Friday, December 25, 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all !! As we settle in for the night we are thankful for a loving God who came unto us to give us hope and peace and love and life ever lasting !!

God was good to us today as we were able to celebrate together as a family and share with each other what God has Blessed us with.

To all who read this a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year !!

III John 2

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

errare

ERRARE


HUMANUM


EST










TO ERR IS HUMAN

Friday, December 11, 2009

The Lord's Prayer

THE LORD'S PRAYER


I cannot say “OUR” if I live only for myself.

I cannot say “FATHER’” if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child.

I cannot say “WHO ART IN HEAVEN” if I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say “HALLOWED BE THY NAME” if I am not striving for holiness.

I cannot say “THY KINGDOM COME” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful event.

I cannot say “THY WILL BE DONE” if I am disobedient to His Word.

I cannot say “ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” if I’ll not serve him here and now.

I cannot say “GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD” if I am dishonest or am seeking things by seeking things by subterfuge.

I cannot say “FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say “DELIVER US FROM EVIL” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.

I cannot say “THINE IS THE KINGDOM” if I do not give the King the loyalty due Him from a faithful subject.

I cannot attribute to Him “THE POWER” if I fear what men may do.

I cannot ascribe to Him “THE GLORY” If I’m seeking honor only for myself, and

I cannot say “FOREVER” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by time.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Busy Week

Let's see.... Monday night was the school board having the cross country in to there meeting to offer congradulations for the teams season. Tuesday night I had a practice for our churchs upcoming Christmas program which will be this Sunday night. Tonight is church, tomorrow is the little girls Christmas concert, Friday night is date night for I and wife and Saturday we pick up fruit at the high school and distribute it. This was one of the many fund raisers we do for each activity the kids are in.

We have done a cookie sale, cheese cake sales, fruit sales, christmas wrpping/christmas card sales and are in the process of doing soda sales. And this only the half way point in the school year. YIKES !!

Excitment is running high with the holidays approaching. The gift lists have been whittled down from many to a few items. Maybe I can give them back a cheese cake.... or cookies or....

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

End of the Season

Our runner, Cat, had her last meet of the year this past Sat. She has improved each week with only a couple set backs due to blisters. The school had a great send off for the team. They had the student body line the hall to the front of the school and as the band played the fight song the students clapped and cheered them on as they boarded the bus to go to the State Championship race.


As a team they placed 5th out of 18 and Cat came in 108 out of 191. These were the best runners in the state. Cat's time was 22:44. This was 11 seconds faster than her last best. She ran this same course about three weeks before and her time then was 23:30. She passed three girls at the finish in a strong showing. She had a good season and gained valuable knowledge about running and competing, something she had never done before. We are proud of her and what she has done, she has worked hard


GO CAT GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

St. Nicholas Food Festival

We have a Russian Orthodox church in our area, the only one in Alabama, that has a food festival every year on the first full weekend of November. We have taken the girls there each year to enjoy the food and visit with the priest who is from Ukraine. The food is from recipes handed down from generation to generation and reminds the girls of Ukraine.

Our girls like to cook and bake and they will come home with at least one item that they will try to make. Two years ago it was Blini, a very flat pancake looking thing with a sweet center. It is very good though labor intensive.

They sell pastries and baked goods as well as a variety of meals. They also have a gift shop with items from Ukraine and Russia.

On one of the days they have a dance troop come in and perform Russian dances. The lady who heads it up is Natasha Russo who is from Russia. The name of the group is Natasha and the Russian Beauties. They dance in ethnic costumes that they have made themselves.

The church is located in Brookside Alabama and I recommend it to anyone who has adopted children from Ukraine or Russia. It is a small way to help them stay connected with there home country.

It is open Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday from 12 pm to 5 pm. The dancers will be there Saturday in the afternoon.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Gotchya Day

Four years ago today we were Blessed to have four lovely girls become a part of our family. Wow, four years have gone by fast. The girls have become young women and the younger two can speak very little Ukrainian. The older two can still speak and read and write it but have forgotten some.

Today we all went to have Mexican food for dinner. This has become their favorite food. The meal was great and the time spent sweet. We ate, laughed and enjoyed the day together.

After dinner we spent the rest of the day playing with the horse. We rode laughed and just enjoyed each other.

Our girls are 18,16,14 & 12. They like to be with us, even when their Friends are around. They would just as soon spend time with us as to be any where else. We are so Blessed to have these beautiful girls. We have many Friends who have children their age who would rather be any where than with the family. I am not sure who is Blessed more, them or us,but I know one thing, God has put us together.

Cat ran this week with a hurt hip and still managed to finish in the top 1/4 of the field she ran against. This week coming is the last event and then they start the sectional series. She has done better than anyone would have thought and we are very proud of what she has done.

I am truly a Blessed man. I have a wife who loves me and children who look up to me. I pray I can live up to the challenge God has placed before me.

I pray God leads me in all I do and shows me what I need to do next to be the man they all need to see. I love them dearly and would do anything to help them see the love of Christ.

Thank you Jesus !!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Phillies Win

The Philadelphia Phillies, last years world series champs, are World Series bound again!!!! After stomping the LA Dodgers they will likely meet the New York Yankees for a turnpike series.

Man it's good to be a Phillies fan !!!!!!!! Go Phillies!!!!!!!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

A POEM

THE BEST POEM IN THE WORLD!


