Thursday, December 17, 2009

Redefining Beautiful ~ Book Review


billboards. magazines. television. pictures. media. newspapers. internet. posters. movies...perfect

Too often, women get caught up in a material world. We're taught through billboards, magazines, and other such things to love material things that "enhance" the way we look. The perfect makeup, the perfect hair, the perfect body, the perfect nails, the perfect nose...all of it. We let these things set the standard for what our definition of beautiful is. But answer me this, what ever happened to inner beauty? Is there any such thing in our society these days? After all, an apple could look red, juicy, and ripe on the outside, but it can be rotten at the core.

Jenna Lucado, like her father, obviously has a passion for speaking and writing. She really draws in her readers because she speaks from her personal experiences and struggles, even the ones she encounters today.

In Redefining Beautiful, published by Thomas Nelson, Jenna Lucado writes about the everyday struggles that we as women often face: self-esteem issues, dating, broken families, and abuse.

She shows us that the way we view ourselves is flawed. We tend to see everything we can "improve on" instead of everything we have to offer. However, her most important message to us is that God sees us all as beautiful. We are his children and he created us in his image, not by referencing to Vogue Magazine.

Jenna really works hard to bring out a woman's inner beauty in her book, and includes little tips and tricks along the way on how we can work on our inner beauty. She also offers advice for girls who are apart of broken families, or may not have a father figure in their lives, and reassures them that they already have a perfect dad....their father in heaven, who sees them as beautiful inside and out.

I recommend this book to any teenager looking for a uplifting, captivating, read. This book offers teenage girls a new vision of themselves and a new definition of beauty. Jenna Lucado brings hope as she helps teenage girls realize that the real definition of beauty is what God sees when he sees you. Since I too, have a teenage daughter, I highly recommend giving it as a gift to them. My daughter has also read it.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Thomas Nelson Publishers and was not paid for this review.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Falling off the face of the Earth!

Hi everyone!


Just wanted you all to know that have not gone softly into the night. I have only gone working into the night. I have been working on projects and have been so busy I have not had time to post anything for a while. I hope you are all doing well and preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the other holidays coming soon. Kat at Heart-2-Heart has been having a blast winning some drawings and making new friends. She has been telling me how much she has enjoyed winning the jam, jellies and other goodies.

Thank you all for being so supportive for her. She is a miracle, she is my miracle. I thank God everyday that I have her as my wife.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Keeping the Faith!

Steve,

Sunday, October 18, 2009

It's good to be Home!




I just wanted to thank you to everyone who sent out prayers for Kat and myself while I was away. I can't tell you enough how it helped me get through this last week. The prayers definitely worked as I was able to get the project completed with only a few small issues to overcome. It was hard living out of a hotel and working nights for the last week. I work for a communications company that has several offices throughout the states. I had to fill in for another project manager that was pulled away to work on a different project. This project was for a large tower company that owns many of the towers that cellular carriers install their equipment on.

This project involved installing antenna monitors at each of the 20 antennas (or nodes) throughout the mall. We also had to install monitoring couplers that supply power to the coax cables that run through the mall. The last component we installed was the Master Monitoring unit that monitors each antenna and coax and gives reports back to engineers at their control center.

I know it is a hard read when you don't know much about wireless technology, but I wanted to give an overview of what I was working on out in Texas. During the week I talked to my wife as much as I could who was very encouraging, telling me I could get the job done in the 4 nights and get back home Friday. If Loren over at Magoos News lived a little closer to where I was working I would have gone to visit, but it was about a 3 1/2 hour drive and I would have been too tired to make that trip.

Well just wanted to log in and say hi to everyone now that I am back.

Take care and.....Keep the Faith!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Heading on out to Texas!

I' m Leaving on a Jet Plane I know when I will be back again which is Friday morning if at all possible! I won't be able to post much if at all while I am away so I will see you all next Saturday back on blogger.



Please pray for my wife Kat and our children while I am away on Texas for a week. I will be working nights so it will be hard to stay in touch with them, but I will do my best to call them and see how they are doing! Thought that this would be a pretty funny parting video of Texas!




Lord, Please take care and keep watch over my family while I am away in Texas. Keep them safe from harm and together as a family while I am gone. I ask of you Lord, that you protect over them and lead them through this difficult time. May your will be done.

