Salute To My Dad

After 4 months of not posting a blog, I have now decided to enter the world of the blogosphere once again. It was not that there was a lack of things to blog about, rather it was me not being motivated to blog. I was beginning to think I was not going to blog again, but last night I got the urge to post a blog, so ready or not, here am I.

Yesterday evening I attended the Veteran's Day service in Gainesville. It was a pretty neat service with a massive fireworks display for the finale. The local bands and choir were good, the speakers and performers did a good job. But the real stars of the evening were the Veterans themselves who had come out to the event. Most veterans wore something identifying themselves as a Vet. Some came with obvious physical discomforts brought on by their service. All were there with a quiet, classic dignity only a Veteran seems to carry these days. During the service I could not help but think of my dad (pictured above).

A Veteran himself who recently turned 84 last month. On his 19th birthday he got off a troop transport and marched to Pantanella Air Base outside of Canosa, Italy. Courtesy of Uncle Sam, my dad was a member of the 15th Army Air Force, 465th Bomb Group (H), 781st Bomb Squadron. He served as the ball gunner on a B-24 Liberator flying missions over the Alps to bomb Nazi targets in Austria, Hungary, Romania and throughout the Balkans. (The ball gunner is the gunner located on the underside of the plane.)

As a young teenager learning to shoot pheasants, I was always in awe of my dad's ability to consistently hit pheasants flying fast and far away. On one hunting trip I ask my dad how he was able to always hit the birds with seemingly so little effort. He commented that the hours of practicing shooting at fighter planes flying at all possible angles while moving at 275 m.p.h. made shooting at pheasants seem rather pedestrian.

I have found this reply to be fairly typical from Veterans. Having a lifetime of experiences forged into their character in a few short years, they go about their lives with little acclaim and no need for attention. They work, play, serve and bring much betterment to each community where they live. Their sacrifices given in years past seem too easily taken for granted by those never having to serve their fellow man through the military. Quietly productive in most all they do, building our nation up and moving her forward. True champions of liberty are the men and women serving us through their sacrifices of military duty. God bless our Veterans. Thank you one and all. And thank you, dad, for you're the best of them all.

Summer Days

So quickly does time go by. One month to go before school season is upon us. The last rush to go someplace before the fall season starts is upon us. My personal trip will be to the Philippines to visit Christie and the kids! In fact, in 4 days, 09 hours 14 minutes from now I will be leaving for Tagbilaran. The first four days of my stay in the Philippines will comprise traveling to and from speaking opportunities. One of these speaking engagements will be to about 30 South Korean missionaries/Christian workers serving in the Philippines. Following this we will head to Baguio City. This appears to be the dream vacation site for the Filipinos. At least Christie is very excited to get to go there. I think it is sort of like us going to the Rocky Mountains for vacation. The big adventure for me in getting to Baquio City will be renting a car and getting out of the Manila traffic alive and in sound mind!

Last week I had the wonderful privilege to host Pete Valdez here at the house. Pete is from the Philippines and I knew him from his interpreting some at a pastor's seminar last January. During the week we moved from acquaintances to friends. It was fun to introduce Pete to Texas culture. As he had been visiting California for a week before coming here, he was privileged to experience the better side of life in America! (Note: This is humor with a tinge of truth for my thin skinned friends on the west coast!) We did spend one afternoon shooting guns. He thought this was much more fun than a day at Disneyland. Pete has moved on to St. Louis and all is quiet for now. Two days after my return from the Philippines will be the arrival of Tomek and Renia from Poland. These are dear friends who were able to spend a week here two years ago. It will be good to have them back in the house again for a visit.

Did you know? Botanically speaking, the banana is an herb, the jalapeno is a fruit, and apples and peaches are members of the rose family. Now you may qualify for a TV game show knowing this trivia! Tonight is a great night for ice cream. So ice cream is on tap for part of the supper fare. Whoever came up with ice cream needs their name etched in immortality. Actually, ice cream dates back to the second century BC, when Alexander the Great enjoyed snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. Tonight as I have a Root Beer Float I will again declare that God is good, therefore Life is good!

Blessings

How Did You Do That?

The fireworks on July 4th went off as usual. 33 guests came for hamburgers and fireworks. Some little kids shot off fireworks for the first time. The bigger kids were off shooting their fireworks a few feet away. And the really big kids (menfolk) had the best time of all! Amazing how this works.

The clock is ticking. 13 days, 9 hours until I see my wife waiting for me at the Tagbilaran airport. It will have been only three months since we were married but it seems like an eternity since we were last together in the same country. A quick update on the status of Christie and kids coming to the U.S. The papers and documents have been sent to Homeland Security where they will do background checks on the "newest Halls" and determine they are kosher enough to apply for a visa. This usually takes 3-4 months. All in all I am still believing for the family to be here by Christmas. Thanksgiving would be nice, but Christmas is just fine too.

This week I have as a guest in my home - Pete Valdez. Pete is a pastor in the Philippines. More than this, Pete is a godly man and a good friend. In fact, he was one of the sponsors for Christie and me at our wedding. (Perhaps Christie sent Pete here to check me out to see if I was really as good as I appeared to be in April!) Well, as you can see by the photo, Pete has to earn his keep around here. Mowing grass and preaching. What more could a Filipino want to do while staying here. How about golf and shooting guns! This might be a week he doesn't forget.