I was shocked, confused, bewildered
as I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
who made me sputter and gasp--
the thieves, the liars, the sinners,
the alcoholics, the trash
There stood the kid from seventh grade who
who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
was rotting away in hell,
was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, "What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.
And why's everyone so quiet,
so somber? Give me a clue."
Hush, child," said He, "they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you."


Judge NOT!

Freedom

This is a good thought.


You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers ~~

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

FIRST DAYS IN IVANCIV

During the first weekend we needed cleaning supplies and a fan for our room. The rooms at the hotel had windows put it was still warm and it took until after 11 pm to cool down. We enlisted the kids to help us find just what we needed. They took us to there enclosed shopping mall. It had the capability of having about 8 - 10 stores in it. There were 6 operating and a lady who sold flowers at the entrance. It was two stories tall and about 4,000 sq. feet of store space with about the same in area to walk around to get from store to store. The middle area was where they set up vendors during the winter who set up outside in warmer times.

Our group of children had grown from our three girls and the girl who could interpret to ten with other children who just tagged along. As a group we entered these little stores and the shop keeper looked at us with horror. Later we found they were afraid the kids would steal things from them.

We quickly found the things we needed and headed back to the hotel . We bought soda's for everyone and when we got to the room we opened up a 3 1/2 lb. bag of mixed candy and passed it around. It made it one time around and was empty. We also had a dozen banana's we had bought for the girls and they got eaten within the first 15 minutes. The fan got hooked up and the rooms got cleaned by everybody doing something and in no time we were all watching pictures I had brought with us on our laptop.

As you could imagine they were enthralled with the pictures of our house and the pets. Then we all started taking pictures of each other and then the wrestling started. Next thing I know someone is banging on the door asking us to hold it down. With that we took them back to the orphanage and played there for a while.

Word of the candy spread quick. I was surrounded with kid's wanting candy. I went to the nearest store and bought about a dozen packs of gum and started handing it out to all of them. This started something that we did for the rest of the trip. Candy or gum or ice cream, they were looking for it when we got there.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Meeting the girls

On the first day we were in Ivanciv we checked into our room. We were late getting there and were to meet the girls at 2:30 pm. We opened the door to the room and pushed our bags in and left to go to the orphanage.

The next 15 minutes were very anxious for me. It was like a cross between that first date, asking my wife to marry me and our wedding . I thought all of the what if's, what if they didn't like me, what if I didn't like them?

As we pulled up to the orphanage I noticed a girl coming through the bushes ( we would later find this was a short cut for the kid's) towards the building. As I got out of the car she came to see us and I saw it was one of our girls. She saw wife and a huge smile came across her face. She gave us a hug and ran into the orphanage to get the other girl who was there. We found out we had missed the Orphanage Director by a few minutes and nobody knew if or when she would be back. Protocol was to see her first and give her some paper work and then she would bring the children in for a formal introduction. Instead we walked over to the town stadium located next the orphanage and sat in the stands with these two girls and tryed to talk to them through the interpreter. They were shy and only gave yes and no answers. A few minutes later the Director came up and we all went inside where we did it the right way.


As we headed in the two girls ran off to the school to get the other girl and bring her back. Upon her return the director gave them a pep talk about there lives would be different and that sh had met us in America and we were good people etc. She excused herself and we had a few questions asked back and forth. The youngest one was antsy and couldn't sit still. The oldest one looked as though she was going to burst out of her skin but they remained reserved. We decided to go to the market area and see if we could find some banana's. The girls came with us to show us the way. As we were walking there one of the girls gave wife a hug. That started what became love fest. Another one hugged me and it was one hug after another from then until we left them to go back to the hotel 5 hours later.

After getting a box of banana's we went back and the director brought the kids into the great room and told them who we were and what we were there to do. Most of them smiled and for the first time I felt awkward. It dawned on me that all these kids wanted to go home and some had the why not me look. The fruit was enjoyed and we saw that our girls all had a servants heart as they passed out the fruit and the candy we bought for all them.

The time flew as the girls wanted us to see there beds and the few things they possessed. They each gave us a little trinket as a gift and we gave them some things we brought for them. They would bring their Friends over and introduce us to them through the interpreter.

At about 6 pm the interpreter announced she had to leave and go back to Kyiv. We were there with only a little girl we had met in the states to help us talk with them. The girl and her brother were going to be adopted by another couple we knew. The girl had been to the states and had been taking English lessons. She could speak some and spent the remainder of the weekend helping out. One of the first questions the girls asked was what do you want us to call you. I asked what do you want to call us and they answered Mama and Papa.

That was settled and in time it was time for us to go leave as the orphanage locked down at 9 pm. We left and felt as though we walking on clouds. These children were all so loving and ours seemed to need it the most.

After cleaning up the rooms enough to get by we called it a night about 11:30 pm. At about 12:30 I was awakened as wife was shaking me and I heard someone coming in the door to our room. I looked at him and he was bobbing back and forth, obviously drunk, and I said hay!! He said something I didn't understand and backed out into the hall and closed the door. It took me a minute for it to sink and I got up and stacked the bags against the door so no else could get, key or no key. When I woke up the next morning I looked around to see if we had any other visitors.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Hilton Hotel Ivanciv

While we were in Ukraine we stayed at a little hotel in Ivanciv. This was the town where the orphanage was. The best way to describe this hotel is to imagine a double wide mobile home with another one stacked on top of each and about two long. It would shake as the trucks went by but after a week you didn't notice. The hallways were up and down and crooked. It left the feeling of being tipsy when walking down it.

