The roller coaster begins

It is that time of year that the craziness level picks up and then takes off. It seems like I'm not going to have another free weekend until February. I'm sure all of you have had that experience though. I hope all of you can do what I've learned to do and take some time to breathe. If you don't you will go crazy and then say or do something you might regret or have to do a lot of sucking up to get forgiveness for. Everyone needs a little time for themselves and I always know when it is about time because I get this feeling of uneasiness. I will be taking some time for myself when I can but still lots to do. Have a great week everyone!

The evening before Black Friday

Quite an amazing day. We had a great meal with my wife's family. Something I'm a little disappointed in is these business being open on Thanksgiving Day. Outside of a grocery store(and that's questionable) and maybe a gas station. I remember when businesses were not open on the holiday. I remember when my uncle didn't have enough gas to make it back to the next big town where a station was open. My grandfather called a friend who owned one of the gas stations, and he gladly came down on opened for my uncle. That is what the holiday's is all about, people helping people. I hope we think more about what these holidays are about and less about how much money we can save or spend. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Something else to be thankful for!

As you can see by the pic, we here in NE Oklahoma have went under 3 bucks a gallon for the first time in a long while. Had a great day at the zoo with the kids my wife watches. Just some really nice people working at the Tulsa zoo. Tonight is making stuff for lunch tomorrow and enjoying the rest of the evening. Have a Great and Safe Thanksgiving!
P.S.

Thanksgiving Break

What a day, it ran by REAL slow at school, the plus is that it is PAYDAY! What am I getting excited about, it is pretty much spent already, got to have things like car insurance and make the car payment. I'm hoping it will be a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving. Going to the in-laws on Thursday, leave the wife there and go back and get her Friday and then to the casino Friday night for steak and seafood Thanksgiving with my family. May not be traditional, but it is what we like and it is easy to deal with.
I hope everyone will take time and think about all the things we have to be thankful for. If you have the means, help a family out that may not have it and watch how much more enjoyment you will get out of your holiday. If I could I would give every penny away. Money just complicates things, but it is necessary. If I don't write again before then, make sure you have a great Thanksgiving and safe travels where ever it is that you may be traveling this holiday.

So........yeah

Well, it is Thanksgiving week and I do have a lot to be thankful for. I'll name just a few, I'm thankful for God and his mercy and grace for us through Jesus. I'm thankful for my wife and my family, I'm thankful for my amazing friends, I'm thankful for a job and for a home. I'm thankful for our troops and that I live in a country where I can blog about whatever I want to and not have to worry about Big Brother coming down on me. I feel like we should be thankful all year, but it is a great time to think about all the things we are thankful for. I hope all of you have many things to be thankful for this year.

Tough day.

I am from Oklahoma and as I am sure most of you have heard about the Oklahoma State women's basketball coaches dying in a plane crash. My prayers go out to the Cowboy Nation and the families of those who died.
Also as you may or may not know, the OSU football team lost this evening to Iowa State, ruining their shot at a national championship. It is no secret that I am an OU fan and we took a lot of razzing from OSU fans about losing to Texas Tech, but more isn't the time to return that. Show some class Sooner fans. I know I am preaching to the choir for some, but there are others who are not so tact.
Life is more important than a game.

What's going on here?

Have you ever seen a bunch of adults arguing like they are nothing but school kids. My city's commissioners are worse than that. Add on top of that a city manager, whom nobody likes, being a complete jerk thinking he knows better. It is really sad to see that the only time my town is on the news anymore is when someone does something stupid. You would think in this day in age that ignorance would not be a huge issue. Well it isn't ignorance in this case, it is plain stupidity. I can figure out why adults would act this way knowingly. They should be embarrassed by the whole thing. I'm embarrassed and most of the town is too. If you are going to be a public servant, act like you have some common sense not like a neanderthal, please! I wish I could move, I'm afraid this craziness might be contagious.
Oh well, just my thoughts from the front porch. 