Now for the "How Did You Do That?" story. I got a call this morning to fetch a set of spare car keys and get to Wal-Mart as soon as possible. Seems someone had flushed the car keys down the toilet! Now I must admit to laughing out loud when I heard the plea to come to the rescue. I was stumped as to how an adult could flush keys down a toilet. Maybe a 5 year old, but an adult? Reaching to give the spare set of keys I had to ask, "how did you do that?" It's really simple. Here's how. The lady is on the toilet and the cell phone rings. Reaching into the purse and moving stuff around to get the cell phone made the keys come alive and crawl out of the purse and jump into the toilet. Well there is only one thing to do and that is to reach in and retrieve the keys. So rising off the toilet to go after the keys, before you could say Jimminy Cricket, the automatic senor activates and a giant "Whoosh" whisked the keys out of sight! Who would have thought about the automatic sensor? Next time she will!

God is surely good on every front. There is always something to cause somebody somewhere to get despondent as they grouse about. But God who is always good and always has good counsel tells us to "Rejoice always" and to "Be joyful always". So I choose to heed his advice and look at the gracious goodness of our Heavenly Father all around. As I do this, I find my 'eyes of faith' are sharpened and my perspective is always shifting into alignment with God's perspective. I may not do this perfectly and consistently, but I am better at this than I used to be before I made a conscious decision to heed this admonition. I find God's grace changing my natural view on things and for this I am grateful.

Blessings,

Farewell June

Well here we are 1/3 of the way through summer. Farewell to June. July is going to be great. July 4th is always special as we celebrate our nation's Independence. For me this means grilling out with friends and shooting fireworks after dark. Next year I get to teach my son, John, how to 'do fireworks'. Yes, papers have been sent in and now someone in the bureaucracy called Homeland Security will decide whether my new family are terrorists or not and give permission for proceeding on to visa application. So the waiting game has formally begun in getting Christie and kids over here with me.

Everyone repeat after me: Kansas is God's Country. The other day I went to open the refrigerator door and there it was. A refrigerator magnet stating, "Texas - God's Country." What? How did that get there? In all the people coming and going through my house someone slipped that thing onto the refrigerator. Under normal conditions I would consider this graffiti. But since it obviously came from a friend, albeit anonymously, it stays as a reminder of valued friendships who love to 'tease' with good humor. (After all, whoever it was who placed that thing on the refrigerator has had to put up with my humor for many years.)

At the end of July, (actually 25 days, 11 hours from now) I will be landing at the Tagbilaran airport in Bohol as I travel back to the Philippines to be with my family for a brief visit. During the trip I will have the privilege to share with a conference of Korean pastors ministering in the Philippines as well as preaching in two churches new to me. As exciting as these opportunities are, they are really side trips compared to spending time with Christie and the kids. The picture posted is a view of the Chocolate Hills on Bohol. During the dry season the vegetation on the hills dry up and the hills look like hundreds of Hersey Kisses have been dropped from heaven and landed in the center of Bohol.

The rest of the summer will have an international flavor here at the house. Pete Valdez, pastor, then interpreter, then acquaintance, then a sponsor to my marriage to Christie, and now friend (this is the progression in our relationship) will be spending week here with me during July. Pete is a wonderful man of God from the Philippines. When August roles onto the scene I have the honor to host Tomek and Renia Bieniek for a week. Tomek and Renia spent a week here two years ago and enjoyed it so much they are coming for a return engagement! This couple from Poland are precious and have hearts so in love with the Lord. It promises to be a great summer.

Before I close I need to share that Hannah Davidson, a college age student from CTC, is now in Tanzania for five weeks. Be praying for her as she serves the Lord among orphans in Tanzania. If you want to follow her adventures this summer, check out her blog at the following link: prayfortanzania.blogspot.com

Blessings to all!

Living Well

Driving home yesterday from the funeral of my sister-in-law who died four months after discovering she had inoperable cancer gave me a chance to reflect on a life well lived. Listening to those who shared about Colleen's impact on their lives I found myself in agreement with what a great gal she was. And yet a part of the story was left out in the narrative of her life. Yes, Colleen was a believer in Christ (and a very effective and mature one), but the story behind the story is the transforming work of grace in Colleen's life. The power of the Holy Spirit is so real and is able to renew a life and make the heart and soul on an individual so in sync with the Heavenly Father that what naturally flows out is the image of the Father. Colleen excelled at this. Life - the life of God came forth from her so naturally. This is as it should come forth - naturally. As Paul states in Philippians 1:6, God is at work in us throughout our lives. Colleen worked to remain open and pliable to the things God was depositing into her life. As a result of her open heart to the things of God in combination with the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, throughout the years Colleen consistently brought God's life to many others. Well done, Colleen. Well done, Holy Spirit!

My countdown clock shows 30 days, 2 hours until I return to the Philippines to spend time with Christie and the kids. Four days ago we officially filed papers to start the process of getting Christie and kids visas to come to the U.S. Time wise we are hoping sometime in December there will be cause to celebrate the family uniting in the U.S.

Life is certainly good. Family and friends in abundance. A great country in which to live. A future brighter than the past. A new golfing buddy coming back to Valley View. And a God who loves so extravagantly. Life is good.

Blessings

107 - Pancakes - Electricity

I am writing this blog from Arizona while attending a conference. Landing at 4:00 in the afternoon to be greeted with 107 degree temperature did feel rather excessive. However, the conference site keeps the meeting room so cool that I get "goose bumps" before each session ends. So the solution (since I did not bring a jacket) is to run outdoors at every possible break to get warmed up! The conference has been great. I head home tomorrow to more normal temperatures.

At lunchtime on Monday I found myself staring at the Denny's menu offering "all-you-can-eat-pancakes" for $4.00. When I asked the waitress what the record was she said 9 pancakes (by a 12 year-old boy) was the most any of her customers had eaten. Ah, the challenge. I can do more than that. So here you have me vainly trying to revert back to my gluttonous childhood and consume 10 pancakes - just for the record. All was going well on the road to the record even as each bite of the 7th pancake told me a wiser person would quit while still able to crawl back to the car. But just 3 more pancakes and the record is mine! As I was finishing off pancake number 8, the waitress brought pancakes 9 and 10 along with horrifying news. The waitress on the other side of the room said she had served an eight year old girl 11 pancakes. This is like moving the goal line whenever you get close to it. I've played games with people like this. They keep informing you of another rule to the game as you go along. Of course, the new rules never seem to be an advantage to you. 10 pancakes were within distance but 12? How stupid was I going to be on this afternoon?