On the first level there was a few rooms and the rest were used for hotel needs ie; laundry room etc. The first floor also had a restaurant. It had a small eating area inside and another one on a patio. Inside had about five or six tables with four chairs each and a small bar that seated five or six more. Every time we went there you could cut the cigarette smoke with a knife. We ate outside every time, even when the weather got cool.

The owner of the restaurant was not friendly and never smiled once while we were there. The waitress was the same. No expression, no reaction, no matter what. They had about four or five things on the menu and the best was a steak platter that had a cubed steak covered with grilled mushrooms, peppers and onions and a cheese with potatoes. It came with a salad made with green peppers, onions, squash cucumber and a light oil & vinegar dressing. It was good but it was the only thing that was.

I lost about 20 lbs. while staying there. There were no super markets as we know them.The food stores were about the same size as our gas stations. They offered a wide variety of food but in small quantities. Bread, for instance was brought in twice a week. If you wanted a loaf the day before it came in you had a choice of take it or leave it. We always left it and remembered the days it came in. There was not a lot of choice in foods and we ate a lot of bread ( which was very good) with tuna we brought with us. As long as it lasted. Then we bought chicken cooked there and made sandwich's, but that got old after a week or two. Our biggest treat was to go into Kyiv every Saturday and eat at McDonlds or TGIF's.

Now , all that being said, there was great food in Ukraine. We only found it when we moved back into Kyiv at the end of our trip. We enjoyed a few meals that were great with Friends we made in Ivanciv but the restaurants were non existent while we were there.

The hotel was filthy. No other way to put it. When we checked in the room looked as it would if you had people stay in it and didn't clean it for months. Which is what it was. They give you clean sheets and bed covers and all the dirt you want. The bathroom was so bad I was afraid to use it. We spent hours cleaning it in order to make it acceptable.


We had the deluxe suite which included a towel each, a small bar of soap each, and two wash cloths for three of us, no matter how long you stayed . There was two rooms, one had a bed dresser and amoire. The other had a sofa that pulled out to make a bed and a chair, Coffee table and end table and a book case that also served as a closet/ storage area. On the coffee table was a huge ash tray with a couple of cigarette butts left. Under the end table was an empty wine bottle. Each room had a window. In the entryway you had four doors, one to the left had the sink and toilet. The next to it had a shower. Straight ahead was the bedroom and to the right was the other room. It was set up so each room could be rented separate and you would share the bath.

Friends or ours who also adopted three girls from the same orphanage called it "The Hilton Hotel Ivanciv". They had been there, in the same room, about six months before us. We thanked them for leaving the dirt.

It was interesting to me that the girls and their Friends who came by to visit were in awe of this place. The girls wanted to be able to spend at least one nite there before we left.

We were just living it up at the Hilton Hotel Ivanciv !!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

PHILLIES WIN !!!!

All is well here. The Phillies won their third straight division title and are heading into the playoff's. So far, the Philadelphia Eagles look strong and will have their starting QB back this week. Alas, Penn State continues to have trouble beating Iowa but they looked good last week.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Bananna Peal Caper

We had something happen while we were in our last days in Kyiv Ukraine finishing up our adoption of four lovely girls. We had been out most of the day and returned with some food from the local store. Among the items purchased were banana's and other fruit and eggs. As we had come to learn of the girls, they loved banana's and eggs. The apartment we had was on the 7th or top floor of the building we were in. It had a small balcony off the kitchen and another one off the living room. We were all watching TV and talking and the kids were enjoying eating all they wanted when they wanted. This was something they couldn't do in the orphanage. All of a sudden the door bell rings and son and oldest daughter come running in from the kitchen to answer it. As the door opens I hear and can barley see, two women just giving son and daughter the what for about something. Daughter says something to them in Ukrainian and slams the door in their face's. As I get to the door this happens and I ask what was that about? They both shrug their shoulders and son says they were at the wrong place.

Now.... we have been in Ukraine for about 8 1/2 weeks at this point and I can understand a little bit of what is said. Son doesn't know too much more that I do and don't see how he could have understood what they were saying. I think there is more to this than they are fessing up to. As I continue to question them about this I walk into the kitchen and notice that all the banana's are gone. I look in the refrigerator to see if they got put there and I notice the egg carton is open and four eggs are missing. As I am looking daughter is looking at me with a strange look on her face, like the one of the cat Sylvester with the Tweety bird in his mouth. I also notice that the door to the balcony is open and since it is about 40 degrees out I think it see what they were up too. As I look out over the balcony into the street I can see banana peals all over the side walk and eggs splattered there as well. I turn tell them to get garbage bags and come with me. Son starts to tell me that daughter was doing it and that he tryed to stop here. She understands enough English at this point to realize that he is blaming her and starts to protest in Ukrainian. I hush them up and tell wife what has happened and that we are going down to clean it up. All the way down in the elevator they are arguing as to who did what. Once down on the street they pick up all the peals and egg shells as people are walking by. Some of these people see what is going on and say something that only daughter understands. Her response was to stick her tongue out them.

After completing the task we go back upstairs and wife gets her two cents in. Later as I tell her what happened down in the street with daughter sticking her tongue out we start to laugh. With that daughter comes in and asks " ok now?" All the kids come in and start tickling and playing and finally son tells all.

