Another Busy Weekend Planned

We have another busy weekend planned. Let's see...

When I get off work @ 4:00, I have to run home and make some "Freaky Witches' Fingers" for a Halloween party that starts at 6:30 that some people from church are throwing. This is a "have to dress up" party, so Mihaela is going as a LadyBug, Erin is going as "G.I. Jane" and I am dressing up like Wally.

Tomorrow, PCA is having thier fall festival and Erin has to work it for a couple of hours. I need to work a couple of hours for my consulting business and I have to finsih preparing for my John class on Sunday and my Revelation Small Group. I did complete my comminion thought for Sunday already.

Then, on Sunday, Erin is singing on the praise team, has a WINGS (Women In God's Service) meeting, and has to provide a dish for the guest luncheon. I will be sharing my communion thought during first service, teach class, share comminion thought during second service and then teach small group Sunday night.

We will be busy, busy, busy...

Its and Ear Infection

We took Mihaela to the doctor yesterday because she still really wasn't feeling better. She has an ear infection. She is being medicated with an antibiotic. I found this ironic because while we were waiting for an hour in the exam room I read the the poster on the back of the door that informed us that most ear infections are caused by a virus and warned against using antibiotics due to the danger of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. Then, the doctor gives us an antibiotic. I guess she can tell the difference between viral caused ear infections and bacterial caused.

We did weigh her while she was there and she is up to a whopping 23 lbs 9 oz.

Small Group Materials

I've been meaning to upload and make available all my materials that I have been creating for small group but haven't had the time. I am staying home with Mihaela today because she is not feeling well so I thought this would be a good oppertunity to do this.

Week 1 - "The Nature of the Book"

• Teacher Notes
• Handout
• Slideshow

Week 2 - "The History and Heritage of the Book"

• Teacher Notes
• Handout
• Slideshow

Week 3 - "The Four Views"

• Teacher Notes
• Handout
• Slideshow
• Homework: Chapter 1 Study Guide

Week 4 - "Chapter 1: He Walks Amongst Us"

• Teacher Notes
• Slideshow
• Homework: Church Comparison Chart
• Homework: Chapters 2 and 3 Study Guide

I will try to be more faithful and post each week's material promptly on Monday following the Sunday small group.

John Class

It seemed like everything was conspiring against me this weekend. I finished my notes up late on Saturday night and went to print. I was out-of-ink. Never fear, I said to myself, I had a printer in the car that had been donated to PCA that I needed to clean up and test. I cleaned it up, hooked it up, and it worked beuatifully, exept it had no ink either. I didn't worry then though, I would just print it at church. I took my laptop with me to church on Sunday morning, but for got that I had actally saved the files to my Office PC, not the laptop. So I had to run back home nad burn them onto a CD and go back to church and print. I printed off my notes and went to the copier to make copies. The copier was out-of-order. DOH!!!

Well, at least I had my notes for class.

John 5 Notes
John 5 Discussion Questions

Busy Weekend Ahead

I am procrasting a very busy weekend that I should be working on by blogging right now. I am supposed to be studying John 5 because I am filling in teaching Sunday School for the next two weeks. The teacher called me on Wed and asked me to substitue because his wife's mother had passed away and they were travelling to Arkansas for the weekend. Then next weekend he was scheduled to lead a discussion in our "Make Your Election Sure" class on war. I told him I would be happy to fill in, so I am studying John 5 this week and John 6 next week.

I am also supposed to work tomorrow for Joe. I need to put in a number hours to try and get more done on the project I am working on so that I can show it to Joe. He hasn't given me a deadline for it, but I know the quicker I get it done, the quicker he can market it and have it be a revenue source.

I also have communion next Sunday (the 31st) and have been preparing for that this week. I need to get a few more things ready to show the Worship Leader this Sunday so that he can work what I have planned into worship. I will post that after next week because I think everyone will like it. I have this strange feeling I may have created something that may be passed around via e-mail all over the Internet. Then again, I may be experience dillusions de grandeur.

Of course, I still am teaching small group on Sunday night. I spent Tuesday night prepping for it, but still have work to do to get ready for it. I did finish my homework study guides for the next two weeks, but still have to prep discussion questions for the night.

One of our small group member's father has just been diagnosed with leukiema, so we are praying for that family. Another member of the group had to have surgery this past week so we have to take food over this weekend. Needless-to-say, I am really too busy to be writing this, but I wanted to procrastinate. I guess I need to get back to the grindstone.

