It's been awhile...

Where have I been? Holy Cow! Seriously? If there is one thing that I have neglected, it has definitely been this blog. Sorry folks...

It is New Year's Eve Eve today. No, that is not a typo. Today is the Eve to New Year's Eve. I am thinking about making today a holiday. Whatcha think? Speaking of holidays, Christmas has come and gone! So hard to believe. I still call it Christmas and will always call it Christmas. What about you? None of this Politically Correct nonsense when it comes to Christmas. You cannot take Christ out of Christmas. I'm sorry. You just cannot. If you do, then all you have left is Mas. Which means 'more'? Huh, kinda funny. Isn't that the world we live in. Isn't that the desire of our 'flesh.' More. We always want more. We are never ever satisfied. I love Proverbs 27:20 which says, 'Death and Destruction are never satisfied and neither are the eyes of man.' Never Satisfied! Especially when we keep taking Christ out of things! Can you not see it?

Christmas for us was really great. Low key. Chill. We spent Christmas in Killeen. That was after I kidnapped my wife and took her on a surprise overnight for our 1 year anniversary. I know. I know. I am such a stud. Thank You. Thank You. Here are a few pics from our Christmas Eve / morning together.

Taylor and Kylee's dog, Princeton


Mom & Dad in-law (Paul &Tami)


Kylee (Taylor's Sister) & Princeton


Jensen (Taylor's Brother) & Hilary

Taylor and me

I tell you what, it sure is a blessing to get along with one's in-laws. I can't imagine what it would be like to not get along with Taylor's folks. I am so thankful. I am sure there will always be tough times, but all in all, it is really wonderful and for that I feel blessed.

We don't have any New Year's plans this year. Thankfully. I think New Year's is the most over rated holiday out there and here are the reasons why:

1. It gives many people another opportunity to be stupid.

2. I can barely stay up that late.

3. And if I could stay up that late, isn't it just the same ol' ball drop in NYC from years past, but with the newest singer of today and the such?

4. We don't even have network television at our house.

5. Our neighborhood kids put on a firework show each year and I am worried that my dry grass is going to catch on fire. I run my sprinklers during the day every December 31st.

6. When you really boil it down, it's just another day. And for that I am VERY Thankful! We should be having this kind of celebration each and every day. I am for that!

I guess that is all for the year 2008. It's been a marvelous year for us. We are grateful for little things like our health, home, family and friens. To some they are little, but to us they really are everything!

Thanks for being our friends and for loving us well this year ...

The ONLY thing that counts...

This is my first Blog in December!!! Yippeeeeeee... Can you believe that it is Decembe already? In just 20 days, Taylor and I will have been married for 1 year! Holy Crudola... I cannot believe that it has been a year already. Where has the year gone? Now I understand when parents talk about their kids growing up so very fast. I like the country song that talks about life speeding by. It's called 'Don't Blink.' I think that is true. Are we cherishing this day? Are we cherishing this moment?

Taylor and I had my entire family to our house last Tuesday. There were 12 of us in all. My parents, two brothers and their wives and girls. It was a real treat to have them all in our home. We had a glorious meal. Dove Poppers (this is dove breasts with a jalepeno peppers and an onion wrapped in bacon and grilled! as well as beef and chicken fajitas. It was marvelous! All were well fed.

On Wednesday, we caravanned to Port Aransas, Texas, to spend our Thanksgiving on the beach! And OH what a joy it was!!! We used one of my dear friends' beach homes from Wednesday - Saturday. It was the perfect fit for our family. We ate great food. Enjoy each others' company and had wonderful conversation. We even spent a couple of days at the beach! I got in the water both days and so did all 4 of my nieces! Such a joy.

On Thanksgiving, we went over to the Shelton's and spent most of the day eating and enjoying each other on Padre Island. This was one of the most unique Thanksgivings that we have ever had, but probably my favorite so far!

I was reading in Galatians 5 this morning and Paul writes this, 'the ONLY thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love!' How are you doing on that? How are you loving those around you? How did you love your family over Thanksgiving? If not so good, Christmas is right around the corner if you are needing to redeem yourself!

It feels good to be back in the blogging world. I hope you were Thankful for Thanksgiving! If you were not, then you probably missed the entire boat!

Because High Schoolers are Worth IT!

The Greatest Love Story ever told...

Last week at Young Life Club I left the kids with some Horrible, yet Freeing News! I told them that there was nothing (absolutely Nuthin'!) that we could do in and of ourselves to get to heaven. The Misconception is that as long as our Good outweighs the Bad when we die, we are good to go. Or that All Roads lead to Heaven. Obey the 10 Commandments. Good luck with that one... Those are Misconceptions! You are MISsing the CONCEPT.

We need help. It doesn't take a genius to look around and realize that something is wrong. Really out of whack! Well, you are right. Correct-a-mundo!!!

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told! In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve disobey God. In their feeble attempt to make right what they made wrong, they sow fig leaves together to cover up their shame. We do this today. It's called putting on a 'Mask.' Putting on a 'Front.' We sow fig leaves on us every single day. But then God makes the first animal sacrifice and blood is shed for Adam and Eve and God makes animal skins for them. Blood is the key. We see blood all throughout Scripture...

In Exodus 11 & 12, God is ending the 10 Plagues with the Plague of the Firstborn. God is going to kill the firstborn of every family, both man and animal. BUT, there is a way to get out of this Plague. You must make a Sacrifice. The animal must be male. The animal must be perfect. And you must put this animals blood on the doorposts of your home. Then God will Passover (hence the name of the Feast / Festival of Passover) your home if he sees the Blood on your doorposts. God commanded the Jews to celebrate / commemorate this Passover Festival every year...

1500 years later when Jesus comes on the scene, his cousin John the Baptist (no he did not go to a Baptist Church) see Jesus coming and he proclaims, 'Behold, the LAMB of God who takes away the sin of the world!' That's kind of a weird title for a man.

For 3 years or so, Jesus made waves within the Religious Community. He ruffled feathers. Lots of feather. And they finally had enough! Their goal was to kill him... Well, 'oddly' enough, the time that the Jews have decided to kill Jesus is during the Feast of Passover. What were the requirements for an animal sacrifice? Male. Perfect. Firstborn. That's strange! Jesus fits every one of those requirements. Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT? Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice!!! That is why He is called the LAMB of God.

Jesus came to die. To save us from ourselves. To save us from our sIn. 'I' is in the middle of sIn.

So when we die, God will Passover. And He will be looking for the Blood. The Blood of the Lamb. Is it on My Heart? Is it on YOUR Heart? This is where Salvation is found! If we have the Blood on our hearts, we spend eternity with Him. If not, we spend eternity SEPARATED from Him. And that is Hell enough...

Romans 6:23 says, 'For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE gift of God is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus!' It's FREE. All we have to do is Accept it. What are YOU waiting for?

Here are some pics of kids from last night. Enjoy...

On a personal note, I killed me a doe this weekend to fill our freezer with meat. Mine is the top doe. I hit her in the belly. Gut Shots are never good. I had to track her for 20 yards or so. I am getting hamburger, links and breakfast sausage made. Yum Yum...

Thanks for stopping by today and reading our blog. It is a joy to have you be engaged in our lives. Thanks for praying for us.

Taylor is getting her 4 Wisdom Tooths (yes, I said Tooths!) pulled tomorrow morning. I am praying against Dry Sockets...