritual warfare and how Satan is going to do everything in his power to make you not want to do small groups..so far he isn't convincing me! It is also funny that we talked about that last night because I have been being attacked by Satan, he has been making me feel insignifigant and like a failure alot lately and I know it's not true but there is doubt when he comes and pushes and pushes at you. I am as of today surrendering that to God! God and prayer and my shield of faith that God will deliver me from satan and will restore my confidence in His plan and path for me! He has already presented me with an awesome job offer (which is one of the things that satan has been making me feel insecure about!).

For those of you who missed the Football game!

This picture was taken like a second before I recover that loose ball, how she didn't get a shot of me falling on it or my celebration...i'll never know!

Here are some other Various pics with me in the standing around watching the plays develop!

Verse of the day 6-26-08

Exodus 9:16

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Verse of the day 6-25-08

Psalm 25:4-6

4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

2 Years WOW! Congrats to the wife for putting up with me this long!

This is my absolute favorite picture of the two of us! I had this picture blown up and gave this to Diana for Christmas. The past two years have flown by and yes we have been through plenty of ups and downs but with God our downs seem so small and petty now. It has been an awesome experience witnessing Diana's hunger to grow in the Lord and I cannot wait to see what more comes of it in the next few years! She definately was a blessing from God at a time when I needed her most and even before we were married she has been there by my side through some rough obstacles and some very tough life altering decisions. I cherish her more than she will ever know and along with God she holds the keys to my heart!

A big huge thank you to my Mom (who I couldn't find a picture of from the wedding on this stupid computer), as well as Tom (Diana's dad) and Lynn (Diana's Mom) and especially Dave and Robin Hinman, They helped as much as anyone to make our day a special day and Dave only moments before we strolled out to the altar told me and I quote "Now is the time to run". He was only kidding and referring to the past October when I had postponed our wedding at the last moment. But they made it an awesome day!

Well I overcame the biggest obstacle in our marriage getting my wife to watch football, while she doesn't look very enthusiastic in the picture she should be the Buckeyes beat the crap out of Michigan for the 4th straight year. Oh btw the final was 14-3 Buckeyes.

She usually get so aggravated with me for making funny faces while people are taking pictures but sometimes it is fun to aggravate her! Love ya honey.

Wow a fun day at Kings Island, we have had a few of them the last couple of months and lucky for you guys we got pictures of me not in the waterpark, me with a shirt off is not a pretty sight!

Incredible Hulk (Movie Review)

Man I have nothing but great things to say about this movie! I am not a huge fan of the Incredible Hulk, but I do like the back story of it! You know man gets gamma ray poisoning he ultimately starts having side effects and when he gets really angry he turn into this big green monster (remind you of anyone?). Yes all of us get kinda ugly when we lose our tempers

Now I am going to give a review on this movie without giving too much away! First things first. If you haven't seen the new "Iron Man" movie go watch it before you watch the "HULK". There are a few key points where they interact and its great if you are a Marvel fan! Second the story action and acting in this movie rival that of "Iron Man" if you have seen it, this is that good! This one is a sequel to the last one with "Edward Norton" (American History X)(which btw if you haven't seen it rent it)as Bruce Banner. Like I said good story great action, and way better acting than the last Hulk movie! Go watch it!

Verse of the day 6-23-08

Isaiah 40:31

those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint!

How true is this verse! I find that if I keep my hope in the Lord so many daily strifes we come to are a whole lot easier! And man o man can he renew some strength. When the walking and running are left in God's hands you feel like you are flying high! and you are with the Holy Spirit! Praise be to God the Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings and the Heavenly Father of all Creation!

Verse of the Day 6-22-08

Ephesian 4:29-32

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

This is something that I really struggle with on a daily basis and I really have been trying to implement this verse daily into my life. I grew up with a father who I knew loved me but sometimes he didn't exactly show it or say it, and sometimes could be just down right harsh. I made a promise to myself a couple of years ago that I would lighten up on Austin and I have, but sometimes those feelings and maybe a little held over anger bleeds through. I love him and I hope he and Julie both know that! Sometimes I don't say it enough or maybe even act like it enough but if I were to lose them I would be beside myself.

Football Game update!

