Gotta Have Faith!

Almost Heaven

2010-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

"I suppose you can sum up a man's life with a few words, but I need to put this story down to fill in the missing pieces. Or perhaps I can convince the people who know me as a hermit that there was some reason for it all. But this is not really for those outside looking in. This is for me.

Some people say Billy Allman has a heart of gold. Others say he's a bit odd. The truth is, they're all right. He's a hillbilly genius - a collector, a radio whiz - and he can make the mandolin sing. Though he dreams of making an impact on the world beyond the hills and hollers of Dogwood, West Virginia, things just always seem to go wrong.

But however insignificant Billy's life seems, it had not gone unnoticed. Malachi is an angel sent to observe and protect Billy. Though it's not his dream assignment, Malachi always follows orders. And as Billy's story unfolds, Malachi slowly begins to see the bigger picture - that each step Billy takes is a note added to a beautiful song that will forever change the lives of those who hear it." - (Excerpt from back cover).

My Review:

I absolutely adored this heartwarming story of the life of a man who lives life to the fullest in helping others the way Jesus would have instructed us all to live ours. Holding on to his childlike faith along the way when life hands him difficulties that most would run from, Billy instead turns to the One who can see further down the road than he can. This book is the story about Billy's life and the lives of those that are woven into his through being a part of his family, living next door or simply loving him. We get an opportunity to witness a different side as well through the eyes of an angel called Malachi whose duty at the moment is to protect Billy. In his views, we get a glimpse into the unseen world and the spiritual battle that takes place each and every day.

I loved this book, Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry, and since it comes during the holidays, it made for the perfect book to review. This really takes you into the choices that each of us face everyday and show us the good and bad sides to them as well. I received this book, compliments of Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review and say I loved it. This one rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase a copy click on the title below:

Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry

Prayer Request for my Brother Ken

2010-10-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to ask you all to pray for my brother Ken and his family who are going through a rough time right now. Ken was admitted via ambulance to the local hospital near us for a severe case on pneumonia. I was at the hospital with his wife and kids who are strong and trying to get through this. His wife Tina was told that if they did not call the hospital last night he would have passed away in the middle of the night last night. Since being admitted he has had good care and his vital signs have improved. However, his right lung is completely full of fluid or is collapsed according to the x-ray they took last night and his kidneys and heart rate was very low.

They have him on a ventilator and are performing a CAT scan to see if they can insert a chest tube into his right lung to inflate it and see if they can drain some of the fluid. They are also going to do a Bronchiotomy, which is inserting a camera down his airway into his lungs to look for damage and to take a biopsy to see if his right lung is beyond repair.

Please pray for my brother that he may get better and that he may give himself to the Lord before anything happens to him. I have also asked my wife Kat over at Heart2Heart.

Kat has much more followers than I do so she has many more contacts and friends who are out there praying for him right now.

Thank you all and may God bless you and keep you!!

"The Forgotten Man"

2010-10-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

Little do we know how much is at stake every time we hand over our country, the greatest country in the world to someone whom is unqualified for the position much less can change our future with the brush of a pen stroke.

This video shot bolts of lightning up my spine when I viewed it for the first time. I watched it several times and each time I did it made me more upset that I have have to live under our current president's rule.

Power to the people! We need to stand up for something or we will fall for anything!

So often we forget what this country was founded on which was religious freedom. Freedom to follow what we know is right and not what is told to us to follow.

Very strong message!

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven Review

2010-09-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

We were made for so much more than the things of this world. Sometimes we can sense it...we have a restless, dissatisfied feeling that we don't quite belong here, that this is not our final home. Yet who do you know who has been to the next world? Sure, you may have heard stories of white light and tunnels and near-death experiences. But what if there was a person who had been to Heaven - who had actually walked through the gates - and stayed long enough to learn about the things of God? Would you be interested in what he had to stay?

Meet Alex Malarkey. Alex and his dad, Kevin, were in a car accident so horrific that emergency workers recommended calling the coroner to the scene for Alex. For the next two months, Alex lingered in a coma. When he finally awoke, he revealed something amazing: He had spent time in Heaven with Jesus while unconscious and had come back with astonishing revelations about what he had seen, heard, and experienced.

You may be intrigued. You may be skeptical. You may be hungry to know more about what lies beyond life on earth. Join Alex on his journey... and your life may be changed forever. "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children." - Mark 10:14 (excerpt from inside cover).

My Review: I have no doubt in my mind what so ever that the things Alex and his father Kevin share in their personal true story called The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Alex and Kevin Malarkey, is 100% true. The pictures contained in the book are so undeniable that Alex's injury that he sustained that day in the car accident with his father, should have a different outcome. He shouldn't have survived. No one with that type of injury severing their spinal colon from their skull at the base of the neck, shouldn't be alive.

Yet despite all the doctors and eye witnesses, Alex continues to be a personal testimony to the amazing power of what God can do when people gather together to pray. ALL things are possible with God, not just some. And that is the point Alex is making in sharing his story in this wonderful book. It's not about him, it's about the hope that lies within all of us that have that relationship with God. The story Alex tells of his personal time in heaven is amazing even though he can't begin to accurately describe it knowing our earth and words today. The angels, the Throne Room of God, the Inner and Outer parts of Heaven, Hell and the devil and his demons are all something Alex has been given the opportunity to have the veil of the unseen world removed. He can see things now that none of us can.

This is Alex's life testimony and one you can continue to view on PrayforAlex.com to see his ongoing progress, and personal pictures of the healing power of God so far in his life. He still has a way to go, but God will heal this amazing child and use him in powerful way to bring God all the glory.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book through Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review and rate this a perfect 10 stars. It's a book you can't pass up. It will change your life forever. I know it has changed mine. This book is available in hardcover, DVD and CD.

Outlive Your Live Review

2010-09-14T15:45:00.001-07:00

We are common folk.

We sit in the bleachers, eat at diners, change diapers, and wear our favorite team's ball cap. Fan's don't wave when we pass. Servants don't scurry when we come home. Chauffer's don't drive our cars; butlers don't open our doors or draw our baths. Doormen don't greet us, and security doesn't protect us. We are regular folk.

And we wonder: Does God use people like us?

He did. God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds. Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slupee drinks at the convenience store.

Their collars were blue, and their hands were calloused, and there is no evidence that Jesus chose them because they were smarter or nicer than the guy next door. The one thing they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, "Follow me."

Are you more dinghy than cruise ship? More stand-in than movie star? More blue jeans than blue blood? Congratulations. God changes the world with folks like you. (Excerpt back cover).

In the book, Out Live Your Life by Max Lucado, he takes each of us through the first couple of chapters in Acts to show us how our lives are very similar to the people in each of the chapters and the differences they made and how we can do the very same things. We simply need one thing. A willingness to do it. That's it. We need more yes's and a lot less no's!