It seems he and daughter were eating a banana when he went to throw his peal in the trash can , he missed and they started to take turns throwing it in. One of them got the idea to open the balcony door and put the can out there and throw them in so if you missed it would go over and down to the next balcony. Except it went further than they thought and hit the side walk and the street. After throwing a lot of the stuff son looked over after having just tossed an egg to see where it all was going. As he looked over he saw that all of it was in the street or side walk and that he had just missed two ladies with the egg. They were the two who came up to the door fussing at them.
We still laugh at that one, especially when a banana peal misses the trash can.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Home

As I sit here writing this I can hear two my girls practicing their clarinet's. The third one started playing two years ago. Her younger sister started this year. They practice together most afternoons. The oldest girl is preparing dinner. It is soup made from scratch, a stew made with potatoes, sausage and vegetables. Corn cut off the cob and fryed with seasonings and raspberry and cream cheese mix in home made batter for dessert. The next oldest girl is dragging around because of hard practice she went through today. As she improves each week at running cross country she is pushing herself more and more.
Four years ago the couldn't speak ten words of English, had no idea what it was like in America and were very cautious about us not knowing what they were getting into by being adopted by this family from America. Now.... They have become Americans in the truest sense. The youngest has an American southern accent, the next one has lost almost all her Ukraine accent. The older two still have a strong Ukraine accent but have learned the true art of shopping in America. Shop until Mom drops is the call !! Wife is not a shopper but has done well to show the art to the girls.
It is incredible to see how far they have come. The language, the change in customs, being in a family, all was new to them. I remember the oldest girl making a statement after having trouble adapting to some of our rule. She looked at wife and said " It's a lot harder to be in a family than I thought it would be."
Now all the girls cling to wife and always get excited when she returns home from work. Daughter #3 still runs out the door and to the car when she arrives to be the first to give her a hug. I love them dearly but I would feel smothered if they clinged to me like they do wife. She is a trooper and shows much love and patience with them. Unlike most teens that our friends have who want out of the house and to run around and have fun, our girls want to be around us and at home. They 18, 16, 14 & 12 now. They enjoy doing things and going places but home and family is something they craved when in the orphanages and are just happy to be here.
Two years ago we moved from the house they knew upon arriving here to a bigger house with a lot more property, in part to buy a horse. They took it hard and one of them said that the other house was there first house they lived in with a family. Even though they shared two bedrooms and now have their own they still talk of the other house with fond memory's.
This is a good life we share together and we are Blessed to have them as our children.
Over the next few blogs I will share stories about our trip to get the girls.
Ah !! The dogs are barking and the kids are running out the door....Mama's home !!!!!!!!1

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Catherine again

My daughter Catherine, the runner, ran today and knocked another minute off her time. She also finished first of all her school. It rained here all night and all day. She ran in the rain and developed a blister during the race and still finished strong. Wow, we are proud of her and excited to see how good she can get. In Ukraine she would not have even been allowed to do any thing like this.

Speaking of rain.... we have had a lot of it. Three inches today, five yesterday, one and a half the day before and one inch each day for the two days before. No end in sight, this could go on for another four days. Even the ducks are starting to cry foul.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

RUNNING

One of my daughter's is running cross country this fall. She is the most athletic of all the kids and a natural runner. In her first meet she ran very high 29 minutes and change. In her second she cut almost 5 minutes and last week she cut about 30 seconds. This past week she ran Varsity instaed of JV. She said it was differant, the girls would push her as they passed. She is a gamer and has a good kick. Her attitude is to try and pass just one more before the end.
On one of her starts there were about 400 giirls atarting across about 200 yards. The course funneled down to a normal ten yard wide opening with in the first 300 yards. She didn't want to get caught in a crunch so she sprinted out to the lead for about the first half mile before falling back.
While we were at the orphanage Our son, who thought himself to be a fast runner, and the girls were playing with a soccer ball in a field next door. At one point he grabed the ball and started to run across the field. He had a bout a 30 yard lead when Catherine, who was in flip flops and he in sneakers, took off after him. She caught in no time and decked with her forarm. He went head over heals and she returned with ball telling him Ukraine not to do it again.
The first time she touched a football, American that is, she threw a perfect spiral about 40 yards. She can do just about what she wants too.
We now have two daughters who are learning to play Clarinet. Alexandra has been at for two years ans Olivia is learning this year. Olivia has a good ear for it, she has been able to play things by ear. Not an easy feat if you are learning to play an instrument.
This time of the year always reminds me of our adoption of the girls. It was on 8/28/05 that we went over and returned on 1o/31/05. I remember writing in my journal during the end of the time there that as I was praying to God thatall I wanted to do was get home in time to see a little football and could He help speed things up. It worked, out oof the blue we got a phone call that all things blocking us were removed and we had a court date set. I wonder what would have happened if I had prayed that a few weeks earlier? Oh well, it was worth the struggle because we have Blessed abundantly since with four of the sweeetest and loving girls that anybody could have.
I love my wife and I love my children. I only wish there was a way for us to get more. After seeing all those children we left in that orphange I still dream of ways to get some of them home. Lord willing it will happen one day.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

He's My King

This is something I've heard in church before. It is really worth the read. It's worth the listen too if you look it up.
The spirit of sickness has been in our home but is almost gone. Three of us had the crud, not the dreaded swine flu, or as the younget called it the "swamie" flu.