Well we lost again, but most of us had more fun in this loss than the previous three games combined, it was a very hard fought battle but our offense just couldn't put the ball in the endzone. We had the ball inside the five three times and miscommunication and turnovers killed our drives! But I did do a little stat padding of my own, I got my first big play of the season late in the third quarter. Kyle (our team owner) was play RE and I was playing DT and the Center for WV snapped the ball over the QB's head and he couldn't find it Kyle got into the backfield and the ball got knocked around a little on the ground and ended up rolling right towards me and my big butt was on that ball like white on rice, a glass of milk, a paper plate and a snowstorm! Dude I was so pumped up after that. I felt like I was out there and doing a good job! I jumped up and my celebration was that I aimed the football to heaven toward dad and my God. It was awesome! Can't wait till next week! Well I almost forgot a big thanks goes out to Pastor Ray and his lovely wife Melissa for making the trip down to watch the game, sorry you guys didn't get to see me play but I played almost the entire 2nd half!

Verse of the Day 6-21-08

Genesis 22: 1-18

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring [b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

How many of us would be willing to obey God and sacrifice one of our children? I mean actually sacrifice a child! That is insane, but Abraham actually did what God had requested of him and then God stopped him and rewarded him for his obedience.

For Diana

I used to believe a certain ex would be with me the rest of my life

That was until God brought me closer to my beautiful wife

He has shown to me that just like Him none compare to her

And that love is not a noun but an action of life, a verb

She keeps bringing out the best in me

finding new ways to open my eyes and see

Just how amazing that she is

And by my side she stands in all of this

Day by day she proves her love

by Gods' strength from heaven above

I couldn't have asked for more

For my beautiful wife, I thank you Lord!

Verse of the day is back!

Psalm 7:17

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Everyone should make this a daily ritual!

So Proud! and a little sad too!

Well, I wanna start by saying how proud I am of my wife! She has been absolutely phenomenal lately and she just keeps getting better and better and I didn't think that was really possible but I guess it is when you start mixing in more of God! I had to be out of town this last weekend as many of you know, and unfortunately I missed a really good sermon or at least that's what I was told! I am sure it was a great sermon Ray doesn't have too many bad ones....well ok none! But I get back from my trip and my wife is all excited about what Ray talked about and has said that he preached a little on nagging! Now don't get me wrong Diana can nag a little, but the thing is as she has gotten closer to God the nagging has been slowly fading away and she is a woman of very strong faith and she has been letting her issues with me go to God alot longer than just this weekend I can tell you that! She has been doing it for months! Which in turn has been helping our relationship tremendously! God has been moving in her for awhile now and I am just so glad that she is allowing Him to be in control and learning that He has whats best for us and our family in mind!

Now to the sad part, I already missed this last Sunday at CP now we are missing a second Sunday, my second in a row, because we are going to visit our old church, but I just found out that Dave Hinman is preaching and I couldn't be happier. Dave is on of the most awesome people I have ever met and he is a great man of God. I cannot wait to see him and his lovely family this weekend! So I guess while I am sad for not being at CP, I am also glad that I get to see them!

Football Game!! 6/21/08

Hey everyone, Please make a valiant effort to come out and support the Mt. Carmel Fire Semi-Pro Football team. It really is alot of fun. You can visit the website @ mtcarmelfire.org and anyone willing or wanting to sponsor the team can contact me to get more info. They have some pretty sweet packages available! You can also come out and cheer me on this Saturday 6/21/08 at 6pm @ Turpin High School as we play the West Virginia Crash and if you need directions you can get them off the website! Please come out and support us, we are a fairly new team and could use all the support we can get. See ya there! Oh I forgot to mention (this ought to bring out some of the guys from Men's Group) that we go to BW's after the game so don't forget to bring your appetite!

Small Groups!

Man I was really looking forward to small group training and it is really paying off! I am diggin this stuff! I know it is going to be alot of work but I think Diana and I will be ready for that challenge when that time comes! I am so siked about the training though, we are learning a ton of very valuable imformation...John should be charging for this class he is an awesome teacher! God knew what he was doing when he put John and Jan in CP! I love the place and cannot get enough of it. I could live in a big house with all of these people (oh wait that is God's plan in a few years). God is so wonderful and I love the change He is doing in me and my beautiful wife (she is amazing by the way) and her heart for God is growing everyday more and more! God is good!

A Little Sore Today!