On the home front. This morning I heard the statistic that there are 1 billion persons on the earth living without electricity or running water in their home. (U.N. statistics) As of today we can remove 4 of those statistics. Christie and children have now gotten electricity to their home! The first electric appliance Christie was going out to buy was . . . an electric rice cooker! I will get to see how well Christie cooks rice in 46 days, 5 hours, 12 minutes. That is when, according to the countdown clock on my computer, I will land in Tagbilaran to see Christie and the kids again!

Well God is certainly good. It is fun being His child. And, by the way, I did quit at 10 pancakes. I decided to let the eight year old girl keep her record. And yes, I felt stuffed for at least 24 hours.

Blessings.

Wild Thoughts on a Summer Afternoon

Here are some thoughts floating through my mind while waiting for the last graduation service of the year.

Someday I may "get it". I just received a text from my sister coming back out of the Rocky Mountains. How could someone want to spend a week in the mountains when they could enjoy the wide open spaces of the prairie? Someday I may understand this phenomena. But for the time being I will enjoy watching the masses cross the prairie to the mountains totally oblivious to the beauty surrounding them. When I watch this migration I am reminded of the lemmings running blindly over the cliff to their deaths.

The oil spill in the gulf is a great boon to the evolutionary scientists. With so much oil spewing forth in the gulf it must surely be creating such hostile environments that today's species will have to evolve into something different to survive. The fittest of these survivalists will one day get their pictures in "Nature" and "Science" magazines. So the evolutionists are gleeful in their anticipation of these future new species. The only problem is, they won't be around in 50 million years to know if this ever occurred! Oh, the poor evolutionist. He will have to live by "faith" since he will never be around to observe what he believes.

An idea worth pondering. With the gulf oil crisis having no end in sight this is another opportunity to explore additional alternative energy sources. How about inventing cars that run on hot air. Then President "O" can nationalize all the BP gas stations in the U.S. as a punitive measure for their mistake. Government owned and operated service stations will then be available for all freedom challenged individuals. Now this is just the first step in getting America back to work. Next will be the construction of a pipeline network connecting the government owned and run BP stations to a source of hot air to run the newly invented "hot air automobile". Millions of Obamajobs will be created. Endless Obamajobs - just building another BP service station will require another pipeline to the source of hot air. Where, you ask, will all these pipelines run to the source of such massive quantities of hot air. Follow the pipelines east, young man, east across the Potomac to a big white house and an outhouse with 535 stalls.

Blessings (and enjoy the day)

Oh Those Golden Fields

The other day I drove past a most welcome sight. A wheat field that was ripe for harvest! Granted, in this part of Texas the wheat fields are significantly smaller than in western Kansas, but still it was wheat and it was ripe and oh, what a beautiful sight. Yesterday I passed another field with a combine moved into the field ready to start the harvest. This brought to mind the memory of older boys/young men starting their summer jobs on custom harvesting crews. Starting now in Texas and ending in August in North Dakota or Canada, working 14 hour days for 3 months straight. Days off are rain days. Rainy days are rare (and unwelcome) during the harvesting season, which is always where they are located. The days are hot, long, and tiring with always another field to cut just up the road. By the middle of June all excitement has waned and it is now simply long, hard labor and the prospect of another 70 days of the same frenetic activity facing these young men.

How do they keep going? What stirs within them as they rise for another day.

They eagerly listen to the daily reports. Yes, fields are ripe around Wellington! Kiowa reports two more days and the fields there will be ready. Get ready boys. We're crossing into KANSAS. There we will find the sky is bluer, the air is cleaner, the sunflowers bigger, and the wheat is better! The heart of the high plains of America. It lifts the spirits and dreams of young men to new heights. Harvesting in Kansas - it doesn't get any better.
But alas, three fast weeks and Kansas will be behind and the northern high plains will be the new ground. Still, the three weeks in Kansas stays in their souls and the memories stir them to continue onward. They can finish the harvest season because they have been to Kansas. Their hearts have been strangely warmed. And like Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) they will now always possess a yearning to someday get back to that special place called Kansas.

OK, now that I have those thoughts out of my system it is on to other good things.

We (Cross Timbers Church) have eight seniors graduating from high school this year. I am so proud of these eight youth. They have wonderful hearts and cheery dispositions. They are a 'good crop' of youth. As my late grandmother would say, "they come from good stock." Best of all is they each love the Lord and are doing their best to actively follow Him. Way to go Joshua, Jonathan, Parker, Kinzey, Bradley, Natali, Simon and Sherry. May God richly bless these eight as they begin new chapters in their lives.

In other happenings of importance. I bought tickets to go see my lovely wife in the Philippines. I will be arriving in Tagbilaran on July 27th. That is 59 days from now (but who is counting?) I don't know who is more excited about this coming trip - Christie or me. What I need to find is one of those countdown clocks that have the days, hours, minutes, and seconds on it. The days go by too slowly in this matter. I need to see more progress. A countdown clock with minutes and seconds would show progress is being made ever so surely and swiftly to reach the 27th.
Speaking with Christie this morning, she now has electric lines run to her rental house and wiring of the house was done yesterday. Next Monday she will talk with the power company and have them push the magic switch allowing her to have lights in the home! But wait, you have heard it said, "give someone an inch and they will take a mile", well this just happened. Before the electricity is flowing to the house, the kids were asking mom if they would be getting a TV! Ha, some things are the same the world over.