Max in his usual way of writing directly from the heart and as a close, personal friend touches your heart and shows you the different ways we can all begin to take care of people around us. He provides perfect examples of everyday people who made less than $1.25 a day and they too are changing lives. So what's our excuse? Find out by reading Max's latest book!

I received this book, compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review and believe every single person living today should read this book.

Friday Funnies turned into Saturday Silly!

2010-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post this today. Kat over at Heart 2 Heart found this on yesterday and I just thought it was pretty dang hilarious!

Just a clean funny set of songs for us old geezers!!!

Happy 4th of July and Happy Independence Day!!!

2010-07-05T08:04:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to take time to say happy 4th and Happy Independence day to all!!!!

I also wanted to reach out to all of the Armed Services and wish them a happy and safe Independence Day as well! Thank you for you whom have fought and who are still fighting to keep us safe in the Greatest Nation in the World! I am so proud to call myself an American and to know that we have men and women who have volunteered to keep us safe!

It is amazing that we are one of the few countries in the world that started as a volunteer army and continues that great tradition to this day. Happy Independence Weekend to you and your family!!!!

Gods Possibilites!

2010-06-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for us as a family to help me find a job in this tough economy. Through some contacts It looks as if I might be getting an offer letter next week some time for a pretty good salary. It is still in the Telecommunications Industry doing the same type of work I was doing called DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) I will be working as a vendor for a company called American Tower installing their DAS equipment into large shopping indoor/outdoor malls, hospitals, and generally places where outside signal coverage does not penetrate into buildings.

I know through my wife Kat's blog she had put a prayer post out there quite some time ago and thank you all so much for praying for us. Most of all thank you God for laying this job at my feet at your time and only when you wanted this to happen for my family. It does look as if I will be traveling some, but I don't think it will be half as much as I was used to at my old company. I was able to do some blog hopping and saw that Greg over at Greg's General Store posted his Thankful Thursday.

I am thankful for God giving me such a wonderful wife and family. I have been stressing about being laid off and not being able to find a job. I had been taking so much of life's stresses and frustrations internally, not sleeping, not eating well that I finally realized that I had to give it all to God! I had to literally pray and say God I give all of my stresses and frustrations and I lay them at your feet! Father you know more than I and you will lay a job in front of me at your time and I am to trust and have faith that you know all and will enter the rest of you Lord. You are a gracious and loving God and you have known that this obstacle would come before me and you already have your plans to keep me safe in your Grace. You have helped to show me the possibilities in life instead of the frustrations of life!

My wife Kat over at Heart to Heart has really helped me to realize how much I am in need to just keep praying and seek the Lord's wisdom that he knows all and will take care of us. She has helped me see that so many times in the past when we have been in need and he has been there for us every single time. I thank all of you for being there for us. And I now keep you in my prayers and thoughts.

Last and final quilt we finished last week.

2010-06-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the quilt we finished last week. This quilt has been a long time in the making as it has been folded up in our closet for almost 2 years I would say. I finally decided that while I had the sewing machine still out to finish the quilt. It it the largest quilt we completed and is almost big enough to fit a twin size bed.

It is a standard 9 patch quilt pattern purple and white with a purple border. Below is the full size showing the pattern. Hope you like it as it is a new addition to our home.

Well hope you all have a good day and God Bless!

Next Quilt we finished last Week

2010-06-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone out there, here is the next addition to the first quilt we made. The first quilt we made was for the Downy Quilts for Kids Program which came out great! I included the link if you would like to join. Anyway here is a picture of the next quilt we made for our little Nephew Sean. We kind of did last minute so there isn't too much detail. We just knew we had to make it pretty quickly as we were visiting the next day and Little Sean's blanket that he uses was pretty torn up.

I used the remaining material from when we made our daughter Kailee's quilt several years ago. We wanted it it to be very colorful, vibrant and have something that has features that Sean can count when he has it. I sewed around most of the fish so they pop out of the quilt when you look at it. I made a quick yellow border around the outside and then double folded the back over and finished quilting the borders. Here is a picture of the back. You can see the sew pattern around the fish if you look hard enough.

Here is the last picture of the completed front of the quilt. When we gave it to Sean he started yelling bubbles! I guess in his mind he saw bubbles. Well that is it for now. I will post pictures of the last quilt we made last week.

Hope you like the pictures. Let me know what you think!

Keep the Faith,

Quiting 101

2010-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
I have been trying to stay busy while waiting for the phone to ring for possible new jobs. So, while I have had time I have been staying busy quilting, YES YOU HEARD RIGHT QUILTING LOL! I was kind of raised when I was a kid watching my Mom and Grandma quilt on these over sized saw horse like looking things back in the old days when there were no quilting machines. I started quilting when my wife and I thought it would be a good idea to try to start a quilt to see how hard it would be. I think we were going to give it away to Kat's Mom as a Mother's day present I believe but I am not sure. I am sure that my wife will correct me though letting me know what our first quilt was, and that will be left for another story down the road.

Well now that I have some time on my hands I have been finishing some quilts that needed to get done as we have had them for some time. My wife had signed up for the Downy Quilts for Kids program to start helping children that are stuck in the hospitals for a long period of time. I have added a link to the program if you would like to see the stories and see if you would be interested in joining. Kat from Heart 2 Heart had signed up for the program back in December I believe, but that was when she was having medical problems so the quilt kind of just stayed in the closet until we had time to finish it. I just registered it at the Downy website do it might take a few days for it to show up. Here are some pictures of it for you to see.

Here is the first picture of the quilt we completed this last Tuesday. Below is an actual picture of me sewing the quilt for all of you non-believers Ha!

So this is the first of three quilts that we have completed the past week. I will post the next quilt we finished for our little baby nephew Sean tomorrow. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Keep the faith!

Steve

Bored!

2010-06-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone out there in Blog-land USA! It has been a while since I have posted hasn't it! I am sorry for not updating and/or blogging for a while as I was extremely busy with work. Now that I have been laid off, I find myself being extremely bored trying to find new things to do. I have painted part of our house, stained the gazebo over our jacuzzi, cleaned out my toolbox and tool bag (now that I am not using it much anymore). In other words, My mind is racing and it is hard to put on the brakes and pray to God that he finds me a position in a company that keeps me close to home. Work is so sparse out here that I am seriously stressing if I am going to find anything in the near future. I know it has only been one week since I have not been working, but I am that kind of person who has to be doing something or I will drive my wife (Kat over at Heart 2 Heart ) and our kids absolutely CRAZY!

