Year 2009 In Review

There has been several changes in my life this year and I would like to thank God for loving me and for all the blessings that he pours out on me and my family.
First of all Kathy and I made a big change in church life early on in the year by changing membership from Northside Baptist to Saxe Gotha Presbyterian. This change took place mostly because that we had children and grandchildren that were members of SGPC and we wanted to be there for them. We have been blessed at SGPC with great worship and a lot of new friends - we miss the people at NSB, but we still keep in contact with our close friends.
We went on a cruise in 2006 and I did not like it and said that I would never go on another one, but I had to eat those words, because we went on another one in September of this year and I really enjoyed it. I guess I had made up my mind to enjoy this one before we sailed so I just laid back and relaxed - something I don't do very much. God willing we will be going on another cruise in 2010.
Medical problems did not pass me by this year, as I was scheduled for wrist replacement surgery on December 23rd, but this got canceled due to my heart being in Afib when I had my stress test before the surgery. I am now awaiting test results to see when something can be done with my ticker --- the wrist replacement surgery is going to be postponed for several months.
Kathy ended up sick as a dog (or pig) about 3 weeks ago. I had never seen her this sick since we had been married and I hope I never see her like this again.
As I write this Kathy's mother is down visiting with us for a week - she comes twice a year to spend a week with us and it is always a great time. (She just needs to clean house more when she is visiting).
All of Kathy's family will be at Wendy's for New Years and we will have our Christmas with them.
In closing I would just like to say that God answers prayers. I have a bunch of stories that will validate this, but the one that is fresh on my mind is that we were praying for rain about a year ago. God heard those prayers and he sent rain, rain, and more rain and I am sure that we need it.
HAVE A GREAT 2010.

THANKSGIVING

I really did not feel like doing a post to my blog today, but my good friend LJ called me and told me that it had been several days since I had posted anything and for me to get on the ball. So here is my post about Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving morning Kathy and I drove to Hilton Head Island to spend a couple of days with my brother and his wife (Bruce & Nancy). We don't get to see them very much since they live in Stockbridge, Georgia -- We had a great visit just relaxing, eating, playing cards, and eating some more. The weather was beautiful but cool which limited some outside activities. However we did get our beach walking fix a couple of times. The first day when we were out walking we ran into Rocky Purvis and his family -- it sure is a small world. Sunday Night we went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Colonial Center. We had heard about this group for years and how good they were. Well, the production and light show were spectacular, the musicians were very talented, but we just did not care for the music they played. The musicians all had long hair and were continuously slinging their heads -- we figured there must have been a problem with flies or mosquitos around the stage bothering them. We were glad that we went, but don't need to do that again.

REAL BAD DAY

You know you have had a bad day when this happens to you. A REAL BAD DAY is when this happens and you are driving a Bugatti Veyron sports car that sells for over 1 million dollars. A man was driving near Galveston, Tx Wednesday when he was distracted by a low flying Pelican and dropped his cell phone causing him to run into a salt marsh (at least that is his story). The Bugatti Veyron is the most expensive and fastest production car in the world. If you see one of these advertised real cheap beware as salt water is not good for anything.

Enjoyed Newberry Again!

Kathy & I went with two of our good friends Bob & Jane to Newberry Saturday night and had a great time. First of all we ate dinner at the Cabana and the food was delicious as usual. I think there is a strong possibility that we all ate too much especially after we ordered a chocolate fudge cake to split between the four of us. This fudge cake must have been 6 or 7 inches tall with what appeared to be a half of gallon of ice cream between two pieces of cake that was all covered with chocolate. We did the best we could, but ending up leaving about half of it there.

After dinner we went to the Newberry Opera House to see Eddie Miles who is an Elvis impersonator (the above picture might have given you a clue). The first part of his show was excellent as Eddie did different artist and a bunch of funny stuff. The last part of the show was all Elvis stuff which Eddie did a good job on. However Elvis did it better!!!

All in all it was a great night with excellent company, food and entertainment.