It is time to move on into the day, so until the next post, blessings to everyone.

Choices

I remember my first morning in the Philippines. It was 4:30 in the morning, the roosters were all ready active and crowing. Stumbling into the bathroom to take a shower I was greeted with a single water knob. "'What is this?" I thought to myself. This situation was more than my introduction to cold water showers. It was the opening revelation to me of the reality of abundant choices we have as Americans. We are blessed to have more than an abundance of choices in almost every area of life here in the USA. Now, fifteen years later I am still wondering how anyone can stand to take cold water showers. And yet the majority of the world's population can not even conceive of hot water showers. And herein is part of the missing construct in most of the world.

Choices, or the lack of choices, have a profound affect on our ability to dream or to stay stagnant! And choices, or lack of choices, also spur our desire to change or inhibit one's motivation to move forward.

If a man finds himself in a room with two doors opening to the outside and he chooses the first door he will invariably begin to wonder about the possibilities which lie beyond the second door. His imagination becomes alive and active with the possibilities for more than a single outcome. That same man in a room with only one door finds it hard to imagine of any possibility other than the reality presented to him through the one door. His ability to dream is limited by lack of choices.

I think dreaming is a learned activity as much as it is an innate human trait. God gives us the ability to dream but it must be nurtured into maturity. And choices are one of the 'breeding grounds' for this nurturing of dreams. Thus, here in the USA , we find it easy to dream of other, bigger and better plans because we have choices available to us. This is one of the reasons we can say America is blessed. When our choices are lessened, one by one, as a people we lose our
ability to nurture our dreams. When this happens we begin our slide downward into the lower realm of lesser dreams and hopes.

Yes, freedom to hope. Freedom to dream. Freedom to be inspired. Much of it comes forth from the choices are have before us. As a nation we strive to preserve choices. In political verbiage we call them 'freedoms'. Without them we begin to dream little and aspire less.

Thank you, Lord, for the choices I have and the ability to dream. Amen

Blessings

The Wedding

Well I finally managed to get married the other day. I would not have suspected things could change in such short notice since I am not an aggressive and bold risk taker. But around 4:00 PM on April 24, 2010 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol Philippines at Glory Evangelical Holiness Church the beautiful Christie Buyan became Christie Hall! And now our lives take on new hopes and challenges. For those who may not know much about this marriage, Christie's first husband was a pastor who died suddenly about 18 months ago. Christie had been hoping and praying for another pastor whom she might marry and, lo and behold, this handsome American pastor shows up who was available!

Now the challenge is to get Christie and her children into the good land known as the U.S.A. legally and as quickly as possible. In this task, the time line appears to be 6 - 12 months (with 12 months suggested as being closer to reality). But we are praying for God to grease the wheels of bureaucracy at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and see this time shortened.

While in the Philippines waiting to get married I had the privilege of preaching on both Sundays and speaking twice at a youth leaders retreat. It is fun to worship with believers in other nations and join with them in their style of expressing their love to the Lord. This was really a treat as it offset the mind numbing, trivial hoops the bureaucracy continuously puts you through as you try to make advances in the Philippines. What follows is a story of such 'hoop jumping' when we went to open an account in a bank in Tagbilaran City. Everyone needs a picture ID to validate themselves as a living body sitting in front of the desk of the "New Accounts" officer. This bank required a photo to go into their file along with the photocopy of your picture ID. This still wasn't much of an inconvenience until they informed you that the photo they required had to be 1" x 1"! OK, so this means leaving the bank and finding a photo store to purchase the necessary photos. Take your photo, wait 30 minutes (thank God Dunkin Donuts was next door), pick up the six 1" x 1" photos and head back to the bank. In the Philippines it seems like everyone and everything done requires some trivial hoop like this microscopic 1" x 1" photo which will then validate their copy of your photo ID. So let's just say the wheels of efficiency move a little slower there than here.

But every culture has its nuances that seem to make sense to us and look like oddities to those outside the culture. I remember when visiting Poland one month after the 9-11 attacks. The Poles where questioning why we would let Muslims from the Middle East still enter our country with no hesitation. Trying to explain our desire to protect individual liberties was a hard sell to the Poles who thought we were nuts not to restrict all movements of those who fit the "profile" of our enemies.

Crossing cultures can be eye opening with frustration and wonderment occurring within minutes of one another. Such is the joys of travel to 'another world'. Well, I must go to bed and get reoriented to U.S. time once again.

Blessings

Rings Purchased!

In my last blog I forgot to mention that I got to watch a Filipino pastor climb a coconut tree and fetch a fresh coconut for me to sample. It is absolutely amazing how easily he climbed 30 feet up the tree ( in about 30 seconds). This without spiked boots or a safety belt. I got a video of this accomplishment but, alas, I am back at an Internet cafe without ability to upload the video. McDonald's (with free WI-FI) is still in my future plans.

Yesterday was a day trip to Cebu to shop for rings. Half the mission was accomplished. This morning the second half was accomplished here in Bohol!

Now for the ordeal - shopping for shoes! I had forgotten what it is like shopping with a women hunting for a pair of shoes. Arrrggghhh. But it is not only shoes for Christie but for her mother and three kids as well. Arrrggghhh times 5. After 3 hours of no progress it was decided to: 1) Bring John (10) and Shekinah (8) into the store to try on shoes so they would actually fit. 2) Give Crisielyn (18) money and she can shop and buy the shoes she wants. 3) Let Christie and her mother shop tomorrow for their shoes without me around!

