Wow what a weekend!!

I tell you I both love and hate Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving because it is a time to remember all the blessings that God has done for us. I have 2 pretty great kiddos. Don't get me wrong they can get on my nerves sometimes, BUT I probably get on their nerves a whole lot worse than they get on mine. I have wonderful parents that I love tremendously, they are always there for me and I appreciate it. They help out a ton with the kids. I am very blessed to have them. I have a great brother and his family. I love them all so much. I am blessed that we are coming up on 11 years of sobriety for my brother, I am more proud of you than I could ever express. I am even thankful for my ex-wife.....mainly that she is an EX lol........Oh com'on you know you will tell that one later lol. jk.....kinda.....lol. I have a great job. I get up every day looking forward to going to work, ok I have to admit I have to wake up first lol. I have great friends, some I don't get to see as often as I would like to. My best friend got accepted into nursing school, I am so proud of him. He went back to school and has kicked it in the booty. I am also blessed in that earlier this year he tricked...........I mean got a great woman to become his life. I am so thankful for Lauren because she makes Derek so happy. I am indebted to her for that. Just this weekend a friend and Masonic brother got engaged. He seems really happy, and I am thrilled for them. All I hope for all my friends is that everyday is better than the day before. I am also Thankful because my teams won this holiday weekend. Ok so they didn't play well but they did win. I am Thankful for sports figures that are strong Christians. One of my favorite athletes is Baron Batch. They don't come more focused on God than he is. He is not ashamed, and I have had the fortune of talking to him....ok Chatting with him on occasion about it. Another that is hugely strong is Tim Tebow. I really like him for the same reasons as Baron. I just wish that there was a way for him to win, and his coach to lose. lol I am also thankful for the community that I live in, and the church that I attend. God has blessed first baptist in Plains. I pray that he continues to bless us, and that we keep our focus on him and not pop our collar at what WE have accomplished, because it is ONLY by the grace and blessing from God that we are able to do the things that we do.

I have talked a little about it, but the thing that I am most thankful for is for God and his son Jesus. God loved us so much that he knew before he ever created the world that he was going to have to send his son to die on a cross to save us......and yet He created the world anyway. And then there was Jesus. He agreed to come to earth to be tortured and executed for each and every one of us. He did that out of love for us. WOW I don't understand how you can deny the existence of God, we will get into a little apologetics at a later date. If you need proof of the existence of God, just look in the face of a child, he is there. As a link on my Facebook page I have added a link called God's Chisel. I hope that you will take a few minutes and watch it.

I said that I both love and hate Thanksgiving, well here is the hate. I hate Thanksgiving because we should spend everyday thanking God for the blessings he has bestowed. NOT just once a year. I posed the question on Wednesday, "What if you only had tomorrow, what you were thankful for today." Thankfully that is another Grace of God that we don't have that. There are WAY too many things to list. How about music? or the sense of smell? or a warm breeze? or snowfall? or being able to see? or being able to hear? how about the internet, to keep up with friends? or how about electricity? or phones? or the IT guy (sorry couldn't resist)? or windows? There are simply too many blessings that God has given us. That is why I think it is imperative that we tell God thank you everyday.

I would have to mention that I am thankful for our country, even though it has been hi-jacked by radicals, (I can and will back that statement up in future posts, if you want more details before then just ask). I am thankful for our troops that are in very bad places to see that we can maintain our lives. I am always behind you even when it seems that Washington is not. There are a ton of people across this country that appreciate the sacrifice that you are making. I am also thankful for their families. The decision to protect us is pointless without the brave men and women and children that are back here missing them. They are just as much heroes as the men and women that are serving. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY!!!!

I had better go before this gets too long for most of your attention spans. Thanks for spending a few minutes jawing with me. leave me a comment if you want a certain topic discussed, and I will try not to let so much time go between posts. Thanks and God bless you all. I am also thankful for all of you.

What to expect

I am a very big believer, in making a good first impressions. Sorry if I disappoint today, it will improve I promise. So what can you expect from this blog. There will be a wide array of topics cussed and discussed on here. There will be some religious things. I don't apologize for being a follower of Jesus Christ. There is only 1 way to Heaven, and that is believing that Jesus was the Son of God, that he bled and died for our sins, and that he arose again on the 3rd day. I also believe in the sanctity of the Bible. It WAS inspired by God. What is in there are the things that he wanted in there. To authenticate an ancient book you have to look at the number of found verifiable copies of the book. I will give you a hint, the bible is #1 with over 25,000 separate verifiable copies. Second for those curious are the Iliad and the Odyssey attributed to Homer, with 250.

By the way there will be little known facts sprinkled in here as well. There will be a lot that are political in nature. I unfortunately have to point out that all my views are MY own and are not necessarily indicative of what my company supports. There will be some things in here that might offend some of you. I have very strong opinions that I have formed over many many years (since I was 10). When I was forming my point of view about politics, I asked my Dad what he believed. He told me that he would tell me after I dug into the specifics and formed my own opinion. He told me that he would help me along the path, but that he didn't want me to be conservative because he was, but because that is what I believed to be right. I love the gather information from those that I deem smarter than me. Sir Winston Churchill said "If you are young and not liberal, then you have no heart? but if you are old and not conservative, then you have no brain." I disagree a little in that I have a heart for others. I believe that Life is like a game of tennis; If you serve well you will seldom lose.

There will be sports talked about on here as well. I work with the Youth both at my church and in the community, so there might be a little around Plains talk. If I see or hear something that disturbs me, or enlightens me I will bring it forth to you good people. I will NEVER mention names except to give attaboys.

I will from time to time post blogs that I have written previously on Myspace. I will occasionally "borrow" things from others, but I will give credit.

There will be a ton more of what you could expect, but I better stop, or risk losing that good first impression.