The sleepover

So I survived another day of paperwork, web-surfing and research in the office yesterday. I rushed to Wal-Mart to grab a few things I needed: fishfood, and water clarifyer for the aquarium, and some medicine for my mom. I got in the express lane thinking it was quicker than going through the garden center. I honestly spent 20 mintutes in Wal-mart and about 12-15 of it was in the express lane. The other lanes were all jam packed. the ladies in front of me had picked up some shirts and none of them were the same, and none of them were marked. So we had to wait for price checks. THe one lady was well over 50 and was purchasing some whine, they id'ed her and she couldn't find her license. So, single handedly in the express lane I went from scooting through, to sitting in line and having to rush home so that Tara could go to work.
On the ride home Tara calls me and tells me that one of Alexa's friends had called and wanted to come over for a while and Tara had said yes(knowing she wouldn't be there), then when the friend showed up she was fully packed with touthbrush and pajamas. My evening was full of girl drama, and Nickelodeon.
Alexa and P.J. are wide open and competitive in all phases of life. You don't really notice it until you see other kids interacting in the house with them. THey went out to ride bikes, Alexa and P.J. can't just ride bikes, they have to race(where that comes from I do not know, lol) they race repeatedly. Alexa continually gives P.J. headstarts, trades bikes and scooters just so that she can prove she's better in all areas. Well, when the friend was over I was sitting by the front door reading and I heard her exclaim, why can't you guys just ride bikes. Why does it have to be a race all the time?
Then, dinner came and I fixed my personal specialty. Gourmet Totino's frozen pizza. They all liked just cheese so it worked out pretty well for us. I sit down with my cheese burgers(George Foreman grilled I might add) and start watching Drake and Josh with them. Then, P.J. says, done. Alexa says, wait you started before me and one of your pieces was smaller than mine was. The friend again says, why do you guys have to race at everything?
So I was enlighted last night that my kids are terribly competitive on the bike, at the table and everywhere in between.
So, watch out if you ever come to the Hibiscus area, there are 2 little girls waiting for the opportunity to beat you at something.
Thanks for reading and Happy new YEar!

Slow week

I am in the middle of one of the slowest weeks of my life right now. I have nothing much to accomplish at work outside of end of the month stats for my boss to turn in. I have them for the most part finished, just need to double check them.
I got off of work yesterday and picked up some items for the kids, got some donations for the Thrift Store and rushed home to get to work on my car. We got the rearend torn down last night and found a staple in one of my slicks. I had to take it apart and now take it to see about getting it patched or have a tube put in it. Luckily I already have tubes, I just need to see if Richard will patch it instead. (This saves on weight and shaves a little off of elapsed time). So, we will see about that. I am excited about the new season and the prospect of a chance at chasing points. I have not chased after a points championship in almost 10 years. I won the track championship in Orlando in 2001 and other than that I have never been able to race for points. So, as you can bet that is one of my goals. They have switched from 1/4 mile racing to 1/8 mile racing at both local tracks so we can change the gear and pick up a little time there.
We are also in the midst of finishing off my good motor which has been sitting off and on for about 2 seasons now. I'm excited about this as well. As soon as the parts come in we will be putting it together and then putting it in the car.
My racing goals, to win a championship. Get the new motor in and running. Race the full season. If I can come away with a championship I win a gold card good for free racing the entire following year. Therefore, I can then start looking to find a junior dragster for Alexa to race. That is my long term, big picture goal. ALexa in a race car.
So thanks for reading and have a great day!

The downloaded Christmas

Do you often look back on Christmases and give them a title? I had a remote control car I wanted and got, it was called the "Lobo" so that was the Lobo Christmas. THen there was the Nintendo Christmas, there was a Transformer Christmas in there somewhere and many otehrs.
Well, this CHristmas was the download Christmas. I spent Christmas eve, Christmas night and much of the weekend downloading music from Itunes. My mom got an Ipod for Christmas, Alexa got an MP3 player from Santa Claus and my mom got an Ipod as well. And as you can figure, it has been up to yours truly to get all of the music downloaded for the machines. From Highschool musical, to Hanna Montana, to iCarly, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, The Plappers, I can go on and on. I'm ashamed to let anyone know some of the music that is on my computer now. haha!
We had an awesome Christmas of mostly unplanned proportions. Some of my family showed up Christmas eve and we decided to go to Turning Point to check out the lights, we then decided to stay for the live nativity which was very nice. After that we met up with Jordon and Katie for our traditional Christmas eve ritual of preparing for the morning to come.
P.J. got a lot of horses, Alexa an MP3 player and a lot of clothes. We got Tara a couple of necklaces(which I know for a fact were complete surprises), and I got a watch, wallet, clothes and an Ipod. So we all made out well fro sure.
We drove to Georgia and spent CHristmas night and Friday at Tara's cousins' house in Georgia. I wore the orange and blue proudly there while being severely outnumbered for sure.
So I had an awesome break time, I was able to sandwich all of the Christmas festivities with 2 good work days at the church. I got the carpets all cleaned up really good so that we can continue to spruce the church up a little bit at a time.
SO that's it in a nutshell, the download Christmas that was.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Youth Party!

So every year for the past several years the Cooksey family has invited us over for a youth party. We are welcomed into their barn (which is full of goodies like a pool table, ping-pong table, foosball table and the like). WE take the youth and young people over there and they have a blast every time. We have a fire, lots of food and lots of fun. Every year I worry about whether I should take the xbox 360, some games and such for them to entertain themselves with and every year they surprise me by entertaining themselves almost too well.
This year was no different. I picked up a car load, Tara picked up a car load and Jordon did the same. We had about 40 in attendance the best I can figure and everyone seemed to have a great time. From sitting by the fire telling jokes, to eating lots of hotdogs, chilli, deer meet and sweets. To the latest thing, manhunt. It was hilarious to see people like Brad and Patrick crouching in the bushes trying to hide. Patrick with a bright white jacket on, and Brad too big to hide behind any bush. Then to see Luke hide(the avid deer hunter) to where the kids almost give up on even trying to find him. What a blast. We had 4th graders hiding while 9th graders look for them and vice-versa. I mentioned to someone last night that everyone was so much fun, and having a blast. We have a very low maintenance group for sure right now.
Alexa and P.J. even had a blast roasting marshmallows, playing manhunt and hanging out with the older teenaged girls.
That was pretty much it for last night, just a big ole party. Lots of fun, no drama just the way we like it!
Thanks for reading and have a very Merry Christmas!

What a weekend!

Friday, I got off work and rushed up to Lifeway in Jacksonville to take care of some things and pick up a few presents my dad had ordered. I got home, Tara and I went to the hospital to see Patty her co-worker and see how she was. We were able to chat with her for just a few minutes when she got out of the surgery and things seemed to go well. We then rushed to Schooners for CHristmas dinner with Tara's parents, went home and opened gifts and did Christmas with them.
Saturday I was up and running before 7 as usual. I went to the church and started typing on some of the power points, got the bulletins printed out and worked on the children's bulletins. I had computer issues at home, printer issues at work so what I normally have done by Wednesday was now down to Saturday morning. I fought a good fight with 3 different computers Saturday between the laptop, the church computer and my office computer. So by noon I was finally done with the bulletins. I also put together our new printer, copier at the church so that we could start using it.
Then I started working on the vows, and wedding ceremony for the wedding I was performing on Sunday, went to the rehearsal at3pm and got things straight there.
Went home and relaxed a little for the day to come.
Sunday was busy, but it was a blast. My dad wasn't feeling good so I got up and got to the churhc early. Got things put together and then went and taught his Sunday School class. After that I rushed over to get ready for the worship service and stood at the back shaking hands and greeting along with the family. Then, teh service started and all went pretty well except for my typos on the power point(last minute never works out for me). Then, after the service we saw people off and rushed over to the Elks Lodge for the ARC's Christmas party. This was a blast, we waited on them, brought them their drinks, food and dessert. Then we walked them up one table at a time to see Santa Claus and get their gifts. The loved the gifts, some got watches, some shirts and hats, some dvd movies and a few even got little remote control cars. Then the chant of shake your booty came out and the dj turned up the music and we danced, danced, danced with them. Jordon, KMarv, Hannah Marvin and even ms. Jeannie danced and had a blast. What a blessing it was to see Christmas enjoyed through their eyes.
Then I rushed back to the church for the wedding which I think went really well. Everyone enjoyed it and it seemed to be a blessing to all. Then we closed up, went home and watched some television with Alexa.
So another busy weekend down and a relaxing 2 days at the office ahead for me.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

