So I got an iPad...

So about two weeks ago, I had an opportunity to obtain an iPad for a fair price, and simply could not pass it up. Now, I have to say: I'm quite tech savvy, and I was positive I could wrangle this tiny piece of masterful machinery into pure submission. However, after two weeks of juggling my wonderful iPhone, my iPad, and my slowly dying Windows 7 laptop, I realized just how little time I actually have to "play". I sometimes find myself sitting in my armchair picking up one device, only to put it down again and pick up another. I've gone almost all day without touching my iPad, and that makes me iSad :( Although my son James did get to read 5 chapters of Last of the Mohicans while I was laboring in Wadesboro.

But tonight! While waiting for my ritualistic week-ending monotony of phone calls as I struggle to get final numbers from all of my stores, I had an epiphany! So I picked up my iPad, grabbed my tea and headed to the front porch. I lit the citronella candle to ward off the critters (not the wife), dialed up the VPN, and started my bluetooth connection to my iPhone.

So here I sit; typing this blog, wondering why there is a backspace key but no DEL key, waiting for phone calls and wondering what impact version 4.0 of this wonderful device will have on my semi-near future. !ouch! That was a skeeter!!!

F.Y.I

Men Are Happier People

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE

NICKNAMES

• If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
• If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT

• When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
• When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY

• A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
• A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS

• A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel ..
• The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

• A woman has the last word in any argument.
• Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

• A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
• A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

• A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
• A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

• A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
• A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

• A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
• A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

• Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
• Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

• Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
• A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing! (Amen)

Be careful; the [AQI] might get you!

It sounds like something you'd tell your children. Insert your favorite fairy tail and you have the beginnings of a scary story, or even worse; A Fable!

What our modern day liberal media does with its acronyms can seem so simple sometimes, but rest assured, there is always a hidden agenda!

We saw it with the infamous Guantanamo Bay. Where our our country and our military men were dragged through the political mud over the acts of a FEW men following orders.

Huh?!

Following Orders? Surely we don't do that in the military.. No.. I'm sure we allow all of our military men to do whatever they please with prisoners of war without their superior officers knowledge. Yeah Right! But that's not my point at all!

My point is: How many of us can spell Guantanamo? I, personally, had to Google it! Therein lies the excuse for our media to dumb-down; simplify; under-qualify the place where our country has made so many advances on the war against terrorism. Not only for our safety, but for that of many other countries around the world, which have benefited from the (strong word coming) interrogations of (another one here) terrorists held captive in that wonderful place.

Gitmo: NOW everyone knows what I'm talking about! I'm sure that in the text books of history the word Gitmo will resound as the reigning champion.(btw.. Gitmo is not in my computers vocabulary... and I aint addin' it)

Terrorist: Our modern day media is NOT ALLOWED TO USE THIS WORD!!!! Wake up people! I dare you! Listen to your world news today and tell me how many times it's used. They are required by penalty of death (or otherwise dismemberment) to use "politically sensitive" words such as Holy Warriors, Jihad, Muslim Extremists (the very term makes me sick to my stomach). They're TERRORISTS, and we should never forget what they have done to our country, and around the world with bombings far out-reaching their beloved homeland. (I wonder why?)

DO THIS!! Google "Terrorist": NOT ONE MAJOR NEWS ARTICLE makes it to the front page. DUDE! There are only 10 pages (10 GOOGLE PAGES) on the word Terrorist! If that doesn't signify political censorship, you need a check-up from the neck up.

Here's the one I saw today..."His removal from the AQI [al-Qaeda Iraq] network will send shockwaves through Baghdad's terrorist bombing networks," a US spokesman told the Associated Press." Before you crucify me for my previous statements, you should know that the article I'm referring to is a BBC News article and not bound by our liberal media policies.

This was a TERRORIST being brought to justice. If you want to read the whole article, it's here.

Notice the subtle implication of an impending media refocusing effort to now call the active TERRORIST network known as "Al-Qaeda" a far less scary monster named "AQI"

I don't listen to Rush (just don't have time).. but I'm sure I know what he would say...

BOHICA: Bend Over Here It Comes Again!

Do not let our modern day liberal media stupify the real meaning of the words that cause us to remember that we are at war with Terror. Not silly euphamisms once known as terrorist organizations.