The late Dr. S.M. Lockeridge, a preacher from San Diego, California who said these words in a sermon in Detroit in 1976

My King was born King. The Bible says He's a Seven Way King. He's the King of the Jews - that's an Ethnic King. He's the King of Israel - that's a National King. He's the King of righteousness. He's the King of the ages. He's the King of Heaven. He's the King of glory. He's the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that's my King. Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don't try to mislead me. Do you know my King?
David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's imperially powerful. He's impartially merciful. That's my King. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's saviour. He's the centrepiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He's honest. He's unique. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He's supreme. He's pre-eminent. He's the grandest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the supreme problem in higher criticism. He's the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. He's the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That's my King.He's the miracle of the age. He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He's the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He's the Almighty God who guides and keeps all his people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. That's my King.Do you know Him?
Well, my King is a King of knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. He's the master of the mighty. He's the captain of the conquerors. He's the head of the heroes. He's the leader of the legislatures. He's the overseer of the overcomers. He's the governor of governors. He's the prince of princes. He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King.His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you . . .but He's indescribable. He's indescribable. That's my King.He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. I'm coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can't contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hands. You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. That's my King.He always has been and He always will be. I'm talking about the fact that He had no predecessor and He'll have no successor. There's nobody before Him and there'll be nobody after Him. You can't impeach Him and He's not going to resign. That's my King! That's my King!Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well, all the power belongs to my King. We're around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but in the end all that matters is God's power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We try to get prestige and honour and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? And ever and ever and ever and ever. And when you get through with all of the 'ever's, then . . .Amen.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Garden

The garden of Even has done well this year. There has been an abundance of peppers and tomatoes. The corn was small due to to the fact that I didn't turn the soil deep enough. Next year I will use a Roter-tiller. I also have a fungus on my tomatoes. I used some seeds from last year to grow and they had it. It has spread to the new ones I got this year. The tomatoes are good but I am only getting the first round, the plants are wasting away like they would at the end of the growing season. I learn each year something new about what to do.
I am still amazed at the way God takes a little seed and allows it to grow and produce something I can eat. Wow, God is great, if you don't think so look around you, what else could have made such beauty from vegetables, or plants of all kind.
Thank you Jesus for all this.Just wait until we get to Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Summer is over & house painting

The summer is over for the kid’s. Tomorrow is the last day before they start back to school. This summer was a lot more fun for them as they spent long weekends with some of the relatives. Until this year they had not felt comfortable enough to go away with out us.
School...
Every year it takes longer and cost more to get them in. We had to buy 3 $100.00 calculators. (Whats wrong with just using their fingers and toes?) This year we have one in Choir, one is doing culinary stuff, one is running Cross Country and then track, one is in concert band and the fifth is in begginers band. All of this means extra stuff to buy and extra things to go to during the school year.

Lots has happened this past three months. I painted the outside of my house. The job should have been done in a couple of weekends and a day or two. HA !!! I miss figured that one, big time. I had the help of the kids and it made it go a little quicker. The house looks great now and after taking a few weeks off to recover I started back to painting the inside starting on the entry way. I needed a 32 ft. extension ladder to reach up to the top of our entry way. The same ladder I used to paint the outside with. Outside use of the ladder was hard because of the size and weight and took two of us to handle. Inside it took special attention not to tear up the walls. It took two days to paint the entry way but it looks good. The front room ,or formal living room, was easier and only took one full day. I am picking up speed as I near the end of painting the entire house, inside and out. Last but not least was the wardrobe closet we have in our master bedroom. The room is big enough to put a queen size bed in it. Wife and the girls spent about two hours getting all the clothes and stuff out. I spent about two and ½ hours painting it. Just as I was finishing up a friend came by and checked in to see how it was going. This was about 5 pm and I was cutting in the last piece over the door jam. As I was getting down off the ladder I reached up to get the can of paint and dumped about a ¼ gallon all over the area between the bathroom and the closet. Most on the carpet in the closet. For the next 2 plus hours I cleaned up a paint mess. What a way to end a day.
Enough for this post.........


Check out this video ... worth watching. It's Steve Harvey introducing Jesus Christ.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvCd_ANIKys#








Saturday, June 27, 2009

Long Time Coming

It has been a while since I last Blogged. My work has kept me very busy, I have been painting the outside of our home, keeping up with the kid's and tending to the garden and yard. I'm not sure which one is the hardest but I know that I am tired.
I have lost 18 pounds since mid May. I have about 12 more to go to reach the desired weight I want. It is a matter of health. The Doc. checked me out in May and informed me tha if I didn't lose and keep the weight off and exercise ( that is a dirty word) I will be a canditate for meds for diabetes(?) as this is a gentic thing. My Mom's side of the fam has a history of it along with high blood pressure and cancer.My Dad's side has heart issues and cancer. Looks like the deck is stacked against me here but I will "surwive". Medical teratment, prayer and a strong will can make a difference.
I will surwive comes from our trip to Ukraine to adopt four girls in 05'. While there we took them to the circus in Kiev. The circus there stays in town in one spot for most of the year, unlike ours that travels around the country. The circus there is very well done with lot's of action and music. Not speaking the language we were at a lose as to what was being said or the words being sung. Until a pretty young woman stared singing that old disco song "I Will Survive". She sang every word in perfect English except for that one word, Surwive. This was at the beggining of our stay there and it became our battle cry for the next 7 weeks of trying to complete the adoption. We spent a total of nine weeks and one day there to do that.
Our garden of even is doing good so far. We have about 20 stalks of corn growing and a dozen tomatoe plants and another dozen pepper plants. Tomatoes are plentiful but the peppers are nothing. The plants are strong and big and they get flowers but no fruit. I guess Im not standing right when I water them or something. The peaches are almost ready and the few apples we have this year are coming along well.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

OBAMANOMICS

I think Ma is played by Pelosi. If you watch this enough times it almost makes cents, er, sense.