One more busy day

I am almost as excited about next week as I am about CHristmas itself. This week has been hectic as I have been at Liberty Pines Academy in North St. Johns County all week doing presentation after presentation. I think in the last week I have done somewhere around 25 presentations, each 50 minutes long, each about the exact same topic. Yuck! But it is almost over and next week I have a nice peaceful week of paperwork and relaxation. I have a flex day from working all day and night Tuesday that I will cash in one day next week and then Thursday and Friday off obviously. But, Monday and Tuesday is just me and a handful of others in the office. Most use their vacation time at Christmas but save mine for Ski Trips and Summer camps with the church.
Yesterday I got done at Liberty Pines, rushed home to go to the courthouse and pay my ticket from the wonderful 5am pullover I had in October headed to Super Chevy. It got that taken care of and then it was off to Southwoods for ALexa's play. She seems to really enjoy being on the stage, not as much as P.J. but she likes it. I'm deathly afraid of the next step however, Alexa wants to learn to play the recorder! No way, not in my house! I'll be having nightmares with the sound of Hot Cross Buns playing in my head for the rest of my life!
We got done and then went and did some Christmas shopping for Tara. The girls picked something out, after telling me that I didn't know how to shop for jewelry. Yes, Alexa told me that I don't know anything about jewelry, to just trust her. (Which worked out nicely as I spent half of what I had planned on spending)
So weekend here we come, CHristmas with the inlaws tonight, church honey dos tomorrow and church, ARC Christmas party and a wedding on Sunday.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

14 to 12.5

So I jumped from my busy 14 hour Tuesday to my usual 12.5 hour Wednesday. The difference is that my 12.5 hour Wednesday is something I am a little bit more accustomed to. We had a decent crowd last night, with some old friends back helping out and the atmosphere was somewhat calm. I was shocked at how I almost felt disappointed that there wasn't more noise and distractions like I am somewhat growing accustomed to. I got through with the lesson and moved on toward a long drive home for the kids.
But first I had to get through the day, and what an interesting day it was. I showed up at a local elementary school to do bullying presentations. I was supposed to be there at 8:45 to start presentations at 9:00. Well, I got there at 8:30 and they handed me a schedule and we started at about 8:40(Good thing I got there early) then I got a break in the middle which made me there until after 12:30 which was when I was supposed to have a meeting at the office. So that got scratched. I grabbed a bite to eat and ran home to get some things done. Went back to the office for a bit, got off at 3:00 and went home. A few minutes later my Wednesday afternoon buddies showed up, I hung out with them and then off to the church to start getting things ready for Sunday!
Busy, busy busy that's the way we like it. One good highlight was the girls getting mad at Tara for wanting to go home last night and do some laundry and get things done because she had worked the past few nights. They did not want to miss church. Atta girls!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Thanks for reading and have a great day.

BGH Christmas Party!

So for me Tuesday was another one of those 14 hour days that fly by quickly. Yesterday, I had a few presentations on bullying to do out at Liberty Pines in the Northern part of the county. I rushed back to help load and deliver presents and supplies for the BEtty Griffin House children's party. We do a party each year for all of the children in teh shelter and in transitional housing. This year the party included a great magician, and a visit from Santa and one of his elves. We had food, food and more food to serve teh families, and lots of gifts donated for the families. Santa hand delivered each one of them to teh kids making it a very special occasion for all.
We got the fellowship hall all cleaned up around 9:00 and I still had two stops to make to get rid of all the food. So Tuesday's schedule was actually a whole lot like Wednesday's usual schedule.
Two funny things did happen because Tara had to work at Publix last night I took Alexa and P.J. to the party with me to help out. They did a great job. There was a playground outside so during the majority of the party they went outside with another of the workers' daughter to play. But, during the magician's show I told them they could sit in the back behind all the other kids and watch, but to remember the party was for all the other kids. They did just as I had asked, I watched them sit down at tables behind all the other kids, I started helping clean dishes in the kitchen(I know don't tell Tara) and when I turned around P.J. was up on the stage helping. She wasn't just helping, they were at a point where she had a jester's hat on and she was doing all the talking and one of the ladies was laughing so hard that they said P.J. was stealing the show. Then, they went to play outside after that, but Alexa pulled me to the side and said she wanted to be in the room when Santa was done giving out presents because she had never seen an elf before.
What a hoot those two are, never a dull moment. P.J. the performer!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Tuesday, hump day's hump day

Today is hump day's hump day. For me it's not a great Tuesday. I can't go and eat with my Tuesday lunch bunch because I have to work all day at Liberty pines Academy. ACtually I have to work until 12 which effectively blocks me out of lunch. Oh well.
Yesterday, I made the official switch back to my Jacket gear as I went out and took my post as an assistant softball coach at St. Augustine High School. It's conditioning so all I did was point and tell them what to do as far as running and the likes goes.
After practice, myself and the girls rushed up to Lifeway in Jacksonville to get teh Bibles for the Pedro football team ordered and see about getting them engraved. I also picked up one for my dad, for one of his friends and ofcourse the person who engraves them is not there so I have to make a return trip just to get the Bible. Oh well, that's the way it goes.
Yesterday, I was at Liberty Pines all day, a school that resembles pacetti Bay a lot, but only bigger. Imagine kindergarten through 8th grade all in one building. Yikes, what a change. I guess it's good for kids, they go to the same school for 9 years before having to switch it up, and their highschool is right around the corner so it is convenient for parents with more than one kid.
That's pretty much it for yesterday, I am investigating why my blog didn't post yesterday, I'll see what I can figure out.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

It's Friday again, another busy weekend awaiting!

So we survived yet another week. I have picked up some interesting books this week and done some interesting learning each day. I've seen P.J. get and ear infection that knocked her down for all of about an hour. I've seen Every form of weather hot, cold, wet and dry. Yesterday I was able to sneak away from the office long enough to attend a field trip with P.J. She went to Pedro Menendez for their production of "Alice in Wonderland." It was a great play, we got to see Elizabeth Strohminger in her first on stage performance as a giggling flower. And we got to see another of many of Terry(my nephew's) performances as the doorman. P.J. and the kids loved it and it was performed in such a manner that the kids were entertained(and admittedly I was too).
After that it was back to work for me. I went to lunch with the St. Augustine Youth Ministers' Alliance. A circle that I have run with for many years, it's always encouraging to get together as ministries converge and put our heads together. Right now more than ever the group is seeking to unite the youth ministries. We hope to do several events together next year to help solidify this town. If the adults can't do it, maybe the young people can show them how.
So that's pretty much it for the day. I got home, we watched a little bit of Sponge Bob, the kids worked on decorations for my door. My door was deemed as the Grinch door by the staff because everyone else has decorated their door but me. That bothered the girls so they are going to attempt to decorate the door themselves, which is what I wanted all along.
So have a great weekend, enjoy the season and the feelings that come with Christmas time. We have 2 work Christmas parties to attend and a parade in Hastings so busy, busy busy.

Hump day gone

So yesterday was a great Hump day for me. I started on a new book, I got several presentations for BGH nailed down, I was able to get a breather in the afternoon and I saw our youth ministry blossom. I didn't go and pick up a few kids whom I had some behavior issues with a few weeks ago. I ran the van, got a load and brought them to church. THe few in question, all showed up and they even brought friends with them. My lunch crew that I eat with at Murray is now mostly attending the youth group. I may be speaking too soon, but I believe we are on our way to building our ministry around the leadership of a group of 8th grade girls and 9th grade boys. They have everything we need to get to the next level, integrity, a great walk with CHrist, and they are definitely vocal about their youth group and their beliefs.
I am in the middle of a fast and I am tested more and more each day of it. I have had more lunch and dinner invitations just this week than ever. I even had my little cousin invite me out to lunch yesterday. I couldn't resist so I went along and had a water while he chowed down on a steak and mashed potatoes. And he took me to of all places my favorite restaraunt, Applebees!
So we had redone the youth worship room, we moved a few old pews out of the sanctuary hallway and into the youth house. Thereby providing more seating and more space in the room. We had almost every seat full last night, so things are looking up. I long for the day (selfishly I know) that we fill up the seats in our sanctuary. What a wonderful day that will be, and I must confess I don't feel like it is all that far off. I am starting to break down a lot of barriers and reach a whole new group of people now. I'm excited about the future, I've already started on my January 4th message in which I will challenging the congregation to join me in my vision for the new year. 2009 is going to be big in the life of Freedom Baptist CHurch!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Katie's new car

So I was able once again to enjoy my Tuesday lunch at Murray. I can't make it next week and they will be out of school the next 2 Tuesdays so it was a last hoorah for the year so to speak. Those kids I eat with Tuesday are so fun and uplifting that I look forward to it.
I got through that and work and sped off to the church to do some painting. Got another coat on some rough looking places on our little pump house up front. Then we met Katie at the house. Alexa, P.J. and myself joined her as she went to Jacksonville to get her Saturn Ion. We haggled, we got the deal she wanted, and we went in with P.J. and Alexa the child version of Rocko and Vito. THey were quaking in their boots when we walked through the doors. haha!
Oh, and the double ear infection has not slowed the little Bulldozer one bit, not one! She was wide open at the dealership, the house and in the car. Oh to have that energy and ability to conquer sickness and pain.
That's all from the Gatlin homefront, have a great day!