It has been a while

Well, it has been quite a long while since I have blogged. I think it is time to get back in the habit. What a crazy mess our country is in. This whole thing at Penn State, I don't think we will ever get the complete story, the wild weather we are having locally, in Lawton, Oklahoma there was an earthquake AND a tornado at the same time! Talk about scary stuff going on. Locally, my city is in shambles and I'm even embarrassed to say I live and grew up here. There is petitions to remove the city commissioners, the city coms fired the FD chief, and the city manager changes his story in front of the media. I'm not sure if it won't be long before we hear trumpets blowing from the east. I'm ready because I'm not sure how much more of this stuff I want to deal with. For now, I'm trying to be positive and move on with things.
Well, I'm leaving this one short and sweet, but I will be back soon and will be writing a lot more. Tell your friends to follow this blog. Have a good one!

Long time no blog, should be the last big gap for a while.

Hey everyone,
There is a lot that has been going on lately in my life. God is moving and I'm excited to see where it is going to go. We have FINALLY moved into the new band room completely. Only thing missing is outlets for the internet. We have hit the ground running. Looking forward to some marching contests. Anyone sick of the political ads yet? I know I am, however I am actually endorsing a candidate, granted it is for the District 10 state house race here in Oklahoma. Granted if you live in Nowata or northern Washington county, I urge you to vote for Nick Brown. A great guy with vision who cares for the farmer and the urbanite.
       I am going to wrap up today with a poem that I wrote last night about God's presence in our lives. I hope you enjoy.

Where I Am

There one sits alone


Thinking about their cares

Not knowing what to do

They ask is Where I am



A couple stuggles in life

The man unemployed

The wife overworked

Simply asking Where I am



A child lies in bed crying

Scared and confused

Wondering and unknowing

Pondering Where I am.



A generation out of place

A world not seeking

Busy and complacent

Not caring or considering

Forgetting Where I am



But with them all

The one, the couple

The child, the generation

The World

That is Where I am



We forget a lot that the love of Christ is always there. Wen as the family should show that love so no one will forget or even not know the love that we have and are given through Jesus.

Things for the moment are pretty good.

Well, we are 2 days in and school isn't going to badly. I have good kids and decent classes. Still aren't moved in to the new band room yet. They are saying Monday now. We'll see. I've learned not to get my hopes up in the matters of buildings. Hope and faith are important things, but in man we really shouldn't have them. I challenge you all to try something. I haven't watched a ounce of TV in probably 3 days. I'm less stressed, I'm still informed via the internet, and I've had more time for things. Try it and see what it does for you. Looking forward to a family celebration this week. I can't mention too much because it is a surprise so I will leave it at that. Hope you guys are having a blessed week and I will blogging again soon. One day, I will be good at it!

I wonder sometimes

So I am at work and my office is not complete. They are building a new portion of our school and my room isn't done. School is a week away and there is no concrete completion date. I have a public performance two weeks from when school starts and all my stuff is in storage. I wonder how they think this is all going to get done. I'll quit grinching and moaning though. I got to listen to a great sermon at church yesterday. About what you may ask? The sermon was about poop! Yes, you are reading right poop! The series is called Toxic and it is about he was discussing the poop. or toxic influences in our lives. It wasn't a you shouldn't do this or that type of thing, but ways to test if it is building or damaging your life. I encourage all of you to check out his books for relevant Christian living for today. The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist, Confessions of a Pastor: Adventures in Dropping the Pose and Getting Real with God, and Chazown. Great books. I live in the Tulsa area, is anyone else tired of hearing how the mayor andcity council can't get along. I've almost quit watching the news because of it. Looking forward to a good week and I wish the best to the rest of you. Remember, as I tell my kids, "Monday is a state of mind, get over it!"

1st blog

Well, I am just a simple guy calling it as I see it. I hope you enjoy my rants and raves, stories, and all the other stuff I will be putting on here.
   Well right now, I'm reading a couple of things that I think you all should read. One is Rudy Guilani's book "Leadership." The other is Pastor Craig Groeschel's book "The Christian Atheist." I'm striving to be the man God has called me to be. I don't we, especially men, are stepping up like we should to be the leaders. I'm not going to say I'm perfect, but I feel I'm going to get better by learning from my mistakes. I'm looking forward to tonight heading out to Claremore for the Gatesway balloon festival. Good clean, family fun that is free. Not enough of that in my opinion anymore. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the occasional adult beverage, but some guys feel they need to get sloshed and then be a jerk and ruin everyone's evening.
    I hope this new venture of blogging will help keep me accountable, be a form of encouragement, and just be enjoyabe. That is this guy's view for the day. Have a great day and weekend.