Modesty

MODESTY HONORS BEAUTY

First, Let’s get this straight: Modesty is not putting on more clothes. Modesty is honoring God by acknowledging the value He placed on your body when He created you. If it were just about clothes, then Adam and Eve would have been created wearing something more than skin. Modesty isn’t about your closet, it’s about having a heart bold enough to throw aside that which the world tells us, and holding on to that which God tells us: That we are a beautiful creation wrapped in the wonder and glory of the perfect artist.
Today’s world of advertising will never tell that. Girls, you will never hear an advertisement tell you how beautiful already are. Instead, it will tell how beautiful you will become if you do this or buy that. And, even more disappointing, that end result of beauty will have nothing to do with the exploitation of your sexuality. Guys,you will rarely see an advertisement that encourages you to be a respectable man who spends his whole life loving one woman, but you will see plenty that tell you success is measured in how many scantily clad females your deodorant can attract.
Is life really so shallow? Is there not more to life than an insatiable sex drive?
In today’s media- commercials, music videos, movies and television programs- the bottom line is that sex sells. Always. Why? Because, at some point, we actually started to believe that sex was a measure of success. Women think they have to look sexy, dress sexy and be willing to have sex constantly. And men think they have to have sex, a lot of sex, to be worth something. When you take those two idea’s and throw them into fashion and the pop culture, you will end up with styles and trends that depend upon targeting of our sexuality. That which God created for mystery becomes a commodity, and something glorious becomes common place.
This is where modesty comes in. Modesty is the decision to reclaim our bodies and tell society that we do not need to sell ourselves to one another just to feel worthy. Modesty is a girls decision to encourage a guy in purity by accentuating her love for Christ, not the curve of her hip. Modesty is a guy’s decision to prove himself a man by running after God, not making himself available to every girl.
Modesty is choosing to let your beauty speak of love, not lust.
Choosing to be modest is not sentencing yourself to a life of baggy clothes and long dresses. That’s not what this is about. Modesty, quite simply, is daring to live a life submitted to God. It is a choice.


Are you daring enough to be MODEST ?

I found this some time ago and copied it for my girls and boy. I forget who wrote it.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Unknown's

There are known knowns. These are things that we know.

There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we don’t know.

But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.

This was spoken by Don Rumsfield sometime prior to our inavding Iraq.
Sometimes you have to wonder what in the world they are talking about. Politicains have a hard time just speaking plain and simple. From a President to a local they all speak out the side of there mouth!
Some of the best ones came from the honorable Spiro Agnew. He had a couple of speach writers, and himself, who came up with cleaver lines.
Pusillanimous pussy footers was one, pusillanimous means cowardly. Nattering nabobs of negativism, nabobs are leaders. Or this one, hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.
And this one, an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.

Of course Bill O'Rielly is good at using words unheard of before. Ninnyhammer any one ??

Ah, if it wasn't for words what would there be.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Friday

Happy Easter to all and remember....

He has Risen !!!!!!!!!!!!

We do have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord !!

Over 50

This is something I found some years ago

Ten Things That don’t Matter Much after you turn 50…

10. Your investment in Health care insurance is beginning to pay off.
9. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable level.
8. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
7. Your eye sight wont get much worse.
6. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they cant remember them either.
5. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
4. People call at 9 pm and ask “ Did I wake you?”
3. No one expects you to run – ANYWHERE
2. Kidnappers are not interested in you.
1. I can’t remember the rest……………

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

living on just in time

As a musician there are times I am inspired and there are times I am just tired.

At our church we have had a time of transition. Last year our old Pastor resigned and we went through a search process to find our current Pastor. He is a good man, a dedicated follower of Jesus and he has a shepherds heart towards us.
As any church that goes through this kind of thing we have a falling off in our attendence which also leads to shortfall of money that has caused us all to be concerned about. I have watched Pastor ask us to pray for God's will to be done in this matter and this past week we saw a miracle take place before our eyes.

God has His own timing in all of our lives. In mine it seems to always be slower than I want it to be. And He always answers just in time. In our church He did the same thing about our need for money, He waited until the last Sunday to show His hand in our needs.

Well, in my prayer time He gave me a song that seemed to fit the occasion, it is called Just In Time;

Chorus
Living on just in time, Living on just in time, Lord you'll never leave me, Your always there to hear me, Your Blessings are just in time.
Verse
I got down in corner on my knees to try and call ya, I was just about to lose my mind,
Well the times they aren't so easy, Lord you said you'd never leave me But Lord you sure do take your time.
My parents said I'm crazy and my freinds all said I am lazy, but Lord I'm praying all the time.
When my faith gets kind of hazy and the devil comes to chase me Lord your always just in time.

verse 2
You know the bottom fell out, lost my job and now theirs no doubt my faith fell back in a hole,
They said they'd turn my lights out and the kids all came and cryed out
Abba Papa make it so.

You know my faith felt real low and your days always seem slow But Lord you always take the time,
Sometimes it's never easy and the devil wants to squeeze me But Lord you always save my soul !!

Living on just in time, that is how my God is!! He is never too early and He is never too late !! Amen.
I would rather He be early, let me know in advance about things, but if I am in His will with my prayers He is Just in time.