Uno!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yesterday my little blonde comes home with a double ear infection. That is never good news as I have been through that every year for 32 years now. I remember getting them as a kid and the pain and throbbing going on in your ear, the way air hurts it whether it is cold air or hot air it hurts just as bad. There is no real fix for it, you can't sleep it off, sit still or stay under the covers and break it like a fever or a cold. You have to get anti-biotics and some form of pain managing medicine. P.J. came home with Childrens Motrin and the anti-biotics. What a pain it is to hold that kid down, she doesn't have a shut down mode that allows her to recover from being sick. Tara got her in to the doctor at 3pm because P.J. came to her classroom at 1pm saying her ear hurt really, really bad and she didn't like it.
Well, at 4 she comes steam rolling through the back door, gets some crackers sits down and watches a little bit of Sponge Bob. When the crackers are gone she is ready to go. She says, I'm going to ride bikes in teh street, want to watch. I immediately have to remind her (apparently Childrens Motrin is good stuff) that she is sick and can't go outside. So we wrestle for a while, then she runs around the house and wrestles the dog until he is tired and she starts begging me again to let her go outside.
Alexa decides to distract her with Uno. What a great idea! We ended up playing Uno for about 2 hours, I was undefeated(I have a system, I don't cheat) but P.J. surprisingly has the game all figured out. We had to throw down draw 4 cards several times to keep her from beating us(I did this once, Alexa did it repeatedly) But it was fun, hearing that little voice yell out UUUUUUNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! and start a little victory dance only to be told she hadn't won yet because we would either change the color or make her draw cards. But it was definitely fun.
We capped the night off with Charlie Brown Christmas on ABC and put them to bed, the next thing I remember is Tara walking through the door at 11:30 from work. So those two wore me out I guess!
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Weekend washout again?!?!

So I stepped out of the office on Friday ready to become productive at teh church. I was going to go to the church and do some more painting, finishing up the trim work that needed to be painted, and getting some other things taken care of. I rushed home, worked out and got ready to go. I looked outside and it looked a little cloudy so I checked the weather channel and there was definitely rain coming. Yuck! It never really rained, but I didn't want to get the trim work all painted only to have the rain wash it off. Friday afternoon, wasted!
Saturday morning I got up early and went to the church, the radar once again showed rain on its way so I worked inside the youth house. I got some seating arrangements taken care of and swept the whole place out. THen I went to a 6 year old birthday party where I was able to hang out and spend a lot of time with some old friends and close acquantances. Then, off to Jacksonville to help my dad work on a car for a lady that I work for, back to town just in time to catch most of the Gator game with our family and friends.
Sunday was a great day, it started off a bit slow as most of the things that I ask others to do for me, were not done and I ended up doing them myself. Not a big deal, but on Sunday mornings I like to minister to people's needs, spend time with people and spend some time alone preparing my thoughts for the sermon. None of that happened this Sunday, but its okay. I even lost my voice throughout the sermon as well.
So that's pretty much it, not too much excitement this weekend other than the Gator game. The two pro teams that I wanted to see lose, lost and the one I wanted to win lost too. So 3 for 4 over the weekend isn't all that bad.
Have a great day and thanks for reading.

It's Friday!

It's Friday and they are seeming more and more empty to me. No highschool football and no racing, just a long list of honeydos that I want to accomplish. Truth be known I am not only the doer of the current honeydo list, I am also its' creator. That's right I have crossed over to teh dark side and started making honeydo lists for myself, can't get any stupider than that. But there is so much to be done, and I just can't sit around and hope that it gets done, I'm a doer and a go getter when it comes to getting things done.
Yesterday, I had a great day at work. I also had a great chance to sit down with a friend and visit, and got to make a good solid hospital visit. All in all it was a productive day on both ends of the spectrum for me.
After I got off from work, Tara and I went to the church and did some painting. I finished up the top gable, and just ahve some touch up to do there, and then we started painting the little house outside the church by the road. THe pump house is going to match the church building when we are done and it will hopefully get the attention of passers by. That is the whole point, to get the attention of passers by, to create an atmosphere where things are getting done and improvements are apparent and to just spruce things up.
So we had a great Thursday, looking forward to a great Friday and a busy, busy weekend between birthday parties, helping my dad work on a car he took on for a side job and getting more painting done at the church.
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Wednesday night

So I shared with you yesterday that Tuesday is my favorite day for lunch, well Wednesday is my favorite night. Being bi-vocational takes its toll on you as you juggle hospital visits, phone calls, study times and such with your day job. I must admit Sunday is my favorite day because I get up as a Pastor and nothing else, Wednesday night is a close second because I get off work and I am youth pastor and nothing else.
I enjoy my time interacting with the kids, trying to challenge their minds with a Bible Study and trying to keep communication lines open so that they will feel comfortable coming back and bringing friends. Some of our leaders are really starting to step it up and bring friends, others are consistent and you can't complain about that either.
Last night, Tara and Angie got started decorating the church, the sanctuary and the outside. They got stuff hung, the tree positioned and lights up outside. Kyle and I got the sign lettered and Jordon, Kyle and I moved some pews out of the hallway and into the youth house for seating.
We had a good group, down quite a bit but I stopped running the van for a few weeks to sift out some of the trouble makers for a while. All in all it was a good night, with great fellowship and a lot of work got done.
SO thanks so much for reading and have a great day!

My favorite weekday!

So I had a wonderful Tuesday. I have to admit(with the risk of hurting some people's feelings) that I love Tuesdays. Tuesday right now is my best day for many reasons. First I start the work day off at the ABLE school doing presentations on bullying and respect, the students there are very outgoing and I have a great time there every time. The ABLE school is 5-8 grade students all mixed up together according to their learning styles and levels. It's a really neat concept.
Then I leave there quickly and go eat lunch at Murray Middle School. Jeff, you're a pastor now, you can't hang out with teenagers all the time I bet you're thinking. Wrong! Where else can I go and sit down in a room full of church prospects, nowhere that I can think of. The group we have at Murray is awesome and they are fun and always inviting more friends to come to youth and I meet a few new people every time.
Yesterday, when I got done at Murray I had a few stops to make and then I ran out and sat down with my pastor. Yes, every Pastor needs to have a pastor and I find that in David Beauchamp. David was my pastor as a child and I always enjoy sitting down and learning from him. He's an amazing mix of pastor and preacher that is rare in my opinion.
After I left there, Tara and the girls were going to the grocery store after school so I went to teh church and painted some more. I painted the top gable in the front and when I get a second coat on it tomorrow I will be pretty much done with the painting in the front for a while. Then I want to paint the little pump house building under the sign and the same colors as the church building.
Then I will shift my focus to the inside for a while. We need to get our old nursery painted and taken care of quickly so that we can put our best foot forward as new families start coming in, and they will, believe me they will.
SO all is well in the Gatlin household, I got home just in time to play a game of basketball iwth Alexa. She beat me again even though I raised the hoop up another foot. She's something else, I'm excited about the future with that kid. The other one, well she needs a punching bag and a fast bike and she is entertained for hours.
Thanks for reading and have and awesome Hump Day!

Christmas time is here!

So every night from December 1st through Christmas ABC, ABC Family and another channel are showing Christmas movies and shows. Alexa and P.J. figured this out the other night so every night we are watching a movie. Last night we watched Shrek the Halls and my second favorite The Grinch that Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. I love the ryhming and the people of Whooville. So we rushed to get done with dinner and their baths so that we could be all set to sit and watch at 8pm.
The afternoon was a great time as Alexa and P.J. got home, I rushed helping them get through their homework so that they could go next door and help grandma decorate her Christmas tree. They got done with that and we played a little bit of basketball. We made a major step last night in raising the basketball goal up another foot for Alexa. We're up around 9 foot now and she is still making the majority of her shots. It's exciting to see her make a shot and her face light up as if she has conquered something major in her life, and in my eyes she has.
That's an evening for us, Basketball with Alexa while P.J. zooms up and down the street on her bike. Then Coloring for Alexa during the movies while P.J. wants to wrestle or pillow fight. Never a dull moment with those two.(Tara was at work at Publix last night for a side note)
Work yesterday was a lot of office paperwork for the end of the month reports for November. We are running a little ahead of where we were this time last year so far as I can tell right now which will be great next November for us if Allison and I don't have to start begging like we did this year.
So work is good, ministry is good and home life is even better. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

4 day turkey day weekend!