Tomorrow will be a busy day as we must travel. Traveling anywhere in the Philippines is a time consuming activity. I will be traveling somewhere to a youth leader's retreat and get the privilege of sharing with those in attendance. I will be speaking in the evening which means from noon on I will be somehow engaged in the following three activities. 1) Waiting. 2) Traveling. 1) More waiting. 3) Speaking. 2) More traveling. I expect to be back to my room around 10 PM. I will find out this afternoon what is suppose to happen and then tomorrow find out what will really happen. Life can be full of serendipity events - especially here in the Philippines.

Lest I forget to mention this, it is 4 days and 4 hours until the wedding.

Blessings to everyone.

T Minus 5 Days, 22 Hours

I have access to the Internet! It seems improbable to be so long without Internet access but the days do turn into a blur and end without the necessary stop to an Internet cafe. Here is a brief rundown of what's happening in the Philippines while we wait for the wedding.

Arriving at midnight on the 13th I proceeded to the US Embassy in Manila at 6 AM on the 14th and thought I would arrive early (like 2 hours before they opened). To my surprise I was probably number 200 in line! But, Praise God, all went well and I got the required "Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage". Then off to Tagbilaran and filed this critical piece of paper completing all the hoops to get our marriage license. The license will be issued on the 23rd (another of God's favor) and the wedding will be on the 24th!

Thursday was a day to get "fitted" for the wedding gowns and my special 'barong'. A 'barong' is a Filipino dress shirt. This way I don't have to wear a tie or tux to the wedding!!!! Friday was setting up banking matters with Christie so we can hopefully make Western Union obsolete. Of course, any official transaction seems to take a minimum of two trips to the office with errands in between getting some obsolete piece of information they require. Saturday was spent visiting pastors and inviting them to the wedding. In our travels on
Christie's motorcycle, we got caught in a downpour so spent 30 minutes under a mango tree trying to stay dry.

Today I preached at Glory Evangelical Holiness Church (where we will be married). I am scheduled to teach at a youth conference on this coming Wednesday night. Next Sunday I will be preaching at 10 AM and probably at 1:30 PM. At this point I am declining all speaking invitations!

The days fly by fast but seem to crawl toward the 24th. There has been so much to do this past week. This coming week will be pretty easy as we have all the details taken care of (as far as can be discerned). I just discovered that McDonald's has free WI-FI so my next post will have some pictures.

I'll close for now. All is well. God is good. He is still on the Throne issuing forth mercy and grace! 5 days, 22 hours till the wedding! (But whose counting anyway).

Blessings

There and Back Again!

The lovely lady in the picture is Christie! I have spent this past week in the Philippines attending a one-day marriage seminar which was required in order to meet the requirements for a marriage license. (This was one of three things requiring personal appearances in order to get a marriage license.) So I arrived in Tagbilaran on Wednesday morning and we immediately took off to visit Christie's parents. After visiting with her parents and putting my best foot forward (no attempts at humor) they gave what I had hoped to receive - their blessing on our marriage!

Then it was attending the required marriage seminar on Thursday. God must have sense of humor as the seminar was conducted in Cebuano. But I got my piece of paper signed and certified! Hopped on the plane on Friday and zoomed back home. I got to spend time with Christie's children and it was a good two days with them.

The wedding is planned for the 24th. I am heading back to the Philippines on Monday (12th) and stay there until coming home on the 29th. There seems to always be another unseen bump in the road so all I know is that as of this posting all is set. I am out of here for now as I have a few things to do for tomorrow and wash clothes for the next journey. I thought you would enjoy this picture of Christie (I know I do) so I had an excuse to practice further picture posting.

Have a great Sunday tomorrow.

Blessings

No, This Is Not a Pre-April Fools Joke

Place: Bohol Tropics restaurant. Tagbilarn, Bohol, Philippines
Time: 6:30 PM. February 3, 2010
Event: Evening Supper. Last night on Bohol before heading home to America.

There she was sitting across the table from me invited to share a meal with us by a mutual friend. It was the first time I recall seeing her. She had been attending the pastor's seminar for three days but, hey, I was not looking for a prospective bride so I never noticed her. Now that the seminar was finished and we were at the table together I did notice her. Though we spoke but 4 or 5 sentences to one another during the meal, still when she left there was a lingering memory. But I didn't even remember her name.

By the time my companions and I arrived home from the Philippines there were the usual five or six emails from various pastors thanking us for coming and giving testimonials of what god had done in their lives as a result of attending the seminar. Her email was one of the six. Who is Christie Oscaris? Which pastora (female pastor) was she at the seminar? She introduced herself as the woman at the supper and hoped I remembered her. How could I not remember her - she was the only woman at the table with four other men.

To hit the 'reply' button and respond or go on to the next email. That was the question. Perhaps it was the lingering memory from the supper, but as most of you know by now, I obviously hit the 'reply' button. And I have kept hitting the 'reply' button until one day it was her turn to reply to me. In response to a proposal of marriage she hit the 'reply' button and said YES!

As I shared the news with family first, the universal response was, "What!?" (shock) and then the congratulations. Perhaps I should have sent out an email announcing I had met a woman. And then followed up this email with weekly status reports. This would have eliminated the shock factor. But I did not want to be answering questions every week on this matter. Besides, shock is good to get the adrenalin flowing! So now that the shock is worn off and people can process some information, here are some details. In other words, answers to questions asked.

Christie is a Christian. Yes, we have both prayed about this. No, Christie is not nuts. (I may be but she is definitely not nuts.) Christie speaks English. Christie is a widow whose husband died 18 months ago from a sudden liver problem. Her husband was a pastor and she has been asking the Lord for another pastor so she could continue to be a pastor's wife. (OK, maybe she is a little nuts.) Christie is 33 years old. She has 3 children. And yes she is beautiful. (Spoken by one who is in love with her.) Her children are Crisielyn (18), John (10), and Shekinah (8).