My wife and I have talked about my issue several times and I know she is sick of hearing it, I just wish she knew how much I love her and our wonderful kids that I worry about making our mortgage payment, bills and just being the provider I am supposed to be. She has said so many times that she doesn't care where we live or how we live just as long as we are together. Now my problem with that is I do care where we live and how we live. I am supposed to be a Godly man and look to our father in heaven for an answer to my prayers which is God, father in heaven, please see you way to give me strength in these troubled times and lead me to a new job. I lay these stresses and worries at your feet, your will be done. AMEN!

Now that I have said this and prayed, I am hoping to give myself enough peace to not do a whole Extreme Home Makeover!

Well, thank you all for listening.

Take care and as always!

Keep the Faith,

Raising A Modern Day Princess

2010-05-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White - how many girls, at some point, dream of being a princess like these fairy-tale characters?

In Raising a Modern Day Princess, authors Pam Farrel and Doreen Hanna, come alongside mothers and mentors to offer practical help in raising a generation of women to see themselves as God sees them - as daughters of the King, true modern-day princesses. In an easy-to-use step-by-step style, the authors show moms how to create a fun-filled and life changing rite-of-passage experience celebrating their daughters' crossover into womanhood. There's also an entire chapter to help dads and father figures understand the vital role that they play in their daughter's lives. With personal stories and advice from real moms and daughters, this book speaks to the heart of every woman who longs to instill in her daughter a true sense of purpose, value, and strength...(back cover excerpt).

I absolutely adored this book and I received it at the perfect time while my oldest daughter is entering her senior year. It provided me with the opportunity in the short time I have left with my oldest to do all I can in this coming year to be the dad, and mentor I need to be to instill in her, all that God wants her to be. The quotes scattered throughout the book are right from fairy tales and famous movies that instill the positive qualities we hope our daughters will carry on into their lives, families and marriages.

The book talks to not only moms but as women the girls whose lives they touch as friends and mentors and how important it is for them to take the time and really teach these younger women what a Proverbs 31 woman is really like.

In one chapter, it talks about providing a ceremony where you can provide their first promise ring and teach them the importance on staying holy, or you can use a graduation from high school to gather together friends and family to share their insights on watching her grow from childhood to becoming an adult. I personally think its what every daughter truly dreams of, is that recognition that she is an adult and thus, how proud of her and her accomplishments in getting this far.

I received this book compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers for this review and like I said, its great for anyone who impacts the lives of girls under 21, be it grandparents, pastors, parents, family members and friends. This is a must have. There is so much knowledge to be gained by reading this book and hoping it makes me a more profound role model in my daughter's life

For more information about this book, and where you can purchase a copy, click on the link below:
http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/1_products/details.asp?isbn=978-1-58997-574-3

The Map - The Way of All Great Men

2010-04-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

A Map, written in code, and hidden in the gospel of Matthew, reveals a truth so explosive it could rock the foundations of Christianity or lead to its rebirth.

A cleric appears out of the rain-spattered darkness, bearing a mysterious message: a long-lost map with the power to transform men is on the verge of being discovered. Thrown headlong into a global chase, author David Murrow must race to find the map before it falls into the wrong hands and disappears forever.

The Map, by David Murrow, which begins as an action thriller and then transitions into a modern-day parable, reveals the path every great man – including Christ himself – has walked.

In this dynamic follow-up to the best-selling Why Men Hate Going to Church, Murrow cleverly translates the masculine spiritual life into an actual, ink-on-paper map. Then he shows men where to find the map in the New Testament and how to walk it’s ancient paths today.

Church is too feminine. But if a man is to become whole (emotionally and spiritually), he must shed his macho pretensions and do things that many would consider girly. The softer virtues do play a vital role in a man’s spiritual development. Christian men can’t simply ignore commands such as “turn the other cheek” because they seem unmanly. Every guy needs a good boo-hoo now and then.

But if a man gets too acquainted with his softer side, he risks becoming a softy. This is a huge problem in the church today. Authors such as John Eldredge, Bill Perkins, Mark Gungor, and Paul Coughlin have all noted the emasculating effect that modern Christianity is having on men.

So where is the balance point? How can men get in touch with their feminine side without becoming feminized? One day I stumbled across the answer. I discovered the ancient map to manhood – in a most unexpected way.

I received a copy of The Map, compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and must say, I truly believe every man should read this book. Just like the statement above the book deals with both sides of a man, the masculine and the feminine side or softer, sensitive side, that all men have. This book teaches you how to balance those two extremes for us men, without being overly sentimental and not sensitive enough.

If you would like more information on this book including where to purchase your own copy, click on the link below:

http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=0785227628&title=The_Map

Letters, Letters and More Letters

2010-03-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is praying for Kat at Heart to Heart! She has been doing very well as far as mentally these past few days and I am positive it has been because of all of you out there responding back through Gods great strength. We just went through "Stage 3" as my wife has been calling it with finishing up the pre-op blood tests, chest x-rays and EKG test just to make sure she is healthy enough for the surgery. So now the next step is to just keep her happy and well rested until tomorrow morning. I still have the prayer button (now fixed and on my right side bar) for everyone who wants to put it on your blog while Kathy is recovering from surgery.

If you could be so kind as to mail her and email her while she is out for the next few days recovering. I know that she LOVES receiving mail from all of her friends out there in the Blogging World! So if you have the chance and can write her a postcard, letter, or even just a little note saying hi and that you are praying for her it would be so appreciated! You have been such a blessing to her, more than you will ever know. Thank you and keep those letters coming in! If you need our mailing address, please email me at stevenkat27@verizon.net or pirate2768@verizon.net and I will be happy to send you our address.

Keep the Faith,

Oh one more little Idea I wanted to share with all of you! We were at the hospital yesterday when a woman walked in front of us wearing a shirt that really caught my attention.

It said

"Dear God,

Why do you let all of our children suffer through so much violence and pain in our schools!

Signed,

Concerned student.

Right below it was what God responded with.

Dear Student,

I am no longer allowed in schools!

Signed,

GOD

Makes you really think where our priorities are in this world huh!

Please Pray for my wife during this week!

2010-03-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a Blog today to say please pray for Kathy at Heart to Heart this week!

I have put together a little Prayer for Kathy awareness button so many of you can put it on your Blogs for this week. She is having her Hysterectomy and exploratory surgery on Thursday at 7:00 am with a check-in time at 5am. Hopefully if all goes well the surgery should only last an hour to an hour and a half, then on to recovery. I have attached a prayer button for everyone who wants to put this on their site to please keep her in your prayers this week.

I am so thankful to have her in my life that I would do anything to keep her from having any pain, much less the pain she has been in. So grab the button on the right side bar and add her to your prayers if you would be so kind.

Thank you all so much!

Steve

Thursday is the day my wife has been waiting for a long time!