Kat, I love you so much and I will pray while I am away to have God make this week very productive so I may complete my job on time and come home to you safe and sound hopefully sooner than Friday. You are the love of my life and I hope and pray that you stay strong while I am away.

I will also try to get Sandy Cheeks Autograph while I am there. Tell Kailee that I will get her some post cards of Texas as well.

Take care everyone and Keep the Faith!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Matthew 26 verse 36-46

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.


In Church this morning we learned about Matthew 26 v 36-46. We learned how Jesus prayed three times before God to give him strength in this time of need. Jesus struggled as a man to have the strength to take all of Gods Wrath and the sin of man when he is to be crucified. He made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us and reunited man with God.

The Garden of Eden was when Man split with God

The Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus reunited Man with God through his prayer and sacrifice before that holy night of his Crucifixion.

In verse 39 "O' My Father" in which Jesus actually calls upon his father as in saying Dad or Papa to fill his spirit with strength for his flesh is weak.

My pastor Dennis Davenport from our Calvary Chapel of the High Desert gave a good sermon today, and I felt I had to share it.


Hope you have a great Sunday!




Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Winner of the Book Give away is.......

Okay all of you fellow Book-a-holics out there!

It's time to announce the winner of the Book Give away for Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs


Mimi from He & Me + 3

Congratulations Mimi!

Your the Lucky winner for the Book Give Away!


Shoot me an email with your name and address and I will get it out to you as soon as I can.

My email address is stevenkat27@verizon.net.


Saturday, October 3, 2009

BOOK GIVE AWAY!

So I decided to give away the Love & Respect Book by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs today.

So all you have to do is reply back to this posting by the end of Monday. I will then pick and announce who the winner is on Tuesday. Hope you enjoy the book!

Let the games begin!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

MOTW

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!


MOM OF THE WEEK AWARD!

This week's award goes to........



Andrea at Arise 2 Write

Andrea has been such an inspiration to my wife and I as well as so many of the blogging world! She is a wonderful woman, mother, friend and prayer warrior for so many of us. You are such joy to all of the people you come into contact with, from using your therapy dogs, to just sending out so many prayer requests. You also just finished putting together your daughters wedding while dealing with your own health issues.

Thank you for being such a wonderful Mom and friend!

Congratulations Andrea!

If you have not had a chance to follow her, pop on over to her site and see what you've been missing!


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Love and Respect...Easy Enough?


Ever wonder why you and your wife constantly seem to go round and round on a merry go round when it comes to dealing with simple conflict? Why can’t things just go smoother? Why can’t we understand one another’s needs? How can we make our marriage work?


Then you must read Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, by Thomas Nelson publishers. It will not only answer all those questions but also improve the quality of your marriage and your relationship!


In Ephesians 5:33, Paul writes, “Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.”


Did you catch the two biggest secrets for making a marriage work? Men must love their wives and wives must respect their husbands. Why? Women already know how to love unconditionally and they know how to show love throughout everything they do in a marriage. God uniquely created her to have this ability to love within her, however to respect her husband is a command from God. It is the one thing women need to do to make their marriages work. Be respectful to their husbands always.

Men on the other hand are naturally gifted in giving respect. After all they do it at work all the time, in the military they are taught to respect authority figures, and even their own fathers teach them to be respectful of others. So for a man to be respectful to their wives comes easily. Acting lovingly to their wives do not, which is why is it commanded for men to love their wives as much as they love themselves

.

Husbands have the natural ability to walk away or to provide the silent treatment to their wives when confronted in any given situation, which is the respectful thing to do. However, wives view that as unloving and will usually follow that up with a few verbal assaults on how he can be a better father, better husband, better person all the while completely showing her husband a lack of disrespect. So the cycle continues because the husband tries to solve conflicts within his marriage with respect and the wife tries to fix everything by showing him just how much she loves him. They call this the crazy cycle in the book.

The more he reacts to his wife without love, she in return reacts without respect…and the cycle continues.


I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking not only to improve their current marriage situation but also to make what they currently have better. If both the husbands and wives see their primary duties in the marriage this way, both win. The wife refrains from being disrespectful to her husband and the husband refrains from withholding love from his wife. See how they both win.