Some of you may have read my Facebook profile status, "JEff is a Pastor living a secret life as a church handy man." IT's true, I am currently juggling my weekends, one weekend I work at the house with Tara the next we work on things at the church. THis weekend was a 4 day weekend so I was able to fit in both.
Thanksgiving was a great day, we slept in, even though I was laying wide awake at 6am without and alarm clock, but I still didn't have to get up. We took our time getting moving then went over to lunch at the Brown/Athanaseas ranch and had a great time. Then, we went home and started sleeping off the Gobble day feast.
Friday, Tara had to work from midnight to 4am, then she went to Daytona looking for good deals with Cindy and friends. So it was a full day for her. I on the other hand got up with the girls and we went to the church, a new friend was meeting us there to do some electrical work. We got the photocells and lights all working out on the sign. After he left I got started on some painting on the trim work at the church.
Saturday, I got up and got the CHristmas decorations down and ready for Tara and the girls and then went and did some more painting at the church, fixed the flag pole and did some cleaning. I left early so I could make it back in time to watch the Florida/Florida state game. Even though I knew it wouldn't be a game.
Sunday we got to church and with 3 of our most loyal families missing we still had a good sized group. If we had all of our regulars there that were on vacation we would have had one of our largest groups yet.
So all in all, it was a great weekend. I spent a lot of time with the girls, they helped (and hindered) at the church. While I was painting right underneath me on the ground was a little blond painting a green t in the middle of the walkway to the front door. What great help I had!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Turkey week

So I volunteered to go and help out at P.J.'s classroom Thanksgiving meal. Mrs. Hodges her teacher had cooked a turkey and some corn. Tara and I threw in some rolls and drinks(our signature item) and several other parents brought in stuff. But, Mrs. REvells blew my mind when she came in with a crockpot full of corn, another one full of macaroni and cheese, she brought 2 different home made deserts, plates, napkins and cups. We ended up with a full meal with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe casserole, stuffing, muffins, cornbread and a spiral cut ham. A full blown Thanksgiving feast for a kindergarten class, how exciting. The parents interacted with the kids and ate with their children, ate with their families and it was great. The kids were most interested in the fact that MRs. Hodges had set up their tables in long sections so that it looked like the long tables in the Pilgrim pictures. All in all I have to say I was most impressed with the whole deal.
I carved(or butchered depending on who you ask) the turkey, served the people as they came through the line and then helped clean up. After that we went to Alexa's Thanksgiving play and P.J. and I watched that. It was all in all a great day for me out at Southwoods Elementary School as well as the kids.
THis week we have a lot of work to get done as I have a few days to dedicate to working out at the church. I hope to accomplish much as I have a few people coming out to help out.
Have a great Thanksgiving and we will touch base again on Monday!

Full day

yesterday was a day full of stuff. Things and things and lots of errands and running around. I made it to the hospital to do some visiting, I made it to a the Betty Griffin House Thrift store to hang out a little with some people who needed it I was told. I got to talk with a Pastor who I respect tremendously and who affirmed what we are doing at Freedom. All in all it was a great day.
After work I had a chance to play some basketball with Alexa and watch P.J. ride her bike up and down the street at warp speed. We did some running together and worked out together. We had fun and Alexa is totally into it which makes it even more fun.
After that I went and got my hair cut and went to a friends' house to get the heads for our big motor in my race car. While there his wife introduced Alexa and P.J. to their idea of the perfect house. They have a bird, a rabbit, a couple of cats and a dog. But then she brought out the real ammo, she had a sugar slider which is quite possibly the coolest little thing I had ever seen. P.J. fell in love and wouldn't take her eyes off of it.
They are so funny about animals. At the races in Orlando we pitted a ways from the actual track and we were facing a big yard with lots of animals. It was all we could do to keep P.J. on this side of the fence. I mean they had goats, a donkey, a bull, a few cows, a couple of chickens, a peacock and some turkeys. Needless to say we barely had enough bread for our sandwiches because P.J. kept sneaking pieces over to the animals. She loves animals of all kinds, she may be a vet some day who knows?!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Weekend gone!

So it's monday, monday monday and here I am typing at the computer about what was. It's Monday and I feel like I missed Saturday and Sunday somehow. Let me elaborate:
Friday after work I went out and we fed the football team at Pedro, hopped in the car and followed the school buses up to Jackson and froze. The team played well, Jackson was a much more stacked team and they may have more team speed than I have ever seen(even more than St. Augustine and that is very rare). We played them tough and take away the 5 or 6 turnovers and the 2 big plays in the first half and it's a different ball game. We gave them most of their points and we ran the ball right at them all night with great success. So the score does not even tell you what type of game it was. We lost and the season is over, a season full of history for a school that is close to 10 years old now.
Then, we rushed home and went to bed to thaw out. We got up early Saturday morning and took off for Orlando SPeedworld home of Night of Fire the biggest race we have a chance to race in each year. Night of Fire is one of my favorites and my family's least favorites. My mom, dad and Tara never want to go back because of the freezing cold, late night and thousands of drunk fans. Me I like most of that myself(except for the fans being drunk). This Night of fire will be one I remember.
My first time trial I pulled into the burnout box and the tach wasn't working right so I had to just guess during my burnout. I think I overrevved the motor a little and it spit the breather off the right valve cover sending oil spraying all over the engine and under the hood. So they stop me from racing and I have to clean the car up, put the breather back on and try to make the next time trial. I get the tach working and the electric fan has now quit. We work and finally get it working and we're ready for the final time trial before the race starts. The car runs great besides that it spins off the line so it is going to be a sandbagging day(a racing term I know).
My dad and I both survive first round, he loses second round and I am a few pairs behind him. I get in my car and I am trying to wipe all the fog off of my windows as I can now hardly see through them, it's about 11:00pm and it's freezing cold. About that time I feel something hit me from behind. I'm the next to race so I ask a buddy of mine if the car is alright as I am already strapped in and ready. He says, "I think so." So I pull forward to race and they stop me. The wing on the back of my car is crushed, it was a harder hit than I had thought.
Here's the scenario: A race car in the back had a problem and for and unknown reason to this point accelerated at full speed into the back of another car totally both of those cars, that car hit a truck in front of it, that truck hit another truck in front of it, and that truck hit the back of my car. Yikes, One little moment of oops and that guy at the back had destroyed 2 very nice race cars, teh back and front end of 2 trucks and my wing.
They had to stop teh race and clean up everything, the towed the 2 cars away and I had a few guys ripping off the wing (Nascar style) and getting my care ready to run. I got in the car after the delay and won teh round. I won the next 3 round after that before falling victim to losing a very close race. I won 5 round and put some cash in my pocket and hope to have a new wing purchased through the accident, if not we will race wingless. The coolest thing was Alexa and P.J. watching the jet cars race down the track. P.J. was on my shoulders the first time and she almost jumped off of my shoulders she got so excited watching them speed by. They're hooked, chips off the old block for sure.
When I lost 6th round it was 3am and we got home and slid under the covers at about 5am. So yesterday I was hopping on 3 hours sleep.
Sunday went well and things went very smoothly I think for a guy on 3 hours sleep. I'm wide open this morning so the crash will probably occur this afternoon when my body catches up with itself.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

It finally Friday!

Tonight the Pedro menendez Falcons take off on a new endeavor. Completely unchartered waters for them, they are in the playoffs. In 3 years I have seen coach Cromwell and staff take this program from a 22 game losing streak to 7-3 last season and 8-2 this season and into the playoffs. They've studied film, they've run plays, they've scouted every move and now tonight in Jacksonville it is time to put all the hard work into play. They are heavy underdogs and loving every minute of it.
I had a busy evening as we prepared to feed the homeless a Thanksgiving Dinner, and I had to get out to practice. The dinner was well attended once again and a full fellowship hall at First United Methodist Church was the scene. I love the opportunity to just sit down and listen to their stories, talk with them and get to know the homeless of our community.
Don't have a whole lot to type, football tonight, racing all day tomorrow it doesn't get any better than this right now!
have a great day and thanks for reading!