2010-03-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it is finally coming down to the final week and I know that Kathy from Heart 2 Heart has been waiting for this moment to happen for a long, LONG time. She is finally having her Hysterectomy to get rid of the pain she has been experiencing for almost 5 months now. I am hoping and praying daily now for her surgery to go smoothly and that her recovery be free of pain. I know that she is excited and intrepid at the same time about the surgery and has gotten so much positive feedback from all of you, her blogging friends out there. You have all been so kind and I cannot let you know how much it means to her to have developed the friendships from her Blog over the past year. Kathy, I love you so much and just know that you mean the world to me in every way shape and form.

Without Gods great fortune of putting us together I do not know where I would be today, but I am sure that I would not be near as happy and have such a fruitful life. Having you as my wife is the most wonderful joy I could ever experience. I know I don't show you as much as I should how much I love you, but just know that you next to God are the most important thing in my life.

I can't wait until the surgery is done and to see you happy and healthy again.

I love you,

Hello Everyone!

2010-03-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take the time to say hi to everyone and try to catch up on my blog. I am going to be visiting all of the friends out there that are following my blog. I just wanted to post a picture that I saw today and stop in to visit.

Talk to you soon and keep the faith!

Steve,

How wonderful God's touch is!

Why Is God Ignoring Me? ~ Book Review

2010-03-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to receive mail from God? What would it be like to open up your mailbox and just once find a letter with a heavenly postmark? Would it even need a stamp? And what if it contained very loving and personal words from your heavenly Father – the sort of thoughts you would treasure all the days of your life?

Why doesn’t God send us mail? Or at least communicate with us directly?

In all my years of talking to Christians who experience doubts about their faith, this sort of question is the most common. Who can be blamed for wanting to hear from God – especially when we’re hurting? Isn’t it natural to want to hear from someone we love?

In times of trouble and suffering we cry out to God…but sometimes it feels like He doesn’t hear.

When we’re walking through pain, it’s easy to feel alone on the journey. If God truly loves us, then why can’t we sense His presence? Has he abandoned us when we need Him the most? Or it is possible that He’s speaking into our lives in ways we don’t yet understand?

In Why is God Ignoring Me? scholar, author and apologist, Gary Habermas walks you through what the Bible has to say about suffering, explains where we can find God in our own times of suffering and disappointment and shares heartfelt personal insights from others who’ve been where we are.

I received a complimentary copy of Why Is God Ignoring Me? From Tyndale House Publishers for my humble review. I must say I found profound comfort in the stories that Gary shares with the readers of this book that God is not ignoring us. We may simply be looking in all the wrong places for His answers or not listening when He speaks. I would therefore, highly recommend this book to anyone asking themselves this very same question.

For more information on this book and where to purchase this please use the link below.

http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/1_products/details.asp?isbn=978-1-4143-1688-8

Living Life In The Zone: A 40 Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men ~ Book Review

2010-02-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

If you're a church going guy, if you like sports, and if you want to grow closer to the Lord, You need to get this book! Some days it is not always easy! This book is really a discipleship manual that focuses on helping you live a victorious Christian life! The book itself is designed to be a 40 day 'Spiritual Game Plan' so right away we see that biblical number that the Lord uses to bring His people through trials so that His purposes can be fulfilled!

What I liked about this book is the depth in which I was able to use it to study. It was not your average "I'm going to read a verse and a poem and then I'll be all set for the day" Bible study! This book challenged me every time that I opened it! To be honest it was hard to put down!

I also liked the consistency of each chapter. As I mentioned above, each chapter is broken down into sections that are consistent. I looked forward to reading the Coach's corner in each chapter that I read to see what the "coach" would have to say! It’s written in such a way that any man could easily relate to it. The book does not hit you over the head with scripture, but instead allows you to step back and see how biblical teaching touches you daily life and how you can incorporate it in your daily life!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of Living Life In The Zone: A 40 Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men by Kyle Rote and Joe Pettigrew from Thomas Nelson Publishers to review and I would highly recommend this book! What a great birthday, anniversary or even a Father’s Day book for any man looking to live a more Godly life!

How To Reach Your Full Potential for God ~ Book Review

2010-01-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

So often the world says, “You’re average. You are merely one in six billion. You need to be content and settle for whatever comes your way.”

Or have any of these thoughts crossed your mind recently?

When I look at my life and the way the world is today, I don’t see much to be excited about.

When thinking about your job, do you find yourself saying this, “I can’t go any higher, do any better, or go any farther. I can’t do more than I am doing right now.”?

Others feel that their lives have gone stale. Perhaps their marriages aren’t as dynamic as they once were, or they have lost all interest in hobbies and activities that once gave them pleasure.

But almighty God, the heavenly Father who crafted you as a uniquely gifted individual, knows better He gave you a purpose here on earth and has equipped you specially to fulfill it. If you will seek Him, He will awaken your passion for that purpose in ways you never imagined.

In How to Reach Your Full Potential for God by Dr. Charles Stanley challenges you to pursue the Lord in ways that will stir passion and purpose that is both spiritual and practical. He says such devotion leads to a life of fulfillment that many seek but don’t find.

God has not only created you with the gifts and talents to do His work on this earth, but He also has created you with the desires, dreams, and disposition to become a person with whom He enjoys fellowship and spiritual intimacy. No one can fully understand the depths of His love, the help that He desires to give, or the blessings and rewards that He has prepared.

This book has been a huge eye opener for me. Not only about what I personally thought about certain areas of my life, but what I expected from God and what He expects from me. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who feels stuck, discouraged or adrift in your life right now. You need to remember God has placed more within you than you realize, and you likely have settled for the life you have now. So if you’re ready to see what your possibilities are, I would recommend reading this book.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review for Thomas Nelson publishers.

Redefining Beautiful ~ Book Review

2009-12-17T17:13:00.001-08:00

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.

Falling off the face of the Earth!

2009-11-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

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,

It's good to be Home!

2009-10-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

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!

Heading on out to Texas!

2009-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

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!

Matthew 26 verse 36-46

2009-10-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2009-10-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

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.

BOOK GIVE AWAY!

2009-10-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

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!

MOTW

2009-09-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

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!

Love and Respect...Easy Enough?

2009-09-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

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."

Mom of the Week Award!

2009-09-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

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!

Prayer Request Chain!

2009-09-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-18T07:52:00.001-07:00

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!

Mom of the Week Award!

2009-09-16T13:00:00.001-07:00

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!

Patience is a Virtue!

2009-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Spiritual Sunday

2009-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

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.

One Strong Word!

2009-09-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

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!

TGIF!!!

2009-09-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

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!

Thankful Thursday!

2009-09-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

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!

WAW

2009-09-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

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!

Back to the Future!