This book highlights things you can say and how to handle unique situations that each marriage has. From the back cover of the book sums the whole book up.


“A wife has one driving need – to feel loved. When that need is met, she is happy. A husband has one driving need – to feel respected. When that need is met, he is happy. When either of these needs isn’t met, things get crazy. Love and Respect reveals why spouses react negatively to each other, and how they can deal with such conflict quickly, easily and biblically."

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Mom of the Week Award!

MOM OF THE WEEK AWARD!

And the Award goes to........



Loren over at The Magoos News!

Loren has been so inspirational, loving, caring and pulled in so many ways in the past few months it is a wonder she is not in the hospital herself! You are such a wonderful Mom, daughter, Nurse, Wife, Interior Decorator! So this award goes to you for being such a wonderful MOM! We are still keeping Doug in all of our prayers and thoughts!

Congratulations Loren for being such a wonderful and inspiration to so many other Moms out there! If you have not had a chance to follow her blog, please stop by and follow her! She has a wonderful site at The Magoos News.

You truly deserve the MOTWA!


Friday, September 18, 2009

Prayer Request Chain!

Okay, Luvin This Life had a great idea to pass along a prayer chain so we can all add people to the list and pray for them this weekend! I was fortunate enough to be tagged by her so I am ready and willing to pass this on. I have added my list below hers so we can keep this chain going.

Click on the link and head on over to her site for more details!



Here is the List from Luvin this life.

Please Lift These People Up In Your Prayers!

  • Lisa~ pregnancy (18 Sept 09)
  • Sherri and Todd~ waiting for Emma (17 Sept 09)
  • Debby~ broken ankle; travel (17 Sept 09)
  • Steve~ Medical Concerns (15 Sept 09)
  • Cameron~ Hodgkin's Lymphoma (12 Sept 09)
  • Valerie~ Medical Concerns (12 Sept 09)
  • Joy S~ Pedi Open Heart Surgery (8 Sept 09)
  • Valerie~ Unspoken (2 Sept 09)
  • Heather~ Unspoken (2 Sept 09)
  • Doug~ Salvation (2 Sept 09)
  • Heather R~ Medical Concerns (2 Sept 09)
  • Myself~ School & USAFR Decisions (1 Sept 09)
  • Krista T~ Cancer (7 Aug 09)
  • Nell~ Cancer (31 July 09)
  • Nika~ Missions in Russia (25 July 09)
  • Anonymous~ Fertility Concerns (15 July 09)
  • Heather S~ Medical Concerns (15 July 09)
  • Elijah~ Cystic Fibrosis (22 June 09)
  • Merle and June~Summer Missions (29 May 09)
  • JK~deployed (27 May 09)
  • Duane~Medical Concerns (27 May 09)
Here are my Prayer Requests I am adding to Lovin This Life
  • Michael~ Mother in Law passed away
  • Mario~ 90 year old Mother in Hospital
  • Caitlyn~ Healing
  • Kat~ Healing
  • Doug~ Healing and Salvation!
  • Amy~ Healthy Pregnancy
  • World~ Peace
I am passing this on to some of my Blogging Friends that I have met in the past few months whom I consider my efriends! I might not ever get the chance to meet them, but I feel as if they are friends and now part of our family. Consider yourselves TAGGED!

Greg C. at Greg's General Store
Andrea at Arise 2 Write
Rosel at Off the Beaten Trek
All of the Awesome Moms at 5 Moms and a Blog
Tiffany at Tea with Tiffany
And Last, but never least Loren at The Magoos News

Please go over to Luvin This Life, copy her Prayer Chain and let's get this thing Rollin!

Oh, make sure to follow her Blog! She is a keeper

Friday Funnies!

Kermit the Frog has unfortunately passed away this morning from the

Swine Flu at the tender young age of 53!

We will all miss him dearly!



And we all know who gave it to him!


We all knew that it wasn't easy being green, and who would of thought that the love of his life was the one who finally made him croak!



So We will miss you Kermit, you were the Best little Frog in the world to so many of us! God Bless you little Muppet, and may you rest in peace!


My Wife Kat over at Heart to Heart had a totally hilarious joke on her Friday Funnies, so I had to follow suit!

Have a Great Friday!



Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mom of the Week Award!

Okay I just had to do this!