Wild Wednesday

Okay so we're past hump day and headed for a great weekend! Yesterday was a blast I must admit to you. I had to get going extra early because I was meeting with the guidance department at Bartram Trails about a few situations that they had with students on their campus. I met with them and got an opportunity to share with several classes my presentation on healthy relationships for the Betty Griffin House. THe final class I did was one of the best classes I have done in a long time. It took me 90 minutes to get through a 50 minute presentation because there was so much interacting and so much student participation. At the end the kids were actually asking me to come back again and share with them. Always a good sign when the kids actually want you back.
THen I left and went and hung out at football for a while in the brutal cold and then off to church. We made the usual pitstops and filled up the van and headed for church. We had a rather large crowd last night and more than we have had in quite some time. Unfortunately we had some of the rougher kids that were a distraction so we will slow down on the van runs for a while. I think we will take next week off and then re-evaluate our plan for the following week.
Today will be a fairly lax day with not a lot to do, Friday much the same. But, the days will drag because I ahve a great weekend planned. You know how that goes!
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Cold

I am a Florida cracker through and through and this is cold weather. I know it will get down into the 30's and eventually we'll even see some 20's but 40's is plenty cold enough for me. I went out to football practice last night and no surprise I have plenty of Gatorade left over. THe kids stopped by, got a little bit of Gatorade and ran off. No hanging out, no fighting for a second or third cup. Just a sip and run.
Last night Alexa, P.J. and I went and did some visiting with some close friends. A very close friendship that I was afraid I was neglecting to the point of it possibly eroding. I take friendships very seriously and I can't stand for one to die off just because of neglect. It was certainly not anything that either us or them had done, just time had pulled us in 2 totally separate directions and it was time for me to pull my way back in. We visited for a while and my two associate pastors played with their daughter and we had a great visit.
I am right now in a pit, a slump a writer's cramp whatever you want to call it. I search and search for a subject and a sermon for Thanksgiving, then the Lord's Supper the Sunday after and then 4 Christmas sermons. I am not good at that for sure, that is precisely why I preach through a book at the time. It takes a lot of prayer and listening to God to get me through all of it, but especially choosing passages and sermons for special occasions. But it is well worth it when I get done because I know 100% without a doubt that God pointed me in that direction.
I ahve the next several sermons done, the power point and bulletin for Sunday is done and I am ready I must admit for Night of Fire. Night of Fire is the biggest race that my dad and I compete in here in the state of Florida each year. Thousands of fans pack every inch of the pits, hundreds of cars show up to race and it is always an all nighter for sure. I won this event 2 years ago and hope to add another "Wally" to the family this year for either me or my dad. So don't have any medical emergencies on Saturday i will be hard to track down.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Weekend washout

So the football team was off last week and it was a good thing. I woke up several times Thursday night and got up Friday morning just flat out sick. Unable to move, unable to eat, unable to find enough energy to even take a shower until later in the afternoon. So Friday was a washout for sure. Dad and I had plans to go test at the race track on Saturday morning so I did take the time later in the evening to get the car ready to go in the morning. Then we woke up to 40% chance of rain and it was already raining in Gainesville so we got stuck at home. I did a little bit of painting at the church, and a whole lot of yard work at the house. We have little palms planted all over the yard now and mulch spread and all of the old flower beds cleaned out and replanted. The back yard is shaping up much the same and many of you reading this are probably wanting to drive by and see it for yourself. Yes, Jeff Gatlin is fixing up his yard and getting rid of the old bushes and putting new trees and plants in. It only took me 11 years to get this yard fixed up where we want it. Not too bad!
Sunday numbers were down and I won't lie it's starting to take a toll on me at times. I do remember something that Mark Devers wrote in his book the Deliberate Church and that is the church's success is measured by its faithfulness as a family to the Gospel. We are certainly presenting the Gospel, and using the Bible as the center of our focus.
I did watch a movie with P.J. Saturday night, Dr. Seuss's the Grinch that stole Christmas, and it started me thinking and getting in the mood for Christmas this year. I usually don't catch it until mid December(if I catch it at all according to Tara) but it just struck me early this year.
Oh and by the way, 5 days till Night of Fire. The biggest race we run each year!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

new lesson in plan making

So I am the kind of guy who likes to map out his week in advance. I sometimes have my week mapped out for the most part by Friday the week before. This week was to be one of those weeks. I had presentations planned, hospital times planned and a few visits planned. Then the bug happened. I myself was in and out of the bathroom most of the night Monday night(for once it wasn't Tara's cooking) and P.J. threw up several times that night. So Tuesday Tara kept P.J. on lockdown but she still wasn't at full strength Tuesday night so I decided Wednesday morning to keep her home. She woke up a little sluggish at first and then she was in full swing. No throwing up just a little bit of fever. My plans now destroyed I threw her in the truck and we went to work for a few meetings I had and to do some calendar drop offs for work. We drove and talked and I must have spelled half the words in the English language out for her to write down.
Then youth last night brought a really good size crowd. Several kids who rarely make it unless I pick them up were there by their own rides. I was actually a little disappointed in my half filled van until I got there and found a full house. So all ended well for a day that started off as a total throw away. I missed a surgery, I missed a meeting, and lunch with a friend. Roll with the punches comes to mind, I'm rolling, ducking and diving, I just don't like it that way. When I tell someone I am going to be somewhere I like to be there.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

The couch

I am at home typing from my couch with P.J. sitting next to me. She threw up a few times Monday night and Tuesay morning. She fell asleep getting dressed after her bath last night at about 7:30 and didn't wake up until after 7:30 today. So I stayed home with her and we'll do some bonding today as I try to get some sermon stuff done and take advantage of a day at home.
Yesterday, Alexa and I started some conditioning that we are doing together. Some running exercises that will help her develop and run better. She wants to do them so we will do them as long as she asks to. It was fun because she is so uncoordinated at a lot of the things we tried, but it's going to be fun. Maybe she can keep me in shape better than I can myself.
Not too much excitement on teh home front yesterday. I worked most of the day and had a few hours overtime so I cashed those in and wnet home to spend time with the girls. It consisted of P.J. not leaving the couch and Alexa and I running and playing basketball, and Tara putting up clothes from the wash.
SO that's about it, have a great day!

Veterans Day

So it's VEterans Day, the one day we set aside each year to thank those who have served our country willingly through the years even to teh point of death. Veterans day means a day from school and for some a day off from work. For me, it's the same old plan and its hard getting up and leaving the house before 7am when everyone else is sawing logs. Not a peep ,even the dog wasn't getting up this morning. But, it is nice to go home to them at lunch I must admit to you.
Yesterday was a usual Monday, a lot of driving around and talking my way onto campuses and into presentations. I was able to book a week's worth at a elementary school and 6 presentations at another middle school. So as far as BGH goes it was a productive day.
I snuck by the surgery center for a little while to pray with and visit with Kyle and his family. I got a chance to visit with them(a family I dearly miss). I got a chance to catch up with Josh some too, a long time friend. So that part of the day was productive as well. I had to work a little bit last night for an open house but was able to still be home by about 6:30 and have a great evening with the family. We also got started on our new website last night and it should be up and running by the end of the week. I will keep you posted on that so that we can link the blogs, or maybe even place them on the website for viewing.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Playoffs for sure!

Friday night they did it. They jumped out on Clay 10-0 in the first quarter and never looked back, actually leading 24-7 for a while they solidified their spot in the playoffs for the first time in school history. I could not have been happier for Coach Cromwell, and all the coaches and the kids who have worked every day for 4 years now some of them to get to this point.
Saturday I was going to get up early and take care of my computer which was ailing. Well, it is no exaggaration to say that I spent about 6 hours on the phone between Verizon wireless, Dell and Microsoft. Trying to resolve the problem with no luck at all. SO, Sunday afternoon Jordon comes over and runs a program that gets any spyware off the computer, I then call Dell Sunday evening and they give me instructions on something that I had not been told I could do and 20 minutes later the computer was as good as new. One conversation Saturday morning could have changed the whole weekend for me, but that conversation didn't come until Sunday evening.
We had a great day yesterday, a good crowd and it was great to have Keith and Pam Oliveri back with us for the day. You may remember Keith was the one who stepped in and led worship until we could find Aaron to do it more regularly.
So take care of your computer, or learn to speak a lot of different languages. The 4th or 5th person I talked to at Dell laughed when I found out he was from Texas and I was finally back in teh country. I told him I had been all around the world in one day! and it was true!
Have a great day, remember Kyle Cubbedge in your prayers today as he is having a second surgery on his finger at 11am.

Playoffs!

So the funny thing is that when I think of the word playoffs I think immediately of that interview with Jim Mora with the Colts about 8 years ago. When he was in a press conference they had just lost badly and someone asked him if he thought they could make the playoffs. His response was classic, from his facial expressions to the tone of his voice, just hysterical.
Well, tonight if the Pedro Menendez Falcons football team plays like they have played in their last 2 ball games, they will be victorious and they will make the playoffs for the first time in school history. The excitement has been building since they knocked off Palatka just 2 weeks ago at home. Now the only team standing in their way is Clay, and they have done this same thing before. yesterday at practice things were fairly light and the guys were focused yet loose which is always a good sign with the biggest game in program history coming up the following night. I'm excited for them, and I pray things go our way tonight.
As for me, the house was completely empty as of 4:30 yesterday. I saw the girls off and they are in Georgia for Tara's granny's 94th birthday I think it is. So I am left all alone at the house, and I can say from experience that peace and quiet and alone time are severely over rated for sure. Luckily I have a football game tonight and plenty of work to be done at the church tomorrow, so I will stay sane until the girls return Saturday night!
So ahve a great weekend and if you don't have plans tonight, be at Pedro Menendez at 7:30 to cheer on the Falcons!
Have a great weekend!