Maybe She Forgot How

Last night I blogged my excitement as Mihaela completed her "rolling over" phase by successfully returning to her back from her stomach. Prior to last night's achievement she could only roll one way, from her back to her front.

Today she spent a lot of time, at least for her, on her tummy. Erin said she rolled over from her back to her tummy this morning and then stayed on her tummy for over 15 minutes. She never even tried to return to her back. Then, this evening when I was playing with her I put her on her back and she immediately rolled over to her tummy. She kicked her legs, rocked back and forth on her tummy a few times, and pushed her chest and head high into the air with her arms. She never rolled back onto her back. She became frustrated about being on her tummy and didn't even try to roll back over. I think she forgot that she knows how to do it.

Maybe tomorrow she will relearn to do what she already did with great ease.

Geeky "Personality" Test Results

Which OS are You?

Rolling Over

Mihalea has decided that she is was not content to merely roll-over from her back to her front. She has decided tgo roll-over from her front to her back too!!!! She successfully completed the manuver, causing the entire household (her mother and me) to erupt in great cheers. This did nothing but excite her, so she rolled back on to her tummy and then proceeded to show off by duplicating her feat. She rolled back and forth from tummy to back about 6 times after she figured out how to do it.

She is also rotating on her stomach and also scooting around in circles when she is sitting. She is no longer content to sit in one position, but bursting forth with movements. Erin thinks she will be crawling with in two weeks. Anyway, it is so exciting watching her learn and seeing her accomplish these great feats.

Weekend Update

Wow! This was a busy weekend we just had. On Friday night we had over 3 other couples for a "Game Night." Andy made chili and everyone brought some food and we played board games until after 10. It was a lot of fun.

Then, we got up early on Saturday morning because Mihalea had a Dr. appointment to get her first flu shot. We took her in and she got her shot. I then worked for about 8 hours for my consulting job. Erin and the baby spent the day with her parents and then we all ate dinner togather.

Sunday, I got up early and went to set up the sound board. Church rocked. Erin said I had the best mix of the praise team ever and Don preached it out of the park. I spent Sunday afternoon preparing for small group and then we had small group at our house. Our Bible study time lasted 1 hour, followed by 30 minutes of unplanned sharing. We then prayed and ate. A couple of the couples from our small group just stayed around talking until after 10 PM. I then had to run to PCA to implement the internet filtering software that I said I would have done by Monday.

It was a very busy weekend and I am tired and ready for bed...

Google My PC

The people from Google must read my brother's blog, because back in May he blogged about wanting a feature like this from Google. Now, they have provided it for him.

I am downloading and testing the newest creation from Google, Google Desktop Search. According to Google, this is

"...a desktop search application that provides full text search over your email, computer files, chats, and the web pages you've viewed. By making your computer searchable, Google Desktop Search puts your information easily within your reach and frees you from having to manually organize your files, emails, and bookmarks. "

Download it for yourself @ http://desktop.google.com

Blogger NavBar

I watch my site statistics very closely. Not that I get a lot of hits, only 4 to 6 a day. I find it very intresting what people are searching for when they end up on my blog. I wish I had started a list of search terms that drew people to my site when I first started.

Anyway, I turned on the Blogger NavBar yesterday as part of my move to a Blogger Template and have been amazed to find in the past two days that my hits have doubled as people use the NavBar to get here.

I don't think they are sticking around and reading anything. Too bad for them because I have some wonderful insights (if I do say so myself). But, they are coming.

Used Blogger Template

I haven't liked my blog look for some time and had been trying to come up with a new look, but don't really have time to re-do it. So I opted for one of the built-in templates. Maybe one day I will re-do an orginal.

I did make a few enhancements to the template to kind of personalize it.

France Forces Champagne Down the Drain

So, you have a product and want to raisethe price. There are two ways to do that:

1. Increase demand, keep supplies the same
2. Decrease supplies, keep demand the same

Well, in France the vineyards wanted to raise the price of champagne, so they lobbied thier government to enforce quotas on the amount of champagne a vineyard was allowed to produce. This quota is determined by the acre, so bigger vineyards stay big while smaller vineyards stay small.

Anyway, it appears that this year's grape harvest is a phenomanal one. The best in 300 years. However, the quotas are in place and no one can take advantage of this and produce a lot of extra good champagne.

This kind of regulation is destructive to small businesses and denies a good product to many people who might not normally be able to afford it.

Read the article here.

Concert

Bill, Brooke, Jayde, Aubree, Morgan and Adam drove down to Montgomery today to visit for the weekend. Bill, Jayde and Aubree didn't know it, but Gary had arranged for them, Brooke, Erin and I to go to a concert tonigh. Ma stayed home with Mihaela and the two little ones. The rest of us suprised Bill, Jayde and Aubree by taking to see Third Day and Toby Mac.