Tomorrow our girls are going to share with a Girl Scout troop about coming to America. I hope it Blesses all who listen, I know they have Blessed me with what they have accomplished.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Spring

Last week Snow......this week spring.

We have an orchard on a corner of our property. We have two peach trees and three apple trees. Last year I started too late to spray for bugs and some kind of rot that gets on the peaches. As a result we got a couple of hand full of peaches and a bunch apples. This year I was ready and waiting to spray. I noticed over the weekend past that the trees were budding up and getting ready to bloom. Monday I went ahead and sprayed for the first time. I hope to have a good crop this year. I read up on how to prune the trees,which I did one cold day last January, when to spray them and how often.


It never ceases to amaze me how God has created this earth to do what it does. Reproduce. To see bare branches turn color and bud up and then produce a flower and then watch as the bees do there job of pollinating and then see fruit grow. Wow.


Like wise we go through the same kind of seasons in our lives. There are times where I feel God has stripped me down to a bare branch by laying open my innermost thoughts only to bring back a new growth with something much better than I had known before. By trimming and pruning me He is able to make me a better person. Even a little spraying here and there helps too.


God is good..... all the time!!!

Spring

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

popcorn christians

POP CORN CHRISTIANS
Romans 12:1-2 read.
A Sunday school teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible....Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verse. Little Bobby was excited about the task, but he just couldn’t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Bobby was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the mike and said " The Lord is my shepherd...and that’s all I need to know."
Lets just suppose a huge storm came by and blew that church to nowhere.
I want you to think for a moment about the church you attend. Would it have been a real loss? Would anyone outside of the church have noticed?? Would the presence that the church was making ,of being the salt and the light, be missing??
How many of us had popcorn, microwaved or other, and noticed that when it was done some of the kernals had not popped?? They experienced the same blast of radiation from the micro=wave as the others or the same amount of heat as the others yet they did not pop.
Some Christians read the same Bible passages as others, but some Christians don’t pop. They hear the same spiritual songs, but some Christians don’t pop. They here the same sermons, but they don’t pop. They are issued the same challenge to witness, but some Christians don’t pop. They know the same teaching to tithe, but some Christians don’t pop. They hear the same call to service, but some Christians don’t pop.
Charles Stanley in his book Confronting Christianity asks, " Why do you suppose that there are close to 100 million church members in America yet they are not making more of a moral and spiritual impact? Why is it that on Sunday morning thousands of church’s have more empty pews than full? Why is that the average Sunday school in America has less than 66 in attendance and that the average worship service has 84? Why is it that only 50% of the number on any church membership roll can be expected to attend? If Christians really believe in a real heaven and a real hell, how can we be so silent?


He says, " The answer to all these questions is tragically simple! God’s people have made a decision about Jesus... but have never made a commitment to Him."
When a pilot speeds his plane down a runway, there is a certain point where staying on the ground is no longer an option. When he crosses that line, he is committed to the air. He’ll either leave the ground or crash the plane. At that point the pilot can not change his mind.
Unfortunately , churches are filled with members who’ve never taken off.
They’ve been sitting there gunning there engines, making noise but getting nowhere.
They’ve been planning on it, meaning to, trying to, going to, aiming to and hoping to.The tragedy is they have never gotten off the ground.
I think the reason that Christians don’t pop or get off the ground is because they have a mis-conception of worship. Worship is seen as something that happens on a Sunday morning with a group of people. Many think it is something that happens at a certain time, like 11am or 6pm or Wen. 7pm. It is also viewed as something that has five parts to it: singing, praying, giving, communion and preaching. Those five things are not worship in themselves collectively or separately. These are only an extension of a lifestyle of worship.
Read Romans 12:1-2. But, for those of us who have seen worship as an event, how can we adopt it as a lifestyle? The scripture gives us three things that will change our view and transform our lives.
# 1 ; regard yourself as a living sacrifice.
There is a story about a hen and a pig that were out taking a walk one day when they passed a church. The sermon topic on the sign board was, " How can we help the poor". After a couple of moments reflection the hen said, " I know what we can do. We can have a ham and egg breakfast." It took several moments before the suggestion sunk in, but when it did, the pig protested: " That breakfast would be only a contribution for you, but for me it would mean total commitment".
You see, the problem is that a large number of those who claim to be Christians are only willing to make a contribution to the cause of Christ, but very few are willing to give a total commitment. It’s where they think it is the home of the 5% tithe, the thirty minute service with sermonettes for Christianettes. It is the place where the hymn of commitment is "I surrender Some". Instead of Standing on the promises we are sitting on the premises. But this isn’t what God had in mind at all.