THE MOM OF THE WEEK AWARD!

I just had to create a new award for all of those Moms out there who take care of getting the kids ready for school, take care of the house, the kids at home, the Hubby's lol, the laundry, being a chauffeur, a Nurse/Doctor, a Teacher, a Do-It-Yourselfer! Everything a Mom has to do either being a stay at home Mom or a Mom that works and takes care of all of the households out there! I am so proud of you and you deserve an award all to yourselves!

I have been reading blogs from Moms all around the country that just seems over-ran with all of the chores they have to do while still taking care of the kids, getting them to and from school, driving them to sports practice, ASB, making dinner, keeping the house clean, etc....

(MY HEAD WOULD EXPLODE IF I HAD TO MULTITASK THE WAY MOMS DO!)

So this award goes out to the Moms I have listed below starting with...

Kat at Heart 2 Heart

Of course I have to give this award to her first as I know how much she does around the house and to keep us together! She is definitely the glue in our family! I thank God so much for her! She is my life and I would be nothing without her! She is an amazing Mom, she has two beautiful girls that look up to her for everything (even though they might not know it!) I love you so much and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Thank you Hun Hun for being such an amazing Mom!

Next would be all the women over at 5 Moms and a Blog!

Erica, Mity, Tarah, Mimi and Nan. I have just recently started following their blog and have been reading about their family life. They all seem to be so genuine and loving so I thought I would give this new award to them! They each have their own blogs, but you can link to them from the 5 Moms and a Blog. I just love the name of their site!

From now on I will award one Mom once a week and list the reasons why I think they are such a wonderful and deserving Mom.

Hey, I know I just sent this out to six Moms, but it's my award so I can do what ever I want! SO HA!


Of course, I know that all of the Moms out there are deserving and I will get you as soon as I can. Congratulations to all of you for being such an inspiration to all of the Moms out there!


Monday, September 14, 2009

Patience is a Virtue!

PSALM 37: 7-9


Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.


This is such a hard topic and issue for me to learn! I have a family trait that has been almost bred into me by my father. Yell now, ask questions later oh, and never apologize. I find it so hard to keep my temper when dealing with even the most minute or trivial issues.

My daughter came home after riding the Bus from her new school for the first time. My wife and I were both there to greet her and both of us realized something was wrong when she got off the bus. We thought that she was going to be so happy, so I had thought because this was the day she gets to ride the bus for the first time. She did not look very happy. After we picked her up and drove home, we asked her why she seemed so sad? She immediately just said that she wanted to go up to her room and start her homework. My wife and I both tried to ask her what was wrong several times until she finally broke down and started crying about how her teacher asked her to redo her work over again and do it faster. Of course, this is her words and we do not know the teachers story, yet.

My wife got her to settle down a little bit, but mind you our daughter is the head strong I can do it my self without any one's help kind of girl. She started raising her voice over Mom so I immediately went on the "MY VOICE IS LOUDER THAN YOUR VOICE AND IF YOU DON'T LISTEN THEN I WILL PULL YOU BACK OUT OF THIS SCHOOL AND PUT YOU BACK INTO HOMESCHOOLING!"

Wow, where did that come from? I know that sometimes she needs someone to have a firm voice and to stop her from talking over her Mom or myself for that matter. But, I would have to say that my father just jumped out of me and blasted her like a Heavy Blaster from STAR WARS! Yea, I am an old Star Wars Geek all grown up..

After my tirade, I knew that I had spoken harsh words out of anger and spite, which she never deserves any of that. I feel remorse and still have not apologized to her for yelling at her the way I did. Looks like it is time for me to go and be humble before the Lord and say I am sorry to the most wonderful daughter in the world. Being a father sure does make you learn very quickly about mistakes. My wife never said a word, but I could tell she thought I overstepped my bounds.



So now, I pray that God shows me the way to be patient! Please Lord, forgive me for my sins. Show me the righteous path and show me the truth no matter how hard or bitter it is for me to swallow. I thank you Lord so much for my daughter. She is so precious to me, just as Christ Jesus is to you. Please change me from within to be a patient man.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Spiritual Sunday

Today's Verse

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Psalm 23:2-3 (NIV)


Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Some of us won't slow down for anything! Well, almost anything. When we get "too full ourselves" and too caught up in our own plans, the LORD, our Shepherd, slows us down and makes us lie down. Our Shepherd knows we need rest, nourishment, and refreshment and helps us, yes and even sometimes makes us, find "green pastures" and "still waters." He then leads us in the direction of his righteousness and holiness once we are rested and refreshed. Isn't it interesting that God's order for our life is always grace and then glory?