2009-09-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

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

Flywheel

2009-08-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

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!

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!

Memories

2009-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2009-08-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

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.

Finishing Touches!

2009-08-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

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!

3 Column Template

2009-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Welcome to another edition of WAW !

2009-08-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

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!

Wizard's Teeth!

2009-08-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

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!

Word Association Wednesday!

2009-08-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

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!

Ant Training Class!!!

2009-08-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

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?

Silly Saturday!

2009-08-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Let me In!

Here is a funny video that my wife found that I wanted to share with you. We have a cat named Moo and she is the epitome of this cartoon! She is always begging to be let out or back in and scratches on the sliding glass door just like this. She even sits in the kitchen and practically points to the cabinet so she can get cookies! If she could point to her mouth she would!

So hope you enjoy the video and post a comment!

Take care!

One Lovely Blog Award!

2009-07-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to my wife for this great award! I am sure that I got this award because I am her husband! lol, but I will take it non the less! I wanted to send this award out to so many other people, however this has made it's way around and all of the people who follow me also follow Kat at Heart 2 Heart. I am pretty sure she gave this to everyone I already had on my list.

Rules of this award.

The only thing you need to do to receive this award is to pass it along to other fellow blogger's and let them know! So here goes in no particular order:

Kristin at Another Gray Day

She just has some funny excerpts on her post and I like her writing style. She has a great family and a couple of cool Blogs! I liked the one about the dancing wedding party. Visit her when you get a chance!

Sandra at Full Bellies, Happy Kids

I really need to try some of her recipes! It is always nice to find something new to make and see if it becomes a Smith family recipe! The bacon wrapped chicken looks awesome! So go check out her site for some great new foods to try!

Greg at Greg's General Store

He just posted a funny blog about Mr. Peabody & Sherman and their time travel machine. You have to like anyone who has old cartoons on their blog. (Especially when it comes to Bullwinkle!) It was a cartoon way before it's time and would love to see it come back. Stop on by and say hi to Greg when you get a chance.

Oh we share something else in common, we have the same Birthday!

Everyone over at Fellowship of the Traveling Smarty Pants

They just have some hilarious videos and posts which will lighten your day when you are feeling blue! Take time to go see what they have posted for today!

Warren at Family Fountain

He always has an inspirational word for you when you are feeling down and has a great Blog site! I really like his Blog from a while ago about having a wife, means receiving favor from the Lord. I have been blessed with a wonderful Wife for 11 years and I still don't know what she sees in Me! I need to give her a shout out and let her know how much I love her!

Thank you Warren!

And Last, but never least, my wife Kat at Heart 2 Heart!

She is the most amazing woman I know and I Love Her with all of my Heart and Soul! I thank God every day for giving me such an amazing woman. She is funny, smart, beautiful, sexy, selfless, compassionate, giving and the most caring woman I know. Thank you for being my wife, Best friend, soul mate and everything else wrapped into one!

She also started me on this Blog site!

Pop on over to her site and comment on her picture for Friday Funnies when you get a chance!

Alaskan Salmon on the Barbie

2009-07-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

BBQ Alaskan Salmon

I know you are asking yourself Salmon on the Barbecue? And that is what I first Thought too. The truth is you can't cook fish any better than this!

We have tried several different fish on our Barbecue and actually found that frozen Salmon found at Costco is the best we have tasted! We have tried fresh fish from our local Stater Bros., Albertson's, Von's, you name it and have found that the Frozen Salmon at Costco is the best.

You will need foil, fish of course salmon is preferred but you can use Mahi Mahi or any other fish you might like, Lemons, Garlic Salt, and any other seasoning you might want to try. Lat bu not least your Barbecue.

Directions:

Thaw out the salmon, it takes about 3-4 hours depending on how warm your house is.

Pull out 3-4 pieces which feeds a family of 4.

1 piece can feed either 1 or 2 people depending on how hungry you are.

Pull out a piece of aluminum foil approx 16 inches long.
Put a small dab of butter on the foil along with some garlic salt and any other of your favorite seasonings.
Place each salmon on top of the butter and seasonings.
Place another small dab of butter on top of salmon along with some lemon juice and other seasonings of your choice.
Heat up your Barbecue to medium to medium low.
Once you have done all of this fold the foil over the part where the salmon is, fold it over one more time.
Fold the sides in, then continue to fold up the foil with the fish in it until it is wrapped up good and tight!
Place your pieces of fish on the Barbecue and set your timer for 7 minutes.
After 7 minutes, turn over fish and continue to cook for 8 minutes.
After 8 minutes, turn fish over one more time for 7 more minutes.

Once timer goes off your fish should be cooked through, nice and flaky!

We usually fix wild rice or some other type of rice dish with it.

Well hope you like our way of cooking Salmon on the Barbecue!

Don't forget to visit Sandra at Diary of a stay at home Mom for some other recipes that she has gathered up!

Enjoy!

"The Greatest American Hero!"

2009-07-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

How do I start to comment on what my Wife Kat had said about me on her Heart 2 Heart Blog today. I Love Her so much and had to laugh at what she said about me. I guess Men are useful in that manner, I mean who else is going to clean out drains, pick Horn Worms off of tomato plants, scrape mold off of paint, repair Air Conditioning drain valves full of rust...

Well, you get the point. I mean women are so great at multi tasking that us men have to be good at something right?

That is why God gave us Tools!!!!!!!

It reminded me of an old T.V. Show that I loved watching when I was a young teenager. Kat said that I am her hero for doing all of the "Dirty Jobs" as Mike Rowe does on his show. But this blog is not about Dirty Jobs, no, this blog is about being The Greatest American Hero as all or most husbands are.

I wanted to add this old T.V. Show on my Blog because if we are to be recognized as heroes, then this would be the kind of Hero I would be. Clumsy, tall, worrisome, inept, nervous, rough around the edges, clumsy (did I mention that already?)If you have never seen the show before I have an old clip of it for your viewing enjoyment. But be very careful as the song is catchy and you will find yourself singing it at 1 am in the morning not knowing why!

So thank you to my wife whom without her I am just an ordinary average Joe!

T.V. Shows now are so serious or full of too much content which just seems to bore me anymore. I am tired of Quote Reality Shows that End Quote that sometimes I long for the old shows like The A-Team, Knight Rider, Hogans Heroes, M.A.S.H., ALF, Mork n Mindy, the list could go on and on.

If any of you remember this show, please feel free to comment whether bad or good!

My wife hated this show, but I liked it.

Fun In The Sun!

2009-07-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Family decision to go to the mountains and have some fun at Lake Gregory!