It was a great concert. The first band was called Day of Fire, a heavy metal christian band. The lead singer used to be a member of a Metal band called "Full Devil's Jacket." However, when a drug overdose landed him in re-hab, he was found by Christ and saved. He is a complete new man. The group finds its roots in the classic metal sound of Metallica and Motley Crue and while you will hear the similarities between them and Pearl Jam or Nickelback, you find phenommal lyrics that show just how merciful and gracious God is. I was truly moved by thier testimony and thier music.

Then, Toby Mac and crew put on a very upbeat, lively, and rocking show. Wow!!! Do they have a lot of energy! It was a great set.

Finally, Third Day performed and an outstanding, worshipful time was had by all. Their newest CD rocks. They had a great light display, excellent video footage, and a wonderful format. It had been 4 or 5 years since they were last in Montgomery and thier stage presence and show has greatly improved.

I missed the debate to go the show but don't really care. I had such a good time. If you get the oppertunity, this is a concert you don't want to miss.

Communism or Facism: Pick your Poison

Joseph Farah has written an editorial piece railing against the mountain of regulations created by beuracrats that pour out of Washington each year. He makes the points that those regulations created by federal agencies cost private citizens and private business real dollars. This, then, makes the practice of regulating a form of taxiation. Farah goes on to point out that since these beuracrats are not elected and Congress does not police them, then we have returned to the era of "taxation without representation."

These agencies not only subvert the founding principle of "no taxation without representation," they also totally subvert the principle of the separation of powers. The agencies all make rules, interpret the rules, and enforce the rules. In essence, each agency has legislative, judicial and executive power in spite of the founders intent to separate those powers.

This practice of regulation is the essence of facism. Most people don't really understand what facism is, though they throw the word around willy-nilly. Remember, Nazi Germany did not advocate public ownership of the means of production like Communist Russia. In Nazi Germany, ownership rights were negated by government regulations. What is the point of ownership when one has no power to use or dispose of their property as they themselves see fit?

Facism and Socialism are not polar opposites. They are the same beast and we have been moving towards both with great haste. Since the inclusion of the Income tax we have started taking money away from those who earn it to give it to those who need it. This moves us as individuals towards socialim. Meanwhile, we regulate our businesses so heavily that business owners can not really sell a widget or move a wadget without paying homage to the god of government.

The real tragedy is that one of these two forms of tyranny are the will of the people.

New Programmer Started

I hired a new programmer and he started on Monday. He appears to be very talented and his personality meshes well with the group. I am excited.

He sent me an invitation to GMail and I replied that I didn't need it because, as a Blogger, I already had an account. I am intrested to see how it long it takes him to find my blog. So, Chad, when you find this...leave a comment. :)

Small Group Started

Everything seemed to go well. We had 4 other families join us on Sunday night. Two of the families we are very good friends with and they were determined to come back when I first started talking about hosting a small group. On Sunday morning the Shepherds had each small group leader take 1 minute to talk about his group so that people could see what was going on. The other two families heard my little spiel and decided to come to our group. One of the families has not even placed membership at the church yet.

A good time was had by all (I think). I pray that God will continue to bless this group and that it will be a conduit to some long-lasting, deep relationships.

Small Group starts tonight

Erin and I decided that we needed to lead a small group. It starts tonight and will be looking at the book of Revelation.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get into a "cruise-control Christianity" mentality. It is the state when I am going to church, reading my Bible, praying, and living an ethical/moral life, but am not really striving after a Christ-like character. It seems that I am more-or-less jogging the race, not running after it.

The focus of the Small Group is to use the book of Revelation to spur us on to a deeper understanding of God and living a more authentic Christ-like life. By studying the Revelation of Jesus we will be studying that prize that we are to keep our eye on and that will inspire us to step up the pace from jogging to running.

I'll post an update after group and will include week one's outline and presentation.

Milestone Reached...Finally

Well, Mihaela has finally rolled-over. After 7 1/2 months of immobility, she has decided that being able to switch from being on her back to being on front might be a good thing. We assumed she had figured out how to roll-over earlier this week when we went to get her out of her crib one morning and she was on her tummy. Since I had put her to bed on her back, obviously she had rolled over.

Today, though, we officially saw the roll. She is working on being able to roll back over, but still has a lot of mass to move. I think she will force herself to crawl very soon now that she is learning to be mobile and is no longer content to be stationary.