My Prayer...

Thank you, dear Father, for slowing down my frantic life and leading me to times of refreshment, rest, and nourishment. I trust that you will lead me to what I need as you mature me to have more and more of your righteous character. Please forgive me for getting too busy to hear your voice and to respond to your grace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

One Strong Word!


FAITH!


This is perhaps one of the strongest and most powerful of words in the Bible. It lets us know that without faith we would be lost to a world of Chaos! A world of Sin! Many people have never truly understood what faith means, even some Christians today believe in faith, but do not truly know what it means to have faith in the Lord. Here are just a few verses from the Bible on Faith.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. —Romans 5:1-2

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” —Romans 1:17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. —Romans 10:8-11, 17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. —Ephesians 6:10-17

Faith can be used in so many ways to so many people. As long as we truly believe that in Faith we are saved, then we are walking a straight path. So be Faith Warriors out there! Be white Knights for God's Great Glory and we shall be Glorified in Heaven!

Friday, September 4, 2009

TGIF!!!


High School Vacation Bible Camp!


Caitlyn is off to have a great Time and learn more about the Lord!

Well we just watched our daughter drive off in two beautiful Charter Buses for Vacation Bible Camp up in Big Bear, CA. You looked so happy to go with some of your friends from school. I hope you have a blast and become closer to God through his word! This is the first time you have been to a real camp and on a real Charter Bus for that matter. When Mom called you on the phone you actually were so surprised when you found out there were bathrooms on board! I know all all of your friends got a chuckle out of it (a harmless chuckle). I am sure you will have a great time

So go have a blast, learn, live, laugh and love! Take lots of pictures and we will see you on Monday!

Sand Dollar small border

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Thankful Thursday!

Thankful Thursday at Truth 4 the Journey

I have not done this before, but decided to post today on Thankful Thursday as I am so thankful for many things! Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey has hosted Thankful Thursday for quite a long time and my wife Kat at Heart 2 Heart loves her Blog! So click on Sonya's link and join in the weekly blessings.


1. I am thankful to God that he has given me so much to be thankful for! I think that just about sums up what I or anyone wants or needs!

2. I am thankful for my Wife Kat! She is the love of my life and I could not imagine how hard it would be to live without her! I love seeing her beautiful smile in the morning, her gorgeous Green eyes and just being with her makes me happy.

3. I am thankful for my children who brighten my day! Caitlyn my older Step-Daughter who is such a blessing and a wonderful young woman. She has such a level head on her shoulders and well balance that she at the age of 16 is more of an adult than many of the people I meet and work with today!

4. I am so thankful for my youngest Daughter Kailee who inspires me to try to stay young and play while I can still recover from injuries! She has been going Roller-Skating at our local rink and my wife and I have been trying to keep up, however, our minds are much younger than our bodies! I am still recovering form the many falls and spills I have taken over the past several weeks. My bruises have bruises! And my poor wife has been hurt the worst when she could not get out of the way of some skaters by the wall. She fell and hurt herself pretty bad.

5. I guess I would have to say that I am grateful for healing! That our physical wounds will heal in time just as God heals our other spiritual wounds. Thank you God for healing our wounds!

So Thank you and have a great Thursday!



Wednesday, September 2, 2009

WAW

Welcome to another school session of
Word Association Wednesday!

Today we are going to be learning two new words today. Please give me your definitions of what you think the word means.

Okay, here is the first word for today!

Jaysinj: Please give your definition of what this word means. Is it a noun or a verb?

I think this one will be kind of hard, so think about it....

Okay, here is the second and final word for the day!


Thenwer: Please give me your definition of what this word means. It almost seems like it is two words in one doesn't it. Then and were. Well Think hard and come up with your most imaginative definitions for these two words.

Good Luck!



Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Back to the Future!


If God willing, the world is still around and you could magically transport yourself 100 years into the future, what do you think you would see? Do you think it would be like the movie Back to the Future? Would we see really cool stuff that would just blow our minds?