The last time I had blogged about where we were going to get out of the heatwave we have been having for several weeks in a row. We decided to go to a new place that the kids had never been to! Lake Gregory near Crestline is a wonderful little community that is between Lake Silverwood and Crestline in California. It is only about 4,500 ft. above sea level and was closer to home than we thought! This little lakeside town must be a well kept secret as we went on a Friday afternoon and there couldn't have been more than a hundred people in the water park area.

Here are a few pictures of our kids having a blast on the water slides. Our oldest, brought a friend to come hang out with her. The first picture below is our youngest who loves being in water of any kind!

I definitely think that we will be back in the near future. This was a nice place to relax and get out of the high heat in our hometown. The temperature was only about 85 degrees and was quite comfortable in the shade of the tall whispering Pine Trees. My wife and I just sat and watched the scenery change as the clouds built into a pillow like white cotton ball just north of the lake. It was a very peaceful place to be, as if all of your troubles just seemed to drift away with the clouds leaving tranquil thoughts of not having a care in the world.

We saw a beautiful Log Cabin up in the hills across from where we were sitting and just wondered how nice it would be to live in a home like that. I sat there and pondered how much it would be to buy a home up here and just move away from it all! It would be a blast to even rent a cabin up here in the late Summer/Early Fall to see the changing colors of the trees. I am definitely finding myself moving to a mountain community when I can retire with my beautiful Wife Kat.

The drive time to get here took much less than we thought as well. My GPS which gave me a new way to drive by Lake Silverwood through some windy turns (not bad though if you drove slow.) into the back way to Lake Gregory. I spoke to my Mom and Dad yesterday and had told them where we went, they said that they had taken the whole family up there several times when I was very young.

So....

We had a great time and have put this place on our map to come back, enjoy the lake and all of it's surroundings.

Thank you Lake Gregory for sharing your scenery!

See you soon!

Places to go and see!

2009-07-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to the Weekend!

Well I can't wait for the weekend to come about. The feeling of having time off just seems to sooth my soul and hopefully get some much needed sleep before the new week starts again on Monday. Even though we are still in a massive heatwave that zaps us the second we walk out the door I am looking forward to possibly going to the beach or mountains this weekend.

The high temps at our house have been reaching an avg. of 104-107 degrees Fahrenheit so needless to say we are desperately trying anyway we can to avoid the heat. Our beaches have been averaging the high 70's to the low 80's and have been tame compared to everywhere else. The beach sounds good as long as we can stay out of the sun, of course having a 10 year old girl will undoubtedly mean that I will be forced to go out and make sure she is okay in the water. She is definitely a handful! I love her more than words could say though. My 16 year old step-daughter will more than likely tanning and talking on the phone at the same time not even caring about anything else but her own personal issues. (Can you say oops I dropped her phone in the salt water!)

Newport Beach has some beautiful places to visit and go to if we decide that is the location we are going to. From taking a Ferry where we can actually park our car on the Ferry and take a ride across the bay over to Balboa. To going on a bike ride down by the beach along the walkway sounds great! You can even rent Jet Skis in the bay to ride or even take a Gondola ride along the canals of the rich and famous homes around the bay. Newport Beach sounds like fun!

I am sure we would have a good time together just hanging out with my wife and watching the scenery go by. That is becoming our favorite past time lately. Just being together and enjoying our time with one another. It does not have to be anything fancy, just as long as we are together having a peaceful, joyous time.

Of course heading to the mountains and getting into some shade beneath the tall Pine Trees listening to them whistle from the wind sounds very tranquil as well. We have been yearning for some small road trip to just let our worries melt away with every mile we put behind us. It would be great to take a picnic basket, a red and white checkered tablecloth and some food and snacks next to a wooded lake just sounds like Heaven! Of course Heaven is much more nicer and cooler!

It would also be nice to spend the night up in some old rustic cabin by a lake too! Man my aches and pains of everyday work and life seem better already just thinking of it. Waking up to cool breezes from the lake and having a great lunch at the shore just sounds what I need! So now that I have two choices, what should I do? Where should we go this weekend? I think I shall talk to my lovely wife and decide together where we should go.

Well I think we shall go to.....

Tune in next time to find out where we went over the weekend!

"Were having a Heat Wave!"

2009-07-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Summer has hit and hit hard!

It is funny that so far the temperatures are not as hot as last year, although we are not really into the middle of summer yet. It just seems like the minute you walk outside you suddenly have all of your energy drained from you as if you have a water spigot on the top of your head that is open and all of the water has poured out all over the sidewalk!

It has just been that kind of week. I don't want to get up early and water the yard, but I know that if it is not done by 6am then we are doomed to stay out in the heat to water. I know certain counties near us are already doing water rationing days where you can only water your yard on Tuesdays and Thursdays I believe. I know that as a whole, we need to do better at conserving water.

Putting on water flow saving devices on all spigots and faucets.

Lower the time we water down by a minute on each valve.

Shower one or two minutes less each day.

Only wash our cars unless it is absolutely necessary!

Small steps like these per family households can add up to tens of thousands of gallons saved each year.

We try as much as we can to save on our water as we live in the desert, but there is only so much that can be done. I can't really afford to rip out my front lawn to put in drought tolerant desert plants. I am sure in the long run it would be beneficial to do so, but my family does not want to live in the desert for much longer. We are looking for more of an environment where we get rain, snow and have 4 seasons. Not just HOT or COLD.

So for now we are just as they say "Dealing with it!" and watering our lawn enough to where it does not look brown and not too much where like our neighbor does not care if his lawn is watered three times a day and has several sprinkler leaks!

"Okay don't even get me started on that!"

So for now we are just trying to escape and/or survive the heat by staying inside.

So, anyway hope everyone has better climates than we do!

Have a great summer!

Roller Skating

2009-07-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

I lay here in bed, wishing the pain would subside without having to take massive amounts of pain pills to avoid my right ankle and knee from hurting so much. I had so much fun on Saturday skating, but now have to pay the price for not having skated for ooh a good 8 years. My wife and I decided to break out our old skates " in line for me and 4 wheel for her" and try to skate for a couple of hours with our children.

I have to go back a few months ago to really tell the story well. My wife was standing out in front of our house watering the lawn when she met two girls she had never seen before. They preceded to ask if she had seen a little Chihuahua and a larger black dog, they had apparently gotten loose and ran away. Kathy had said that she had not seen them and asked if the girls were new to the neighborhood. The girls said that they had just moved in about 5 houses down, she then said that they should meet our youngest daughter who is 10 years old. Our other daughter was still in Rhode Island on her summer vacation seeing her Dad who lives with his wife back east.