The wedding is planned for April 24th. After the wedding I will return home and begin the process of getting a "spousal visa" so Christie and the kids can come to the U.S. This process usually takes six months before the visa is issued. So realistically it will be sometime in November when we get to have the house filled with new family members.


Now for a picture of the future bride. There are three women in this picture that are special to me. The lady in pink was healed of breast cancer the previous night during the seminar. The lady on the far right was also healed of a "throat problem" that was painful and made it impossible for her to speak above a whisper. Both women wanted a picture with us and then the other women joined in the picture. Christie is the beautiful woman in the middle! (Of course, I am the tall, handsome one among the men.)

Now that this news is posted I can resume posting of various topics which are of "Not so urgent matters." Also, if this picture is actually posted, it means I have learned to post pictures with my blog and a whole new world is before me. I'll keep you posted.

Blessings

The Elusive Magical Exercise Machine

Today was a beautiful day. It was so beautiful that it was almost a sin not to be on the golf course. So Lord, I repent for not golfing today! Now that this matter is resolved we can talk about more serious matters.

In my quest to stay in some semblance of healthy shape I purchased a bike three months ago. Just in time for the winter weather to cancel out all practical use for the bike. But the bike is only good for the cardiovascular system (and my legs). It does very little for the gut. So for trimming of the abs comes the necessary sit-up bar. What am I thinking? Sit-ups? I hate sit-ups. How much use will the sit-up bar gets - well let's say it may sale some day with a "slightly used" sign on it. However, now that I am set up to get physically fit, along comes a TV ad for some walking treadmill/machine that will keep you fit by simply walking. In fact this device is so efficient that it gives you more of a work out than other running treadmills. But this super efficient machine does not go far enough. Soon there will be a real breakthrough exercising device. I am eagerly waiting for the day when they come up with an 'exercising TV'. I am not talking about an exercise DVD but a real TV that exercises your thighs, abs, gluts, heart, ear lobes and pinkies all while just sitting watching some program. And in the midst of pondering this great future machine it occurred to me that we already have this available for one month of the year. It is called March Madness!

As I sit and watch the ballgames I will arise from the couch to grab a drink or reach for more "vitamins". Each time I arise I exercise my abs. Walking to the kitchen for more refills must surely cause my thighs to cry out for relief from the constant walking back and forth. The 'gluts' - whatever they are can just be ignored. The heart rate climbs in proportion to the closeness of the game. The sustained heart rate that everyone talks about is easily attained if your team is marginal and can not achieve a blowout. Ear lobes and pinkies get their share of workout just from being there to squeeze, pull, or twist to relieve nervous energy and to abate panic attacks.
Yes, March Madness is the true magical exercise experience. Oops, I just dropped some popcorn on the floor. That's great. Just bending over to pick it up exercises the abs. That's one less sit-up to do this evening. Hooray for dropped popcorn!

In three days I and four others will be heading to Honduras to do some construction work at New Life Children's Home in Jalaca. Our assignment, dig a hole 8'(L)x8'(W)x10'(H) and build a septic tank inside the hole. We'll see how our backs hold up through the week. A week of this work is good for a year worth of sit-ups. I can see it now, take that sit-up bar back to the store.

I put out the last of the bird seed this evening. When the birds finish what's out in the bird feeders they will be on their own. This is another sign that spring is just about here! Next it will time for the hummingbirds! Hooray.

It has been one year since starting this blog. Looking back I wish I had written more consistently. But I also am surprised that I wrote as much as I did. Actually, everything over twelve posts should be considered miraculous for me. So we head into year number 2. Hopefully many more posts are to come.

Blessings

Our Share Of The Record

Well, we did it. Us folks here in north Texas held up our end in garnering record snowfall. It was as if we (Texans) could not stand the east coast getting all the attention from record snowfall so we decided to share in the spotlight and join the fun. Now when they talk about the record snowfall of 2010 they will have to mention Texas as well! It started snowing right before dawn and did not end until 10 p.m. This was the longest length of time for it to snow since I have been living in Texas. Also it was the most snowfall in one pass in the last 70 years. The total amount of snow this year is officially a record! Way to go north Texas.

Of course, the snow does cause us to do strange things. Public school here in Valley View had kids come to school at 8 a.m. only to dismiss them at 10:30 a.m. The benefit of this was it could be counted an official school day. Yippee. One less day to go to school in the spring!

Last night I grilled hamburgers in the 7 inches of snow that are still on the ground. On a whim I invited everyone on my Facebook to come by if they wanted some burgers. Eleven brave souls came by to partake of the fun. Not surprisingly, my Polish, Honduran, and Filipino friends didn't respond to the invite. :)

One of the friends who came over asked if I had ingredients for cookies. She was doubtful I had this kind of supplies in the house. I am proud to say that I had everything she needed to bake cookies. Another youth said he could bake cookies as well so we had two bakers on two separate computers getting their recipes and then meeting in the kitchen to make their choice cookies. Meanwhile the rest of us chowed down our burgers before watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The cookies came out of the oven during the ceremonies. I was content to settle for burgers and chips and got fresh cookies as well! Life is good.

One of my morning meetings today is postponed due to the snow on the ground. This means I can attend the Teen Tea Party in Gainesville in it's entirety instead of scrambling to get two events squeezed into the morning.

One of the youth in our church heads down to Kerrville, Texas Sunday and Monday to give speeches at a speech competition hosted by the American Legion. Parker Luke is one of the four finalists in this competition throughout the state of Texas. If he wins this competition it is on to the nationals in Indiana. Go Parker!

Yesterday I got this computer debugged of about 30 viruses or other creatures that were causing it to run in slow motion. I mean I could literally fix my breakfast (well hot chocolate and heated honey buns) before certain programs would boot up. Now all is back to normal with me able to access two programs at once without it freezing up. Life is good.