If you could, give me 3 specific things you would see in the future and a brief description of what it would look like!

As I drove into work this morning, I started to wonder what the future would bring. If I could transport myself 100 years into the future, what would I see.

Would I instantly see scorched Earth? Would there be anyone around if Armageddon has taken place? Would we see futuristic vehicles flying just over the ground with no wheels on them? I started wondering what could be in store for us if human kind is still in existence. As the words of the one time Talk Show Host Arsenio Hall would say, "things that make you go hmm."

Would the human race have the capability of living and setting up a colony in space? Would we somehow be able to make food out of just saying something to a machine like "Make me some Earle Grey Tea and POOF....There it Is! Do I get my own Hoverboard like in Back to the Future?



Well hope to hear how creative we all can be by posting what 3 things you think might be around in the future 100 years from now. God Willing! I can't wait to hear back from everyone with their futuristic thoughts and ideas of what the world would be like in the future.

Steve

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Flywheel


I wanted to take a moment to share a movie that my wife and I watched last night. We went to Block Buster Movie Rentals to see what we could rent over the weekend. Kathy picked out a movie called Flywheel. Now if anyone is familiar with Fireproof, which is the latest movie out by the Kendrick Brothers knows what a wonderful movie it was. Flywheel was the first movie attempt made and I just thought it was incredible!

This movie was so touching and awe inspiring that I just had to share it with everyone in case they have not seen it.


Here is a little Sneak Peek!





Here is the story line directly from the website!

Jay Austin wants to sell used cars in the worst way ... and that's exactly how he does business at his dealership. Promising much more than he can ever deliver, he'll do whatever it takes to sell a car. His manipulative ways permeate all of his relationships—even his wife and son know they can't trust him.

But as Jay works on restoring a classic convertible, he begins to see that God is working on restoring him as well. Coming face-to-face with the reality of how he truly conducts himself, Jay Austin begins the ride of his life as he commits to honoring God with his business, his relationships, and his life!

FLYWHEEL: Director's Cut is the first movie produced by Sherwood Pictures, the movie making ministry of a Georgia church that went on to produce FACING THE GIANTS in 2006. FLYWHEEL offers the same faith-filled warmth and humor that audiences loved in FACING THE GIANTS. The Kendrick Brothers wrote both films and FLYWHEEL also stars Alex Kendrick (Coach Grant Taylor). FLYWHEEL will have you cheering (and crying) once again!


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I know it seems like I am being a movie critic, but with all of the violence in the movies now it is so difficult to find a family movie that both adults and children can enjoy. Both my wife and I found ourselves crying at several parts in this movie. It is one of the best movies I have seen in a while, almost since Fireproof!

Can you believe that this movie was made with a $20,000 dollar budget! The story line is touching and deals with Greed, selfishness, Pride, Lying, Sin, Trust, being humble in Gods eyes, and so much more. It also shows how a father and husband learns what it means to love God and family.

I guess in the famous words of Siskel and Ebert!

TWO THUMBS UP!

Please if you have not seen this movie, go rent it if you can! I am going to go rent Facing the Giants movie after this.

God Bless and go rent this movie!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Memories

Beach Day with Dad

By Kailee Smith

I remember a time when my dad and I spent a day at the beach together. That day was very important to me because I don’t get to spend a lot of time with my dad. My dad and I did a lot of things together on that day at the beach.

The first thing we did when we got to the beach was going on the swing set. Then my dad gently helped me on the swing. The seat was really hot so I only got to go on it a few times cause my butt was burning.

After that we were hungry, so we went to go get lunch. The little diner was on the dock that went out into the ocean. It was really cool, and there were roller skating waitresses with really cool accents.

The last thing we did was my dad saw something in the blue, ocean water. Me and my dad went so far out to get to what he saw that I was on my daddy’s shoulders. My dad reached down with his hand and got it, and what do you know it was a creamy, white sand dollar. It was so smooth, it felt like air.

That’s what my dad and I did together at the beach that day. So whether you’re at home or at the beach, your dad will always be watching you. So that is why the day was so important to me, because I have a best friend who’s my dad.

My Daughter wrote this without my knowledge!