Our daughter came out and was introduced to them and wanted to know if she could play with them. As long as we met the parents Kathy replied and they said no problem. I had now come into the picture to go over and meet the parents along with Kathy and Kailee who seemed very nice and trusting. We talked for a while and found out that the Dad was the manager for the local Roller Skating rink "only roller skating rink really" and that our daughter should go skating with the other girls. Well normally we don't allow that since we had only met them just a few hours earlier. We decided to let her go skate for a little while while we watched and found out that she picked up to skating very fast!

Her first time skating she was getting the hang of it so fast that she was not even falling that much and pretty much keeping up with most of the kids there. Well, the rest is history as we would say and she is now in skating lessons. She is skating about 3-4 times a week and if she had it her way it would be everyday.

So this brings us full circle to the beginning of the story about skating this last Saturday and all of the pain my wife and I are in. We thought it would be fun since the kids are skating all of the time that we try it as well. We had so much fun that we will probably keep skating every Saturday, however, it also depends on how much pain we are in before we go. It is now Monday and I can honestly say that I had so much fun skating with my wife and kids that I can forgo the pain just to see the smiles on every one's face when I fall or almost fall. The kids love the fact that we can do this one thing as a family and it has started to bring us closer together after being gone so much the last several months.

I am going to try regular skates this next time as my wife says that it is easier than Rollerblades and I believe her! It seems that trying to balance on blades is very difficult when you have not done it in almost a decade. My right ankle seems to have a mind of it's own when I want to go right it goes left! When I want to go left it goes.....well you get the picture.

So once again back to taking 4 Advil to see if that helps the pain I am feeling in my right leg down to my toes. Was it worth it?

I guess I would have to quote the MasterCard commercials.

Buying skates for my kids to learn skating.

$65.00

Paying for lessons for them to get better.

$35.00

Seeing the biggest smile from your kids watching you go through all of the pain you feel just to skate with them for the first time and seeing you wipe out and fall.

Priceless!

See you all soon!

Hopefully not from a hospital bed!

COFFEE!!!!!!!!

2009-07-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

ONE WORD COFFEE!!!!

Thank you God for creating such a wonderful gift to mankind of which World Countries would fall and we would not survive the day without it.

I am sitting in my chair drinking my first cup of coffee for the day thanking God once more for allowing us to taste such wonderful flavors and smell the tranquil aroma. I know this seems petty, but how many of us drink coffee? I am not talking about that crud in a cup you call Starbucks, but actual coffee! My wife and I every morning faithfully for years have made coffee to start our day. "Some days better than others"

We have tried several brands and flavors, and have come to a few flavors that we love and drink everyday. Folgers Gourmet Chocolate Truffle or Caramel Drizzle believe it or not is our favorite and can be found at Target for only $4.99 a bag. "Can't believe how affordable it is!"

Sounds like a commercial doesn't it? Well I just wanted to share with you our morning ritual of having a great cup of coffee every morning to wake up to. Sometimes, when we actually pre-make the coffee and have the timer setup for the next morning is just wonderful when you wake up to that wonderful smell. You know that it is going to be a better day just for that. So thank you God once more for giving us that one wonderful word.

So whether you like it black, black with two sugars, cream only, or cream and sugar, just enjoy every drop. Take the time to look around and see the morning sunrise, water your garden and just enjoy the day!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and have a great cup of you know what!

Coffee...

Happy Independence Day!!!!

2009-07-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!!!

Just wanted to take time out to say that I believe in saying Independence day rather than Happy 4th of July.

"Happy Independence Day!" has real meaning and a sense of belonging to the past, present and future of this great country we live in. I feel closer to the men and women who served our country and fought for our right of freedom of Religion, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Just thinking about these three words "Pursuit of Happiness". This has a profound meaning for every human being not only in our wonderful country, but around the world. Notice how it is not just Happiness, but the Pursuit of Happiness is how it is written. We have to be diligent on pursuing happiness. It is earned rather than expected. It means we have to work hard to earn happiness in this life and not expect other's to give it to you.

"Happy 4th of July" is just a date that kids like to hear because they get to watch fireworks and light sparklers. Don't even get me started on Sparklers. What happened to the real Sparklers we used to have that actually lit and stayed lit for minutes while we played with them. Okay Off Point, sorry.

Anyway, I want to wish everyone a very Happy Independence Day to you and your family wherever you are! May you really feel like we live in the greatest country in the world!

Treasures of the Past

2009-06-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

So often we take life for granted! So often we go along our daily activities, blind to what God has blessed us with. So often we are in search of what we already have in our life that we forget to stop and really see what is important!

I was able to pull up this old video that our friend put up on YouTube for us years ago (Thank you Samm!) Seeing this old video of our daughter Kailee when she was only 4 years old makes me realize just how quickly life goes by. The only thing that truly should give us joy, peace and happiness is God, family and friends in that order.

I am remembering even now as I write just how many wonderful memories my family have put in our lives together. My mental book is being written everyday I get to spend on earth with my family, learning about God, and all of the crazy things I did when I was a child all the way up until I became a responsible father and husband.

Although I don't think we should ever forget to be childlike!

I sat down just about an hour ago watching our daughter Kailee who is in the video now taking roller skating lessons. Watching the smile on her face while she skates around the rink trying to dance as best she can to music playing on the speakers. I realize just how lucky I am to have such a wonderful daughter, step daughter, wife and family.

There are so many pages that have been written and so many more that are blank just waiting to be filled with new and exciting memories. I can't wait to turn the page and see what is next! Remember to see what is around you before you miss it! Before I know it my kids will be grown and out of the house, I dread those days are soon coming faster than I care to admit!

So hold on, shut up, sit down, and have the time of your life with God as the driver and your family in the back seat of this great thing we call......Life!

God Bless and Have Faith!

xxx Under_Construction xxx

2009-06-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I would keep it simple today and see if anyone out there could give me some help on making my blog look a little nicer. If you know of any templates or nice places I could go to find some really nice backgrounds it would be appreciated! I am looking for a template that has 3 three column layout. I have the two column now, but I don't see a three column layout anywhere. Like I said, I am still getting used to Blogging so at best I would say that I am an amatuer.

My wife helps me quite a bit and I am not ashamed to say that she is a pro at Blogging while I stumble, but still mange somehow to figure this out as I go.

So if you get a chance, post a comment on some of the sites you use to update your blog, and if you have any trade secrets maybe we could make a deal! Ha Ha....

It would be grealty appreciated, so take care and everyone have a wonderdul day!

Meeting new Neighbors

2009-06-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's always interesting meeting new neighbors that have children. Your kids immediately introduce themselves and become best friends within a matter a minutes. Which if you think about it, parents and adults should follow these simple rules about meeting new people. Kids have no preconception of who they are about to meet, what they look like, how they dress, and what type of career or job they have. Kids simply say "hi my name is" and the rest is shall we say history. "KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid" would be the acronym I would use to describe how to meet new people. The world would be so much better off if we used it more.