New Group

Finally back from Wadesboro on Saturday night, I enjoyed a restful day at Church. It was a blessing to have my voice back, even if it is still only at 80% (I'm sure I'll be making up for the last 2 weeks without 5 Rows Back on Sunday). I managed to sleep in till 11am Monday Morning, left for work at 12:00, and still put in 16 hours of work yesterday. If you do the math, you will know what time I actually got home last night. Needless to say, I'm taking the day off :)

Anyway, I was approached by Brother Wayne on Sunday about starting a new singing group, making up a men's trio from guys not already in other groups in the church. I'll leave the names yet to be announced, but I've had a burden on my heart for a while now about what the Lord wants me to do for Him since I have been so busy with work outside of church. I know He gave me the job, so I have no conviction to limit His blessings on my job, outside of my commitment to Him to be in church every Wednesday and Sunday. I've prayed about this on many occasions, including Sunday, when Preacher preached about God's answer to our prayers already on the way! It was Sunday afternoon that I talked to one of the guys who was approached by Brother Wayne already about this new group, and it hit me yesterday that the answer to my prayer was already ON THE WAY when I was praying about it. Wow!

Anyway, again.. I have a song that's been on my mind for a few weeks now, but it needs some help. I wanted to post the lyrics here so maybe someone can give me some suggestions. It comes from Concord Baptist Church Choir called "That's Him"

A Tender blade of grass so green
crushed in the footprint of the Nazarene
Sprang back and waved a message to a bird on a wing
That's Him

In a muddy old river in the noonday sun
An outcast kept crying, I tell you he's the one
Then a voice out of heaven said I'm pleased with my Son
That's Him

That's Him, in Sharon's robes
That's Him, our morning Star that glows
He's alpha, omega, the beginning and the end
That's Him

I won't post the rest of the verses because they sound just fine. It's the chorus that needs help. The words "rhyme" but they really don't express what they should. I do not know the song’s background, so I can't say whether it is copyrighted or not. I do know that if this is going to be sung, it needs something different. Any suggestions will be greatly valued.

Do you know Him?

While driving home from my long trip tonight, a song came on the radio that I hadn't heard in years. This in turn reminded me of a song that a missionary sang a few weeks ago. I believe Kristi has a video of it on her blog. The song is called "I Know Him". This song kept running through my head so much I can't even remember the 1st song that set it off.

As I thought about this coincidence I can't help but realize that the Christian is a conundrum. We are both darkness and light, sin and forgiven, flesh and spirit, dead and alive. It's a roller coaster of emotions and decisions; obstacles that must be navigated on a daily basis, constantly every minute of the day. If we did not know Him, we would indeed be lost.

But the amazing unseen hand of God that guides us through every decision, every trial, every triumph; can only be explained if you Know Him. If you Know Him like you know your wife, your husband, your father, your best friend, you will find that for that relationship to be successful and as perfect as He is, then He must know you even more.

I know I sound vague sometimes, but it's hard to explain the feeling I get when I'm just driving along, singing a song with everything inside of me (even if my voice is still limited to a half-key range due to my last cold); with tears welling up in my eyes, because I realize that nothing else matters in life hear on earth except my relationship with Him.

Do you know Him? If you don't know who Him is, or can't call Him by name, just ask Him. He will answer you. He promised.

Greetings from Wadesboro

It seems like it's been a week since.. Oh wait, I guess it has! Time flies when you don't have time to look at your watch.

I was able to run home Wednesday night to see my family and go to Church. An emergency in one of my stores kept me in Shelby Thursday, which was a blessing for Rebecca I know. Then off to Wadesboro I went again Friday. Staying in a Hotel is fun, but hardly seems worth the effort when you only sleep for four hours. But God knows how hard I work, and he won't let it be in vane.

When I took over my new position, I knew I was going to have to stay overnight here at least twice a month. However, these last two weeks have been an exception to the rule. Once the new manager is trained things will settle back to normal (whatever that is).

I've been reading through I & II Samuel about the life of David, and his rule over Judah and Israel. Preacher was right when he said that the Bible has something different in it every time you read it. I've learned so much about how God deals with His people. If we consider that God never changes, we should expect Him to deal with US the same way he dealt with David and Israel. I'm thankful, however, that I have been given a gift that they did not have; Unconditional Forgiveness.