Bird feeding in the winter is a blast if you can afford it! The birds are fun to watch. However, birds have a tendency to tell all their fine feathered friends where the nearest food source is and the first thing you notice is the bird population rises exponentially. One finch turns into dozens, one cardinal brings another eight, one chickadee materializes into gazillions. Soon the bags of bird food seem insufficient for the masses. I was in Wal-Mart the other day with nothing in my cart but bird food! I was dreaming of feeding birds during the summer time in the desert - thinking about how little this would cost. Then I remembered the birds of the desert are vultures and they eat dead things! And they, too, never eat alone. They go get their friends too! So if I were to provide the birds of the desert a meal, it would have to be me. Now, feeding the birds in my backyard does not seem to cost near as much. How one's perspective can change. :) Life is good.

Blessings

Snow

Wow! As the dawn brings the first hint of light this morning it reveals it is snowing. And what a beautiful snow it is. For those who have watched White Christmas, it is snowing like the closing scene of the movie. Gently falling snow with no hint of wind makes for a picture perfect scene and lots of fun for the kids who will get to skip school today. And the birds are glad the bird feeders are full

Random thoughts. Today is a great day for Chicken Chow Mein while tonight is a great night to watch some Red Green shows.

This Saturday morning there is a Teen Tea Party in Gainesville at the Court House Square from 10 - Noon. It should be good. This is the 4th Tea Party to be held in Gainesville. Each one has been good. This one should be the best as those hosting it are the ones seeing their future monetary fortunes being spent with no say in the matter. I guess it is similar to the original Tea Party mantra "No taxation without representation".

Today I will learn to use Flicker.

I love these two verses in Psalm 21:1 & 3. "O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad. And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! . . . For You met him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head."

And finally for today it is worth mentioning that God does all things well!

Blessings

Philippines 2010 Remembered

Returning recently from my annual trek to the Philippines where I and two others conduct seminars for Filipino pastors brings pleasant memories to mind. Much was accomplished during the two seminars held on the islands of Leyte and Bohol. The pastors in attendance were challenged, blessed, and inspired (according to the Filipino pastors' own words.) Highlights for me during the seminars were:
1) Seeing physical healing occur. During the two seminars I witnessed or prayed for persons who were healed of a goiter on a neck, breast cancer, leg lengthened, knees healed, pain in stomachs, backs, shoulders vanishing. One of our long time pastor/interpreter friends with us during the seminar on Bohol had pain in his shoulder and back go away during the seminar. At supper following the end of the seminar he mentioned that he noticed the long term, constant pain he had grown accustomed of enduring was no longer there. Without specific prayer for him, but just being in the presence of the Lord, brought about the removal of pain!
2) A pastor from New Guinea attending the seminar testified that his family ancestors killed and ate the first missionaries arriving from Fiji. Then they killed and ate the second group of missionaries coming from Fiji. Still the missionaries came and his family ended up followers of Jesus Christ. He mentioned to us that the last cannibalistic act in new Guinea took place in the 1930s.
3) Establishing new and affirming old relationships with pastors in the Philippines. God has some really neat men and women serving him in the Philippines! Among them are two couples serving as coordinators for the seminars. Art and Hazel Suralta in Leyte, and Fernando and Madeline Impang in Bohol, did great jobs in coordinating the seminars and taking the hassles off our shoulders.

One last side note regarding the trip. This was the thirteenth year I have been going to the Philippines. In all my trips I invariably travel through Manila. Manila (all 13 million people) has always been dirty, grungy, polluted and crowded. But this year Manila was cleaner than I have ever seen it. The air was clean (not smoggy) and the sky was actually blue! What a wonderful change for this city.

Thanks for letting me remember some of the neat things about this Philippine trip.
Blessings

The Morning After

Wow. Yesterday's election in Massachusetts was another "Boston Tea Party". I guess you might say that Bostonians know how to shake things up. Here is this simpleton's 'take' of the events last night viewed from afar.

Thank you David Gergen -
David Gergan, the CNN news guy/former Washington DC political advisor/professor at Harvard Kennedy School, provided the perfect opportunity for Scott Brown to win the hearts of the people in Massachusetts. In a debate several weeks ago, serving as the moderator/questioner, he asked Scott Brown about his chance of claiming the Kennedy seat in the Senate. Scott Brown's reply won thousands of votes. His reply was, "It is not Kennedy's seat, it is the people's seat." With this comment he drew even and took the momentum of the campaign to his side.

Acceptance Speech -
Scott Brown gave a good acceptance speech, thanking all the right people. It was noticeable that he profusely thanked the independent voters of Massachusetts far more than he thanked those in the Republican party. Perhaps this was because the RNC (Republican National Committee) did not contribute much money or hope for his election. This is the second election in a row in which the RNC looked like absolute hayseeds emerging from a cave. In the congressional election in upstate New York a couple of months ago, the Republican party elites backed a liberal republican only to find her tanking as the voters were backing a conservative independent. Only at the last second of that election did the RNC jump on the bandwagon. The same scenario played out in Massachusetts. The RNC thought Scott Brown had no chance so why invest in a losing cause. Only in the last weeks of the campaign, after the momentum had clearly swung in Brown's favor, did the RNC get on the bandwagon.

"Tea Partiers" -
Those most happy on the morning after are the "Tea Partiers". Scott Brown mirrors them. More independent than republican. Not ready to swear allegiance to the Republican Party but will use the party as the only viable outlet at this time to effect political change. If the Republican Party does not get it's act together, "Tea Partiers" will go another route as there is little loyalty to the Republican Party. And this is so with good cause.