Well yesterday I suited up for a football game for the first time in 14+ years ...I know scary huh, but it actually was alot of fun even though I didn't do much and only played a few downs (thank God) it was still awesome to just be a part of a team again! I am going to start going to the gym again to try and cultivate my skills and add a little more strength and to shed some of this belly! Well here are a couple of pics from the game!

Well I gotta run it's time to go praise God for my awesome life!

If you haven't heard it yet you are missing out!

I don't know how many of you listen to Klove or not but if you don't you should be because it truly is Positive and Encouraging! I absolutely love this new song by Lincoln Brewster and if you haven't heard listen to Klove they have been playing about once an hour. I don't think his new album comes out until like October but her played it for them live on-air and it is awesome!

Lincoln Brewster - Today Is The DayFrom the album Today Is The Day
Here we go!Oh, oh, ohOh, oh, ohOh, oh, ohI’m casting my cares asideI’m leaving my past behindI’m setting my heart and mind on You JesusI’m reaching my hand to YoursBelieving there’s so much more Knowing that all You have in store for me is goodIs good Chorus:Today is the day You have madeI will rejoice and be glad in itToday is the day You have madeI will rejoice and be glad in itAnd I won’t worry about tomorrowI’m trusting in what You sayToday is the dayOh, oh, ohOh, oh, ohToday is the dayOh, oh, ohOh, oh, ohI putting my fears asideI’m leaving my doubts behindI’m giving my hopes and dreams to YouJesusI’m reaching my hand to YoursBelieving there’s so much more Knowing that all You have in store for me is goodIs good Chorus:(Guitar interlude)(2x’s)I will stand upon Your truth.(I will stand upon Your truth)And all my days I’ll live for You(And all my days I’ll live for You)Chorus

In The Past

In the past I have done some thing I am not proud of and have hurt people I cared about in the process, but it was just that in the past! For years I have wanted more and more, not only in my heart but in my financial state as well! Finally after years of just going through the motions I have devoted myself to furthering my relationship with Christ and I am loving every minute of it! Though it seems every time that I get closer to Christ, Satan comes along and tries to make other things get you down! Right now I am second guessing myself, I had two driving jobs offered to me basically within days of each other and one of them allowed me to be home in the evenings and the other I would've been gone M-F and would be home saturday and sunday! The driving job was only supposed to be a stepping stone to me getting back into sales. I really miss selling insurance and I feel inferior as a truck driver and very unchallenged! I also feel like I am wasting the talent that God gave me and that my knowledge is just going to waste as well. You know this pretty head of mine needs to be put to good use! I love the challenge of capturing the sale it is really overwhelming and exciting! I was reading my bible as I have been almost daily (which is a huge improvement for me...thanks Chris for brainwashing me lol) and I came across a familiar verse Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." King David had pretty much all his heart desired and more. He was a faithful man of God and yet he sinned and asked God's forgiveness and God honored that and David was one of the most successful men of the Bible. So what does that mean for the rest of us? I have Jesus, but I want to be able to provide better for my family as well! I feel like I am not succeeding in that and it is really bothering me! Diana for far too long has had this huge burden on her shoulders and I feel bad about it! I am kind of lost in this decision and Diana gave me her opinion and it was not what I expected, nor what I was wanting to here! I know it is tough for her to back me up on a decision like this but the answer she gave me on is one I have heard before and after you hear it so many times you really just stop caring what the outcome is going to be! If that is what God has intended for us than so be it! Who are we to try and change what He has in store for us! He has a plan for all of us and it is up to us to pray with him to determine what it is!

Movie Review

Chronicles of Narnia

Prince Caspian

Well I enjoyed this a heck of alot more than I did IJ4.

There were a ton of biblical refrences in this movie but the two that really stuck out to me are...Late in the movie Azlan(the lion/which has biblical similarities to Jesus) asks Lucy why it took her so long to come to him and she says "I believed but the others weren't so sure" and Azlan replied "If you believed all of this time why did it take you so long to come to me". Man that seriously sent shivers down my spine! Another cool moment was at the very end, one of the mice gets his tail cut off in battle and Azlan heals it and makes it grow back, similar to Christ healing the soldiers ear that Peter cuts on the eve of Christ's death. Phenomonal movie kid safe minus a little violence that kids can see on the news every night! Take the family out to see it!!