In the church of today we have all kinds of people; Church members, pew fillers, hymn singers, sermon tasters, Bible readers, and simple believers. But there are very few who are walking , talking, breathing, living sacrifices.
How many of you woke up today and thought" Today, I’m going to Die?" Most of us spent more time thinking about how we were going to live instead of how we were going to die.
In the OT one of the key elements to worship was the sacrifice. It was critical because it gave the people an understanding that worship costs something. In the N.T. God has changed something...He is asking for a living sacrifice, not a dead one. God asks for our bodies as well as our souls.
William Barclay wrote " True worship is the offering to God of one’s body and all that one does every day with it. Real worship is not the offering to God of a liturgy, however noble, nor a ritual, however magnificant. Real worship is the offering of every day life to Him. Take your body, take all the tasks that you have to do every day; take the ordinary work of the shop, the factory, the office, the home and offer that all as an act of worship to God."
Read Col. 3:17.
# 2 : Revise your mind set.
Our natural mind set is to do what is natural. Read 1 Cor. 2:14.
In our scripture we see two things that will help us to revise our mind set. 1) Don’t be conformed, don’t let the world squeeze you into what it wants you to be.
Read 1 Peter 1:13-16.
2) Be transformed or changed. The same term was used to describe Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.
But what motivation is there to transform?? The mercy of God is the motivation.
It is that He offers us something that we do not deserve, a relationship with Him and eternal life, instead of what we do deserve which is eternal seperation from him and eternal punishment.
We exist to put the glory of God’s mercy in Jesus Christ on display. That is the reason we are to be living sacrifices.
#3 Relinquish your will to God’s will;
The will of God is good. God only asks us to that which is good to us. He will hurt us by His will. He wants what is best for us. Jesus died for us, how could God want anything but what is best for us?
The will of God is pleasing... It pleases God and will ultimately please us. It will result in a right relationship with God and assure us of all His blessings for us.
The will of God is perfect; God does not want us to settle for second best, He wants us to have the best.
William Borden was a millionaire, a grad. Of Yale, a handsome and privileged
man. God called him to the cause of world missions, and he said Yes. His friends thought he was crazy. One of them wrote to him " You’re throwing yourself away". It did’nt stop him. But, at the age of 25, in 1913, on his way to China, Borden contracted meningitis and died. He left a note as he lay dying, which simply said, " No reserve, no retreat, no regrets". He was totaly committed. A friend of his wrote " No one would have known from his life and talk that he was a millionaire, but no one could have helped knowing that he was a Christian".
Borden trusted the promise of 1 john 2:17- The world and it’s desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
John and Betty Stam were missionaries to China. On 12/8/34 hey calmly and bravely laid down there lives for Christ - martyred by the Chinese communists. Nine years earlier Betty had dedicated her life to Christ with these words: " Lord, I give up my own purposes and plans, all my own desires, hopes and ambitions, and I accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee, to be thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships. All the people whom I love are to take second place in my life, at any cost, now and forever. To me to live is Christ. Amen".
Now that is total commitment. The Christian life is all about being worshipful to God in everything that we do, say, think and feel.... it’s about presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Now some of you may thinking why is God interested in my body? It’s over=weight or under-weight, It’s too old or too young, it’s wrinkled, blotchy, achy, diseased, nervous, unattractive, disabled, near-sighted or far-sighted, hard of hearing, stiff and brittle. What kind of sacrifice is that??
God doesn’t want your capability, He just wants your availability.
Are you one of those Christians who didn’t pop, or one who didn’t get off the ground?

Monday, February 16, 2009

das ve danya

We have a new dog that has been added to the mix. This one is only 4 yrs. old and is full of energy. Our other three dogs are 13, 12,and 10 so this one is a ball of fire. She is cute,all black with a white spot on her chest and a white foot. She loves to chase after balls and return them to you. She will not let them go for the kid's but will for me.





She has found the horse to be something differant and the horse has taken careful aim at her a few times with her back leg. The horse has missed but the dog is learning quickly that this big dog means biz. She has also found out about the electric fence around the horse pen. It has shocked her twice so far, but she has only been here since 2/8/09.



Her name is Hadsa, Esther in Hebrew. We call her Dassie, or as I like to say Dassie va danya or good bye in Russian

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Time to pray

This is an interesting quote I recieved via email from a freind.
The money the Fedreal government wants to throw out to help stop this economic slide we are in can have a huge impact on how we live our lives from here on out.
Before September 2001 we enjoyed a freedom that many of us didn't realize we had, until we lost some of it do to the terrorist attacks. Now our ease of travel has been impacted by those attacks. It was also the start of this economic mess we are in. It costs money to fight a war. We have and are fighting two wars. On top of the way we allowed our banking industry to give high risk loans out at will it was only a matter of time before we were to feel this burden we are entering.
I am all about helping those who need a hand, who are on hard times and need to get by. I am not about the entitlements being thrown in to this package that is now being debated in congress. The elected officials in Washington D.C. need to stop looking at each other with contempt because they are in a differant political party and need to sit down and see that they are there now for a purpose that far exceeds party policy. It is thier destiny to figure out a way to help our nation through this.
When it is all said and done, they will be looked at as the ones who helped pull us through this or they will be the ones who are at fault for letting it go in the wrong direction. We need to pray for all those involved in this process, to have the wisdom to make the right decisions that will impact all of us for years to come. God Bless our country!!


You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers ~~

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

LOOKIN' UP !!


If there has ever been a time where there is nothing but bad news all around it is now. It seems every other poiticain is guilty of coruption for taking advantage of their postion, the economy is in a shambles, everybody is mad at somebody about something that most people involved dont understand. This world is a mess ! My retirement has been cut by about 60 %, the profession I am in is in a death struggle to stay alive and I wonder what this year will bring with a new President in Washington DC. It is almost enough to make you give up but instead I chose to look up for my redemption drawth nigh !!
I heard a story that goes like this....
If you put a Buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of it's ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is the Buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary Bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, can not take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A Bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the side near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
In many ways , we are like the Buzzard, the Bat and the Bumblebee. We struggle about with problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we to do is look up.
God is always there to meet all of our needs, all of my needs, no matter how big or small. I am thankful for all of the Blessings I have been given. Given because I didn't earn them, Thankful because I didn't deserve them. What an incredible God I serve !!!