I was going through some old word documents and happened to come across this letter my daughter had written about a time when I took her to the beach. I was so moved when I read this that it really made me sit back and think about just how much of an impact we carry over on to our children! I actually cried after I read this and thought it would be a great post for today! So love your children with all of your heart for they will be grown before you know it!

Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Friday, August 28, 2009

One Cat, Two Cat, Three Cat, Moo Cat!

Welcome to our new home Tosh and Bella, the newest family members!

Tosh

The new Editions to the Smith family have been quite entertaining over the past week to say the least. We adopted two new kittens from PetsMart here in our local community. Our family is very excited although sleep deprived about our new kittens! We decided on two kittens as we currently have one cat named Moo that has been getting a bit older and let's just say a little overweight. So we decided to spice things up a bit in our household. Each of our daughters got to pick one kitten out that they would have to be responsible for. Caitlyn, our oldest daughter chose this 4 month old black and white kitten above and named him Tosh.


Bella

Kailee, our youngest daughter loved this gray kitten with 5 toes on each foot and decided that this was the one for her. At first she named her Alice, but then after thinking about it gave her a much better suited name for her and called her Bella. She is 5 months old and is the mischievous one out of the two. She keeps the family up in the middle of the night wanting to play. We are still trying to get both kittens to sleep at night, for the most part they are getting better.


Bella Loves chasing the mouse cursor on the computer so it is really hard to try to type and see around her at the same time. She is doing it now even as I type! I am leaning all the way over to the left to see around her!


Tosh loves chasing colored string and is awesome at doing back flips while trying to grab it when the kids are holding it over his head.


Moo

Which brings us to our cat named Moo. She is a playful cat, but has been the ALPHA CAT ever since we brought her home as a kitten around two years ago. She is very fussy, fickle and playful at times. It is a big maybe even HUGE adjustment for her to accept the new kittens as new members of the family, but she has been doing better everyday and just this morning has actually managed to play a little with both kittens without hissing at them. I would love to show a picture of all three of them playing together, but they are cats so you know that will be almost an impossibility.


It is like having a baby all over again! Sleepless nights, extra food, things getting knocked over, and watching the two kittens get into full on cat wrestling fights! Sometimes I feel like a referee at a WWF Wrestling Match! One, Two, oh almost had Three, but Tosh got out of the headlock and is now going for a body slam. It has been so much fun watching the new life these two little beautiful and friendly kittens bring to this house. I think that God once again has blessed us with two miracles named Tosh and Bella.

Hope you like our newest editions to our home!

Stop by and say hi to them when you get a chance.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Finishing Touches!

Hey there everyone!

Well It has taken me a while to finish putting the finishing touches on my Blog! It was fun, but tedious and challenging at the same time. I learned quite a bit on how to move HTML around to better fit my needs in the template layout section. Hopefully now I can just keep improving on it now that I have my base template finalized.

I hope you are all doing well and get a chance to comment on my new and improved Blog Page. Let me know also if you think I should change anything else! I take criticism very well and like the feedback! I am also going to be changing my header a little more so it is more vibrant and you can see the words. Right now it seems a little hard to see the bottom sentence.


Let me know what you think so I can make it better!

Thanks!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

3 Column Template

Hello everyone!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

I have been working on changing my Blog around working on making it in the layout section under edit HTML. I have managed (though fumbling and tripping all over myself) to successfully make my two column layout into a 3 column layout. I am a Tech Services Project Manager, and I can barely figure this stuff out! Maybe I should start looking for a new career! Ha!

I was able to read through and copy and paste (don't ya just love copy and pasting!) from this website called Blogger Buster so click on the link if you want to change your layout to a 3 column template, but still keep your layout the same. Please let me know also if you have any websites or favorite places where you go to get new templates, backgrounds, and codes. I love kind of muddling through things to learn how to do it myself, guess I am kind of stubborn that way.

So if everyone could honestly look at my page layout and let me know what you would change, what you like, or dislike. If you think I should make my columns less transparent, or make a solid color so the posts are easier to read. I do know that I have to change something because the colors are difficult to read when the background image is so vibrant.

So if there are any pros at this please let me know what I can do to improve the look of my Blog page. I still want to keep some sort of beach motif, just not sure how to put it all together and make it look seamless like some of my friends that I am a member of.