Hump day gone

So yesterday was an interesting hump day for sure. It was payday for me at the BGH so that always adds a little sunshine to the day. I spent some time driving around dropping off calendars, visiting with administrators at the schools I was giving the calendars to and even visiting with a few students from the church at a few of the campuses. It's always interesting that if you show up with a gift in your hand, or are making some sort of contribution they listen to you. A school that I have never been able to get a conversation in with listened to me as I pitched my bullying presentations to them. Funny how that works.
That got me thinking, what way can we do that for people so we can have an audience with them and tell them about the Gospel and invite them to church? I'm working on that along with some others whom I have confided in.
Last night we had a little bit smaller group than I am used to at youth, but we had a great time. We had one extra visitor with us. It seems that we have a few mice in our youth house. One appeared to Tara and Kyle as they were opening up the youth house, and another showed up as I was giving teh lesson. I heard a screech and saw people turn pail as it apparently started accross the kitchen floor. WE never found him, but he's in there somewhere. It's funny how many people are afraid of mice and roaches, look at the size differential. Last night when one of the kids spotted the mouse our largest kid Brad, was on top of his chair when I turned back around.
It's outreach time at Freedom and there's no way I can sit around any longer and just do the reaching. It's time for a challenge and I am working on that as we speak. So pray for us as we endeavor to start growing God's church there on 207!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Oh well

I have quoted him several times over the past few days, but here it goes again. The great Theologian Linus once said, "There are 3 things I have learned not to discuss in public. Politics, religion and the great pumpkin. So feel free to call me today to discuss religion and the great pumkin, the other may need a day or 2 off.
How unnerving was the feeling last night if your person was losing in any of the elections as you watched television. Whether it was a local battle, the head seat at the White House or a person of interest in another state. It's just unnerving to sit and watch as you have only one vote to give your thoughts and pour out your passion. I do not involve myself in political discussions all that often as I feel that too many people are ate up with it. They sit and read all day long and send emails, blog or comment all over the web about things that they found out. Why don't people feel that passionately about their beliefs. About their personal relationship with a risen Savior? The very same people who post links and tell you to stand up for your beliefs are in other pictures and on other sites doing things contrary to their beliefs. As Christians we need to stand up right now and paint a perfectly clear picture of what we believe and how strongly we believe it.
Enough ranting, but it has even affected Alexa. Last night she was the one telling me to change the channel and check the score as she called it. She made me check about every 5 minutes to see, I kept telling her that Mom and Dad voted and did our part now we have no control over anything else. But still, she demanded that I turn off ICarly and Sponge Bob to check the electrical vote score. That's what she called it, cute huh!
I had a fairly productive day yesterday with work and ministry. I had a chance to eat lunch at Murray with some of my favorites while I was dropping off calendars for work. Made it to football practice and was able to drop off more parts for our good motor for next year.
So thanks for reading and sorry about the rant. It's my final one, so I hope!

Monday where did it go?

Yesterday was a day filled with running around to drop things off at some of the schools for work, and it was also filled with visits to friends and family. But, after that part of the day was behind me I was stuck in the office answering a questionaire and filling out my end of the month paperwork. Yuck, yuck, yucky! No fun at all, we saw close to 1,300 students last month and we have to tally their answers on the evaluation they fill out when we are complete. There are 9 questions, times 1,300 you got it over 10,000 answers to read and tally. Not fun at all.
I still have about half of that to get done today.
Luckily, Allison and I have it split up so that neither of us will have to do it all, but it's still a lot.
After I got off work I rushed to Palm Coast to drop off the heads for our good motor. The engine that I hurt about 2 years ago in my car and haven't had the time or the money to fix. Now I have the time and barely the money. We are going to need some major sponsorship help next season to be able to race like we want to. The only good news is gas prices have gone down again. Last month at this time I was buying $80 of gas at a time, last night I couldn't even squeeze $60 in the tank. What a pleasant surprise that was!
I got home had dinner with the family, watched some Sponge Bob, played some games with the girls and did a lot of wrestling. Then, after everyone was in bed I stayed up and suffered through the Redskins' worst game of the year. YEs, the choose Monday night football when I can actually watch the whole game to not even show up. It's like they weren't even there on offense at all, not that Pittsburgh doesn't have an awesome defense, we just stunk it up majorly. My only highlight from the NFL this weekend is atleast we didn't lose to 0-7 Cincinatti, wait they BEngals are 1-7 now thank you Jacksonville.
So that's it, not much excitement here. I'm preparing myself to go stand in a line and voice my vote today. I hope you do the same!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Halloween weekend!

So I left off the other day with a story and a few anidotes of what went on leading up to halloween. On Friday, after I got off of work I ran home to work out. About an hour later the girls got home as Alexa had brought her friend Mackenzie home to stay the night. About 6pm I got the three of them dressed and we took off to do some trick or treating. Our street did a fair amount of bag filling, but on the next street over we were surprised to find about 1 out of every 4 with candy. Some even opened the door to say that they were not doing Halloween this year.
We made our rounds for about 3 streets and then the nice witch(Mackenzie), hannah Montana(you guessed it Alexa) and the Pirate(yep, P.J.) and me the bag holder returned home to regroup. We dumped out the candy and got ready to hit the other side of the neighborhood. Hollywood joined us and she was a hoot! She had bought the pimp suit at Walmart and taken it to the next level by making a grill out of tin foil and stealing the clock from their dining room at home. She fashioned it to her necklace and showed up at our door as Flavor - Flav the rapper from teh 90's. So she joined in and we finished up the neighborhood making a pitstop at some friends' houses around the block. Each year they hide in teh yard and in the garage and run out to scare the older kids. It's hilarious to watch so I usually take the girls back home and go back to hang out and watch. But, as I approached with the girls they heard the screaming and saw the chainsaws out chasing and they laughed hysterically, as did Katie and I. When we got close to their house we witnessed as 2 adult females and 3 teenagers ran for their lives leaving 2 little kids standing in the road by themselves. The adults ran off and left the kids who did not look nearly as scared as they did.
Saturday, I did very little as my neck pains have reared their ugly heads again. I did spread some mulch, clean out both of the fish ponds and finish up the bulletin for church. THen, I rushed out to the church and did some more scrubbing on our front porch area to get rid of the glue and adhesive. I scrubbed for about a hour and a half by hand before returning home to enjoy the game. I told Tara up front it would not be much of a game, that Georgia got luck last year with Tebow hurt and they aren't any better. Florida got 10 times better and added more weapons on defense and offense. My prediction to her was Florida 49 and Georgia 21. Even I gave Georgia way too much credit. Needless to say, I cannot wait for Christmas and my time in Georgia with Tara's family. hahaha!
If you see P.J. she did not get beaten by her family, she actually crashed her bike and took the skin off the left side of her face and got a nice swollen black eye. She kind of looks like something out of a Rocky movie!
Sunday, we had a good service and prayer meeting in teh evening. Tara put together a group of girls and ladies and they all went shopping in Jacksonville for the afternoon. We are hoping to make this a monthly thing for them and see them get a lot closer through different things done together. It was our first step in starting some form of women's groups at the church and it went off well. 8 of them got together and had a blast.
So that's it the weekend in recap. I'm hoping and praying for this election as I hope you are as well. Have a great day and thanks for reading!

I know, I slacked off yesterday!

So I had to be on teh go really early yesterday, I got up a little early and completed my post for the main blog and skipped out on this one. So backtracking to Wednesday night I had a great group, we had right at about 30 with a few of our regulars missing, and a few others with other commitments. We talked about a tough subject because my time with the Betty Griffin House has been taken up quite a bit with suicide. A lot of counsellors are asking what to do, what to say and one school even had me address it with all of their students. I had a revelation that if the schools want students to know about it, it's my job as a pastor to make sure our kids are prepared to help someone with it. So we talked about a tough subject, but we also watched a video that got the point accross. It's called life rewound, where a young kid who made some bad decisions simply because he saw that as the only choice. But, at the end they rewound the whole skit walking through each scene in reverse order, walking backwards all the way to the beginning to show the kid opening the door to Jesus. All it took was for one encounter with Jesus and all of the things that he had done wrong did not happen, I hope our kids took it to heart.
Then, Thursday I had to get up early and head out to Pacetti Bay. I spoke at a health fair about unhealthy relationships, and safety plans for the kids. I mentioned in my other blog the funny thing that happened with the drug dog. I am happy to say that I talked with the officer and Liberty and they let me slide on my drug concealment. So, contrary to what you may think I am not writing this blog from a jail cell in the Pokey, thanks for thinking though!
Yesterday, I got done at the middle school rushed over to pick up McKnight and then pizzas for the football team. We did our Bible study and then we loaded the bus for Atlantic. Atlantic was the scene of our first win with Coach Cromwell at the controls 2 years ago. So I was excited to go there as a totally different team with totally different goals. Just 2 years ago we were hoping to squeak out a victory, and last night we weren't going to be happy with anything that did not resemble a blow-out. A blow out it was, we scored 21 in the first quarter and 35 in the first half before putting teh Junior Varsity in for the second half. We won 42-7 and walked away ready for next Friday. One week from today we take on Clay High SChool for a shot at the playoffs, win and we're in, lose and we are watching from the outside. So pray for our players to focus with a whole new intensity next week.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Tuesday, Tuesday