One Down, Ninety-Nine To Go -
Only 99 more senators to replace! Even the Republicans need to be replaced! The Republicans in the Senate under Bush did exactly what the Democrats in the Senate are doing under Obama. Bush started the bailouts (with Republican Senators support.) Obama simply took the blueprint and ran farther and faster with it.

The Real Winner -
Amid the speculation of whether the White House 'learned a lesson' last night and how it will respond, the health care debate will go forward by the White House with greater urgency. The Democrats 'lost' that precious 60th vote last night. But remember, in November they bought the 60th vote from Senator Mary Landrieu, securing it with a $100 million gift to the State of Louisiana. Then last month they bought the 60th wavering vote from Senator Ben Nelson, securing it with a gift of indefinite millions of dollars to the State of Nebraska. So, dear friends, it will not come as a surprise when the 60th vote is bought again. And the winner is . . . The state of Maine! With Maine's two liberal Republican Senators, the courting (buying) of just one of their votes will be awesome to behold. It is just too bad no one will be behind the closed door to see the deal being made.

Well, I'm off to have a great day. I hope your day is great too!
Blessings

Leaving Seattle

It's 30 minutes before I board the jet to whisk me away from Seattle and back to home in the Lone Star State. I'm heading into frigid temperatures so Seattle looks real good right now. Lasting thoughts on Seattle before I leave. It was fun to wake up each morning to the sound of sea gulls (amidst the sound of downtown Seattle). In the Mackinesso language the word 'Seattle' means "land of night shadows". This is because you never get to see your shadow until night fall. How can that be? At night they turn on the street lights and as you walk under them you can actually see your shadow. In the daytime you are deprived of shadows.
The Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges surrounding Seattle form a natural beauty. But as a "prairie man" myself the mountain's beauty takes second place to the high plains' beauty. Perhaps the sunshine has a part to play in this.

I got some neat Christmas gifts from my two daughters so my trip to Seattle was great in every way.

As I close this blog, my next step in this venture is learning to post pictures in the blog. "It's easy once you know what to do", say those who know how to do it.

Anyway, God is good and life is good.
Blessings

Seattle Days

I'm enjoying the week in Seattle visiting my two daughters. It's a nice change of pace from Valley View in many ways. Most notable this year is the weather. Most of the places I have lived (Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas) have used the phrase, "If you don't like the weather, stick around a day, it will change." This phrase is not used in Seattle. The phrase more likely to be used is, "If you don't like the weather, leave. It will be the same tomorrow." Yesterday we were walking in the mist - which is Seattle's version of rain - when my son-in-law commented that he knew what broccoli felt like in the super market. You know, every so often those misting devices come on to keep the produce moist. That is Seattle during the winter and spring and fall. Having endured nature's misting machine for two days now I think it is time for a change. Maybe a dose of sunlight would be good. Here's hoping for a sunny day so you can at least see the Space Needle. What is a visit to Seattle without being able to see the it's historical icon?

By the way trivia - Did you know that Dallas gets more rain annually than Seattle? It just comes in bucket form in Dallas rather than in misting form in Seattle. Uncle Woody's old fashioned Carmel corn cost $6.99 for a 12 ounce bag. It was good but too pricey. It was not good to eat the whole bag at 11:00 PM. Corinne's Carmel corn is much better. I am starting my third day in Seattle and have yet to enter a vehicle of any kind.

It's time to enter the world of Seattle. Hey, it's only partly cloudy today!

Blessings

Welcome 2010

Five minutes into the new year and I was experiencing a first. I was actually 'toasting' something with a group of friends. We were 'toasting' the new year. You know the routine. We were supposed to go around the room and each person/family give a toast to the new year and everyone sip some champagne with each toast. The first toast went something like this. May 2010 be better than 2009. The second toast (with a slight variation) ended with may 2010 be better than 2009. The third toast (after skipping me due to the obvious "bad" year I had experienced) brought the same toast, "Here's to a better year than last." By now you get the picture. Everyone was thinking what a stinking year 2009 was and glad it was over. So with a slight pause someone chimed in for everyone, and said, "For all of us, may 2010 be better than last year." I must admit I was at a loss of what my impromptu "toast" was going to be.

Driving home a few minutes later found me pondering those past 20 minutes with the toast. Why was 2009 so bad? What happened during the year that made everyone glad it was over? In pondering this, the common thread to the answer to this question was difficult situations arose in which we would rather not have been a participant. Each family around the room had their own set of circumstances which made life difficult in one degree or another (and most had a crises thrown in to boot.) And so it was easy to let circumstances dictate our view of 2009.

By the time I arrived home I had a toast to offer the new year. "May 2010 be as good as the last year."

Let me explain my heart. In one sense 2009 was a "bummer" due to the death of my wife, Joyce. This experience does bring about pain and major readjustments to life. But in walking through 2009 and even the two prior years leading up to Joyce's death, there has been an incredible presence of the Lord and His peace upon us through those difficult times. The Lord did promise that He would never leave us. Indeed, I have found this to be so in such a very real way that I do not ever want to "miss" His presence again. I believe my 'awareness' of His incredible nearness only came through those difficult experiences. For me, 2009 was defined by His presence much more so than any year of my life. For this I am forever grateful. For this reason alone 2009 was the best year of my life.

Difficulties, hardships, crises - whatever you want to call them - serve at least two purposes. First, they reveal what is in our heart. Second they deepen our faith in what we truly believe. Without the difficulties, we remain ignorantly blissful and shallow. Some things can only be forged in tough situations. Difficulty, hardship, crisis - they all will visit us again in 2010. This is part of life. But they do not have to define our year or life. I choose to define my year by the presence of the Lord which brought peace, joy, even contentment in the midst of the difficulties and hardships faced.

So here's to 2010 - More difficulties, more of His presence, more of His grace, more of His character forged into my life!

Blessings