So take a look and honestly let me know what you think!

I promise it won't hurt my feelings!

Hope to hear from you all!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Welcome to another edition of WAW !

Word Association Wednesdays
WAW


Hello there!

Here are two more Words for you to give your own definition to.

Please take the time to look at the words below and really think about what definition you would give it.

Here is the first word...

Tingla: Please post your definition on my comments.

Okay here is the second word for the day...



Terfic: Please post your definition on my comments.

Hope you can think of some fun definitions to these words!

Have a great day!



Thursday, August 13, 2009

Wizard's Teeth!

This post is written to all of us parents that have heard the cutest sayings from our kids throughout the years. This is a time when we just love what our kids say when they think that they know what they are saying, but it just turns out funny. I don't want to our kids to think that we are mocking them, just that we think that they are funny in their own individual way.

On our way down to Huntington Beach yesterday, our daughter overheard my wife and I talking about wisdom teeth and she made a comment that she couldn't wait to have her wizards teeth in. She has a loose tooth that is about to come out, so she is in the process of almost having all of her baby teeth out. She said that the only thing she had left was that her wizards teeth to come in.

If we do have Wizards Teeth, can we go to Hogwarts and practice magic?

(Just thinking out loud)

I also had other comments throughout the years from our children. One time our daughter Caitlyn asked us if Cows were wild?




I guess in some parts of the world they are!

Kailee telling us when we got to the beach that the air smells like burning sand. We could smell the portable barbeques and smoke from the firepits around the beach, but that is what she said it smelled like.

What does burning sand smell like? Glass I guess.

Caitlyn just a few months ago asked us how much a Silver Dollar is worth?



Uhh....... I think it's worth a dollar we replied as the light bulb went off in her head.

So what memories do you remember of your kids saying funny things that just made you laugh.

I would love to hear them!

Have a great day!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Word Association Wednesday!

Welcome to
Word Association Wednesday!

WAW



Welcome to WAW or Word Association Wednesday!


Today we are going to learn the definitions for two new words today students!

So can any of you raise your hand and tell me what these two words are?

Please comment on your definitions so I know who to give class credit for!

Okay here is the first word for the day!

Gensol: Please tell me what the definition is.

Be the first to be called on once you raise hand and get a class bonus!

You get to comment on my Blog!




Okay Great Job Class, everyone is doing so well...



Ready for the next word?

Here it is!


Putyri: Please give me the definition.

What a difficult word to think about huh!

Everyone put on their thinking cap and come up with the best definition!

I will be waiting for you to turn in your definitions so I can grade them.

Class dismissed and have a great day!

.

.

I am sorry if I offended any teachers out there as it was not intended to. It just kind of came out this way!

That's just how I roll!


Thursday, August 6, 2009

Ant Training Class!!!

I have been reading many Blogs with my wife about Ants and how they love to trick us humans into believing that Ants are not smart! Truth is that Ants have been around much longer than humans have, live in colonies (much like we live in communities.) Ants are much better at surviving than we are.

They even have a Monarchy political system which has been ruled by the Queen Ant for thousands of years. There have been no attempts to overthrow their system. You are a worker for the Queen or you are a soldier for the Queen. Either way you work for the WOMAN!


I sit here and ponder what the colony would be like living among the ants, do they have school? houses under the ground? We know that there grocery store is open 24 hours a day right outside their little Ant hill (That would be our homes!). I bet they even have Ant Training classes on what type of poisons to stay away from and which ones to bring home because it's not poison to them, but an aphrodisiac! They sit there and have Ant Scientists who come up with vaccinations to new poisons that have been developed by our scientists.


I am sure that if we new what an Ant hill looks like, it would probably look like something from the picture above. Ants at work, having lunch, going to school, a warehouse to store ant food, and even a clothing store "Army Ants Surplus!" It seems as if everything that we try to do to get rid of those pesky little buggers, nothing works!



So remember, everything that we create to kill the Ant species, they create something to counteract what we have done to try to kill them. I am sure that even now as I sit here and type this, an ant is typing their blog on how and why humans are still alive after all of these years. That ant scientists are coming out with new ways to poison us! Maybe they are doing testing on all of those picnic basket foods you see them take back to their ant hills.


Hmmmmmmm,


Ever stop to wonder why?