As it turns out, our neighbors seem to be very sweet and have children almost the same age as ours. We have let our daughter go roller skating with them at the local skating rink, and they seem to get along very well. It seems to spark the whole neighborhood when new kids are thrown into the mix with the kids that have been around a while.

I was almost thinking when they moved in, are they going to be neighbors from the movie The Burbs. A family that has no common thread of ordinary at all. Thank goodness everything turned out alright and they are very nice. It is shocking that the kids are so well mannered. You can tell a lot about the parents if the kids act kind and are brought up right. It seems that when you have a strong presence of both parents, that the children are very stable and well mannered.

Well enough of my writing for now.

Just remember to meet new neighbors and people with open arms and open hearts, you never know they might turn out to be your best friends.

Take Care,

"Canary in a Coal Mine"

2009-06-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard this saying?

It is a quote from the old mining days when miners would hit a pocket of gas or discover a new mine shaft. The miners would bring a Canary in a cage, if the Canary sings and stays active for a certain amount of time then the miners were safe from Harm. If the Canary gets sick or dies quickly, the miners have to vacate the mine and ventilate it until it is safe to go in. The Canary has one purpose, to breath in and out until enough time passes where it either dies or it lives.

The expression has been passed down from the past to people who use the term when they feel like they are being put in that exact position. Do you ever have to come out of your comfort zone? If you do, you feel like you can't even catch your breath until you go back to the comfort of your safe place. I am being put in that position it seems like every day lately. I am actually realizing that I am not only starting to feel comfortable, but I am really coming into my own. I am starting to like the position I am in and how it makes me feel.

Now if I can keep balancing my family life and work life, I will be in pretty good shape. My wife hopefully is happier now that I can spend more time at home while I am in this position. It has been so nice to be home more and I hope that this will continue for a long time.

So if you ever feel like you are a "Canary in a Coal Mine", remember to breathe in and breathe out, for you too will survive whatever life throws at you. God never gives you more than you can handle. God gives you what you need, not what you want.

The Younger MTV Generation

2009-06-01T14:01:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that I am actually saying this, but I don't get the younger generation. They are all about sexually explicit subject matter, greed, profanity and Tattoo's. Okay, I know I am generalizing, but am I wrong or is everything I see about sex, drugs, rock n roll, and tattoo's! My Wife and I were watching the MTV Video awards because my wife likes the movie and books about Twilight. It is about Vampire's and a love affair between a human and a vampire who beat all of the odds by falling in love and being together despite the differences. My wife is such a romantic, and I am trying to be as much as I can. Well, anyway, while watching the MTV awards I found myself appalled by all of the sexually explicit matter, profanity, and tattoo's that are plastered everywhere on peoples bodies.

There is nothing that shocks the youth of today, because of T.V. Movies and the Internet. You can watch anything that you want to without any consequences. I thought I was indestructible when I was a kid? You should see what these kids can do now. Motorcycles doing back flips in the air, extreme sports of any kind just send chills up my spine even looking at what the youth can do now. I pray that God puts some sense of fear in all of the young children these days just so they don't kill themselves in some freak accident involving jumping through fire over a gorge filled with Alligators. Okay I know I am going overboard here, but don't think that some young guy is thinking of this stunt and saying yeah, I could do that.

All in all, I am so glad that I will be reaching my retirement years with all fingers and toes in place and where they should be. I know that I have slowly been turning into my Dad, but now that I am getting older, that is not such a bad thing anymore. I am scared to even think that the youth are going to be running the country soon. Maybe that is why the older generation just wants to be left alone somewhere where they can have peace and quiet. Well, so much for me writing about the younger generation. I think the term Ranting and Raving or venting about the younger generation would have been a better title.

So, shoot me your comments on this topic and I hope to hear from you soon.

Weekends...A great way to recharge the batteries!!!

2009-05-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely time is slipping away until we all have to wake up Monday morning and get back to the dull, mundain start of the work week. It has been so great having a weekend off with my wife and kids to help feel refreshed, well, somewhat refreshed anyway. I had a chance to really hang out with my wife most of Saturday while my almost 16 year old daughter had a going away party for the summer.

Before you say anything, I have to comment on what a wonderful daughter she is. She is the type of daughter you dream of having (even though she is only my step-daughter, I feel like she is my own). The party was with approx 8-10 of her good friends and they are all so well mannered. So my wife and I stayed out of their hair and resolved ourselves to retire upstairs into our retreat, that means our bedroom. We just watched T.V. for a while and peeked in from time to time, but everyting went very well.

Today, we went to the movies and watched Night at the Museum II. For the most part it was a pretty enjoyable movie. Kat and I brought our 10 year old daughter with us so I thought it best to see a more family oriented movie. So back on point, I had a pretty good weekend at home with my wife and kids, wish it could have been longer much, much longer. I really need to start checking to see how much vacation time I have so I can plan some small trip together over the summer. Well I am off to spend the last few hours of the weekend with my beautiful wife. Hope to hear from you all on how your weekend was.

Take Care and God Bless,

P.S. Dont' you just wish you could jump into this picture for a week?

Time Management

2009-05-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

Okay, do you ever get the feeling that you are walking a thin line that you feel is about to snap and you tumble into the deep abyss. My wife has even threatened me with the actual words of divorce if I cannot find the time for her and the kids. I have gone to counseling at our church to talk about trying to give more to my wife and kids. I know it is a burden that I have put on my loving wife who has to take care of practically the entire house while I am away. If I am to be a successful husband and father I must put them before anything else. Life just keeps getting more interesting doesn't it!

Time Management, just say those two words to yourself! TIME MANAGEMENT! It is more important than you think. My work is always tugging on my shirt sleeves asking me for one more thing, can you make a phone call and take care of this, here is a problem I need you to take care of, send this email out, fly out and work out of the state for 3-5 weeks with no advanced warning. It is a never ending stream of stuff that can bog you down so quickly you will sink in it.

My goal is to find ways to manage my time with my family while still giving enough time to my work to accomplish what is needed, not wanted. I have such an unpredictable schedule I can't seem to find the regular hours I need to give my wife and kids the time they want and need so desperately from me. "God. please give me the strength and patience to get through these trying times".

I would love to hear back from anyone who is going through the same trials and tribulations that I am so I can find some peace. I would love to have an average 8-5 job that would give me the time to really get back to basics and bond with my family again. I love my wife and kids so much that I would quit my job in a second to show her how much I love her, but what would that accomplish. That would just make the situation worse. I have to find that fine line of work and home and try to repair that fine line into a steel anchor chain that can not be broken by anything.

Well I hope to hear from anyone who is going through the same thing I am. For now God Bless and be safe in this ever changing world!