The following is from a friend's blog who is the pastor of Freedom Fellowship in Greer. I don't know that I have ever heard tithing explained any better:

I had a friend of mine ask me a great question after yesterday's message on money. He asked, "When I start to tithe, how do I do it cheerfully?" This question addresses one of the great biblical paradoxes. In scripture we are commanded to give 10% of our hard earned money away and we are also commanded to give it away cheerfully. For most folks the giving away of that much income is anything but cheerful. Here's a condensed version of how I answered my friend yesterday. The first time you give 10% you probably won't feel very cheerful, but as you continue to give, and as you continue to see that God is providing all of your needs even as you give away a large percentage of income, you will begin to experience a joy that can only come from being free financially.

WHAT A WONDERFUL AND TRUE STATEMENT!!!!

Check out Cliff Marshall's blog...there is a link on this blog.

Last Week in Review

This past week was a busy week with church activities. Wednesday night we had our small group meeting where we are studying Max Lucado's book "FEARLESS". Thursday night was "Wild Game Night" with the food being superb and the fellowship great. Jon Michaels (www.jonmichaelsmusic.com) sang for us and Corley Miller (a former USC and New York Giants football player) brought a wonderful message. There were about 500 men in attendance. Friday Night was our Sunday School class social and it was another great night of fellowship and food. Sunday morning Kathy and I worked with the CREW greeting people from 7:30 am till 12:30 pm -- the CREW is going to be a great thing at Saxe Gotha.

Busy Week, but a GREAT ONE!!!

What a Wonderful Lunch

You have heard the old saying "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". I had to go to Greenville, SC yesterday on some business and what happened in Greenville yesterday should stay in Greenville, but it was such a wonderful experience I must tell it all. I met a beautiful blue eyed girl at Ruby Tuesdays for lunch and she squealed with delight and smiled at me all though lunch. Being in my senior years it really made me feel special to have a young beautiful girl pay that much attention to me.



Meet my lunch date - Miss Sophie

Kirking of the Tartan

The "Kirking of the Tartan" was observed this past Sunday at Saxe Gotha and it was a very, very special service. When Amazing Grace was sung accompanied with all the bagpipes and drums I doubt there were many dry eyes in the congregation.
Being the dummy that I am I did not have a clue what this was all about until I did a little research on the subject - the following is what I discovered:

LEGEND OF THE KIRKIN' O' THE TARTAN

The Kirkin' o' the Tartan tradition is an old Highland one. After the defeat of the Scots by the English in 1746, the wearing of the tartan and the keeping of any Highland ways or culture was forbidden in hopes this would forever subdue the rebellious Scottish spirit. However, as the Scots were fervent Christians, and canny as well, they clung to their ancient traditions by putting them underground. The Kirkin' was an important part of this in that one Sunday a year, the populace went to church wearing a concealed piece of the tartan and, at a certain moment set aside in the service, the tartan was touched while the minister pronounced a blessing on all tartans and the Scots once more pledged their loyalty and respect for their old traditions.

If you ever get an opportunity to attend a service where Kirking of the Tartan is taking place you will be blessed.

URINE TEST

The following sure does make sense to me even though I did not come up with this wonderful idea:
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Like most folks in this country, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck in my case, I am required to pass a random urine test (with which I have no problem). What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. So, here is my Question: Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their butt - doing drugs, while I work. . . . Can you imagine how much money each state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? I guess we could title that program, 'Urine or You're Out'.

"Roto Rooter Time"

Since I am going to have a colonoscopy tomorrow morning I have been doing some research on the internet and have found some comments that I can use on the doctor before the procedure.
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A physician claims these are actual comments that his patients made while he was performing colonoscopies.
1. "Take it easy, Doc, you're boldly going where no man has gone before."
2. "Can you hear me NOW?"
3. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
4. "You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married."
5. "You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out. You do the Hokey Pokey...."
6. "Hey!! Now I know how a Muppet feels!"
7. "Hey, Doc, let me know if you find my dignity."
8 "Could you write me a note for my wife, saying that my head is not, in fact, up there?"
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I am sure that my only concern will be get this over with as I want something to eat!!!