yesterday was an interestingly calm day for me. I was able to get a lot of paperwork and studying done for work. I snuck away for about an hour and a half and ate lunch at Murray Middle School with several of our students from the church. Then, I went back and got some more stuff done in teh office to start preparing for the end of the month stats for our grant. Tonight is a tough one as I need to do more presentations to fulfill our grant so I am going to talk to the youth group tonight about some issues taht I have been sharing at the schools.
After work I went to the church for prayer and to check the mail and messages. Then, I got my cooler cleaned out and ready for football. Yes, even in 40 degree weather I go through a whole cooler of Gatorade. THose guys don't care that much, they're still thirsty for sure!
It was funny as we got ready to go though, P.J. put on her socks as I had ordered and shoes. It's still a fight to get those two out of flip flops in the cold. So, she grabbed a few things and we were off to football practice. We get there and I move the cooler and cups to the edge of the truck for the team and P.J. has a knights' helmet and axe in her hand. She says she is going to go scare some of the football players. I had to take that stuff off of her, but she still got to wear the helmet. She kept running up and head butting or growling at the players and they all got a big kick out of it. We jump in the truck and I have 2 players to take home, I drop the first one off and then I am driving to take the other one home. Mike McKnight, him and I are talking and P.J. interupts us by saying McKight's name outloud several times. He turns to P.J. and she says, and I quote "I have issues, McKnight!" She could not have been more right on that one. What 5 year old stops conversation in the front seat of a truck to announce that they have issues. The same 5 year old that stops people she knows in the neighborhood in their cars to see if they want to race her on her bike. The same 5 year old that wanted to be an American Gladiator but now wants to be a women's UFC fighter. How many pastors can brag about that, not many I'm sure!
So thanks again for reading and have a fantastic Hump Day!

The bike racer

We have created a little monster in P.J. She is a bike racing machine, wanting to race anyone around even in cars and on skateboards anyone who comes by our house is subject to a challenge from a little blond who has recently mastered the art of stopping and turning on her bike. Training wheels have been off for quite a while, but the fun is ongoing. Even last night as I got ready to run to the grocery store I got asked if she could follow along behind the truck on her bike because she can keep up with traffic. What a fun time this is going to be. She is already attempting to make jumps off the driveway, wants to set the ramps to my car trailer up so she can jump off of them and over things, she's previewing us some of her moves that are screaming "Emergency Room Visit" for sure.
Other than that all is quiet on the homefront. I am still taking my anti-biotics but not the pain meds, I was a little uncomfortable during my workout yesterday afternoon but other than that I am feeling great. Tara had to work tonight and last night at Publix so it's just me and the girls watching lots of tv and wrestling. That's right P.J.'s first love wrestling, she wants to be a UFC girls' figther instead of an American Gladiator now. Not many Pastors can brag about their kid being a UFC fighter, we'll see where that ends up.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

The weekend

I had a great weekend, somewhat slow for my taste but nice. I got to do the BIble study and meal with the football team at Pedro, I got to see them rally from down 12 points in the first quarter to winning by the score of 24-12. I got to see the coaches make adjustments and the players adjust well to those adjustments. SO we now control our own destiny, if we win this Thursday against Atlantic and again next Friday against Clay we are in teh playoffs. If we lose either of those games we will be at home watching the playoffs. It doesn't take too much talking to motivate the gusy for that plan.
Saturday I got moving alittle bit slow, took the medication and we were off and running. We took the girls to Ancient City Kids Day at Francis Field and let them run around and make things. They made ghosts out of lolipops, masks out of plates and even got to roll around in a huge bubble wrap type of set up. The girls had a blast, then we went home and I got to work on my race car trailer. You know, to avoid the whole ticket situation from happening again. So we got teh lights all re-wired on the trailer and got that done in the afternoon. MEanwhile, P.J. was once again teaching herself to ride a bike. She had mastered riding without training wheels, but not turning or stopping, or starting on her own. Now, she is all over the place riding around the neighborhood uninhibited whatsoever. It's so neat to watch them experience something like that and go from dependent to independent inside of a few hours. As soon as she felt she had it under control it turned into racing all the neighborhood kids and Alexa. What can I say? She's my racer for sure.
We settled in for the night catching some baseball and some football.
Then, Sunday morning I got up ready to face a new day. This Sunday was a little bit different as Bobby Crum from Anastasia Baptist Church had agreed to come and lead worship for us, and what an amazing job he did. Bobby is a very talented individual who has been the major force behind the transformation ANastasia Baptist Church has seen over the past decade. He was actually a youth pastor there about 12 years ago when I started in the ministry. He has climbed up the ranks building a large youth ministry, then college ministry and now COntemporary worship crowd on Saturday nights. God has used him in amazing ways and I was glad to have him come and be a part of our ministries for sure.
SO that's it, we survived the kidney stone scare and we're back to wide open! Thanks for reading and remember to keep Suzanne Squires in your prayers today!

Wonderful Wednesday/ Thursday for the books!

So Wednesday started out as a great day. Lots of work to be done, lots of work accomplished. I got a chance to be at Southwoods for some presentations and see ALexa and P.J. in action at their school. I was cruising along through the day, but not too much happening to make note of. I got everyone picked up and on their way to youth, we had a good group at youth and played a game afterward which went really well. The kids seemed to have had a blast! THen they hit, I couldn't hardly stand up any more. I had these excruciating pains in my lower back. So much so that I had to sit down for a few minutes. I got my composure and got everyone loaded up that I had to take home. Started on the journey home and the pain was almost unbearable at this point. Two different times during the ride taking kids home I had to stop and pull over to throw up not because of feeling sick, but because of the pain. I finally made it home and had to have Tara take the last 2 kids home for me. I laid in the bathroom floor for a while, then threw up some more, laid on the couch and the bed, and in the bathtub full of hot water. Nothing seemed to truly take the edge off for more than about 10 minutes or so. So rotated all through the night from couch and heating pad, to puking in the toilet, to a hot bath. Finally, about 5am the pain was bearable enough that I dozed off for a few minutes until the alarm went off at 6. I called the doctor and this is where it got strange.
I got in to see Dr. Batenhorst at about 9:45, I stood in the hallway for about 30 minutes while they tried to get my insurance information. Tara had signed us up for new insurance in August and started having it taken out of her paycheck in September yet we were not insured according to Blue Cross, Blue Shield. So I stood there knowing I didn't really want to pay full price for all that was about to happen. So, Linda let me go in and see Batenhorst with the understanding that I would settle up with her on the 30th. We're broke, got no money for all this and I'm considering just sucking it up and leaving when she told me this.
So I get in to see todd and he gets me some prescriptions and some samples. The pain meds were all I was interested in and I finally got back to the front desk where we stood as I took turns with another lady in the office being on hold with BLue Cross Blue shield. Linda finally told me to go home, and I did. I went home and laid back on teh heating pad, threw up a little, and took a long hot shower. Then I started calling the pharmacy about my prescriptions and they had not been called in. Todd wanted me to have a ct scan, but I refused because of the insurance situation. Then I called Linda and found out at now 4:30 that they had given me the prescription to turn in on my way out the door, deetedee! Dumb move of the week on my part. So I finally drove to Kmart to get my prescriptions(at full price ofcourse) and while waiting for them to get filled Linda called and found out that the school board had been taking the money out for insurance, and had all the applications we had filled out but had not sent them in until last week. So, Blue Cross BLue Shield had the applications but we weren't entered into teh system yet. Linda took care of all of that and let me know that I could go have the scan and she would have them bill Dr. Batenhorst for it and we could settle up later.
What a day, what a day! I am ready for some weekend relaxation tomorrow for sure!

My strange life

So I am in full swing right now, I can't even go and enjoy my Chaplaincy at Pedro right now we are so busy trying to fullfill the needs of our grant at Betty Griffin House. I am doing about 3-4 presentations in hastings each day this week, then Monday night I was in the church I told you about yesterday and last night I found myself in Flagler College talking to the RA's about rape. How funny is that, the girls all walked in last night just as it was about time to start and you could almost read their faces, that they thought they were in the wrong place when they saw that there was a man there to talk with them. Then one of them almost fell out of her chair when I mentioned that I was a Pastor. What a twisted, strange journey my ministry has turned out to be. To go from full time youth pastor to bi-vocational pastor and sexual/domestic violence community educator. If you had at any point told me I would end up in a room full of college students telling them about rape, giving statistics about it, talking and defining consent and the affects of alcohol on the brain I would have laughed hysterically. As odd as it sounds it was actually a lot of fun, the girls wouldn't leave when it was over, they stuck around asking questions and digging deeper into my family life, ministry and community educator views on things and how I got where I am.
So have a great day and thanks for reading.

Moved again

So Monday was wide-open no time to breathe, not time to think except for about 30 minutes. I got up typed out my blogs and started on my presentations for the day. I did some paper work, made some phone calls when I got to the office and then I was off and running. I put the paycheck in the bank, checked the mail at the house and ran off to Southwoods to do 3 presentations. It was one, then a lunch break(where I did some studying and reading) then 2 more presentations back to back. After that we had a parent-teacher meeting with P.J.'s kindergarten teacher which surprisingly had nothing to do with behavior(I know I'm still shocked myself). Then I went home quickly to work out and do some studying before I went to Mt. Carmel Primitive Baptist CHurch for a presentation on violence.
Here I was, I stopped in a little early and there was no one there, not one soul. I sat in teh parking lot and read a little then out of no where kids started showing up. They meet in a small little sanctuary, with just a handful of adults and it was awesome! They sang a few songs, said the Lord's Prayer and then said the pledge. Then I was introduced and talked to them about violence. They had about 25 or more kids packed into this little sanctuary. No youth house, no video games, no band, no outdoor games and snacks, just a Bible study and some games and the kids were there. Just the way God intended it, nothing but business. The kids sat and listened, they were completely respectful and asked good questions afterward. I went from a meeting last Thursday with other youth pastors worried about cut budgets and developing leaders to a small church that seats about 50 or 60 packed with little kids and teenagers excited to be at church and sing about Jesus! How moving it was for me, so moving that I offered my services to help them out each Monday evening in teh future. Not just that, but they actually meet on Mondays and Thursdays, and on the 4th Sunday the service is completely children and teenager led.
So thanks again for reading and have a great day!

Long weekend

For once my weekend didn't seem to disappear before my very eyes. I was a task oriented person this weekend as I accomplished all that I needed to Saturday in order to face Sunday.
Friday night however started off a little bit on the rough side. It started off with me seeing our football team lose a nail biter to Middleburge. 18-17. We faught hard, we just couldn't execute the way we needed to. A few calls, a few breaks and it would have been a totally different game, but it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe, we needed another little reality check before we start our district schedule with Palatka, Atlantic and Clay all in the next 3 weeks. Three wins and we're in the playoffs one loss and we're out, so the games get more and more important each week!
Saturday I got up and changed the oil in Tara's Suburban, my dad and I put new brakes on my truck, we fixed a wiring problem on my race car and then I headed out to the church. At the church P.J. and I put up the new Power Point Projector Screen, set up the new screen on teh Lap Top, moved the pulpit out and straightened things up for Sunday morning worship. Then, that evening Tara and I put the final touches on the bulletin for worship.
Sunday went off well, worship was good, we had a great crowd considering we were missing 3 of our most regular families this week. If we ever get everyone together we'll have a good looking crowd for sure.
So the weekend went well, I believe we should have the trim painted on the church by now and things are looking up for us, we're knocking down a lot of projects each week.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Thursday!?!?

So it's finally Friday, what a great Thursday I had yesterday! I started my day off at Project SOS's breakfast and program. I followed that up with some work in the office and a few visits to people that I am trying to get in with and do some presentations for. I then went to a lunch meeting of the St. Augustine Youth Ministers Alliance with some of my closest friends in the ministry. We had a great lunch and shared our hearts, our struggles, our prayer requests and our praises. It's always a great time when you can join with others entrenched in the same battles and daily struggles.
Then after that I ran to football at Pedro where I was able to be a part of the pre-game meal for the freshman team and do a BIble study for the Junior Varsity before their game. I always enjoy those times of fellowship and time with the players and coaches. It's also a great opportunity to meet some of the parents. When I got done there I jumped in my truck and the strangest thing happened. I can't explain it, I can't figure it out but it happened. I jumped on I-95 and started driving North because the freshman team was playing in Ponte Vedra so I took off and headed that way. I was approaching the exit for 16 and for some reason I veered off at that exit and drove home. Now, I love, absolutely love my Thursday and Friday nights on the sidelines and being with the boys in their time. It's the highlight of my day for sure to be there with them. BUt, last night I realized that our family is never all home for the night during the week. Tara works Monday and Tuesday nights, we have youth on Wednesday nights, Freshman/Junior Varsity football on Thursdays and Varsity football on Fridays. So there it is, I chose to spend time with my girls and we had fun watching television, wrestling with P.J., doing homework and just hanging out.
I do look forward to tonight and being with the guys again. Tara will be working at the Fall Festival at Southwoods so I will be off on the bus to Middleburg tonight. Go Falcons!
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend!

Hump day's hump day

Today is now known to me as hump day's hump day. Today is the day that is the hump between hump day and Friday. Today I have so much on my plate and so little time to get it done so I started earlier than usual.
Yesterday was to be my day. I had my sermon finished up on Monday evening so I was going to read over it and find some cool illustrations to go with it and type it up. I had 4 hours of overtime and BGH doesn't pay overtime so I was going to get up and start moving at my leisure. I did it, I typed out my blogs on the couch, read the newspaper online and then worked out. After everyone had left the for school I was going to get started on my sermon in teh peace and quiet of an empty house. Not so fast says life!
Last Wednesday night we arrived to a flooded youth house, the hot water heater tank had started leaking and water was everywhere. The leak was about half way downt he side so it kept on filling itself up while dumping it out the side. We had to shut the power and the water off during youth which was not a great experience, but not too bad. Long story short, I got a call that the plumber could come and help me put a new heater in and get everything fixed early yesterday morning. So I rushed out to the church and played plumber on my 4 hour break.
We had youth last night after I had cleaned and set it all back up and we had a good crowd, we filled up all the seats that we had set out and we were missing about 6 of our regulars so we had several visitors. We talked about forgiveness and how Jesus taught it. It all went well, we got on the van and I started taking everyone home. Believe it or not I was actually home by 9pm last night and did not know what to do with myself.
I got robbed of my morning but got it back in teh form of an early evening with the family.
Tonight I am feeding the JV football team and doing the BIble study for them, followed by running up to Ponte Vedra to help out at the freshman game. So busy, busy, busy and loving it.
Have a great day!

It's another Hump Day!

Here I am sitting on my couch working on my blog. I have 4 hours of overtime which is not paid at the Betty Griffin House so I am blogging from the couch. I must admit I have been entrenched in the discussions on ESPN about the Tampa Rays and how they have overcome so much to be one game away from the World Series. They have no superstars, no big contracts and not even a guy who is a future hall of famer right now in uniform with them. They have gone from doormat, a team that has never had a winning season to being within one game of the World Series, how cool is that. That is what our passion for sports is all about, seeing the underdog conquer the giant!
Yesterday was quite the slow day, I got some more presentations booked for the fall, got our hot water heater looked at out in the youth house,(hope to get that fixed today) and we did some homework and went to football practice last night. The team is still practicing hard and working hard. The sting of their one loss still sits with them even though they have 5 victories. THis is important because they play an 0-6 Middleburg team who has lost 5 games to teams that will eventually be district champions and major playoff contenders. So that record is very misleading and they are good enough to beat anyone. So we are very aware of that.
Have a great day, hope to have something entertaining or exciting for you tomorrow!

It was Monday!

I dragged out of bed to the office to do my quiet times and blogs. I dragged up until I was done with the blogs and then I was full of energy to face the day yesterday. I got everything done I needed to in the office, went to a meeting with a lady at Liberty Pines and booked about 30 presentations at that campus in the northern part of the county. I grabbed a bite to eat on the way home(I must confess I did this with checking the mailbox in mind, duh! It's Columbus day!) and did some studying at the office. I got off of work at 3pm and rushed home to work out, got my workout done, got a good burn and some major sweating accomplished and then the girls came home and I helped them with their homework while Tara changed clothes to get ready to go work at Publix.
We got the homework done and I went and took a shower and we were off to football practice, and that is where monday reared its ugly head once again. I had to stop by the church and get water for my water cooler for the football team's Gatorade. I stopped by and did so with the memory of last Wednesday night popping into my head as I parked the truck. Last Wednesday night the hot water heater started leaking or so it was leaking when ANgie and Jordon got to church. So they had to shut off the water for the night. Then Thursday Margaret called me and asked me to shut the power off so I shut it all off to be safe. Well, that means my water probably won't be that cold that I keep in gallon jugs in the refrigerator at the church now doesn't it. I decided to shut the water on for a minute just to rinse out the cooler in the house and when I turned the water on I found that a pipe outside had busted and water was going everywhere, yay more excitement. I had to go out to the road and turn all the water off after rinsing the cooler out. On my way out to the road(in the rain, not pouring but real close to it) I was able to locate an ant bed, and cover myself with ants, no problem I'll just rinse them off, or not!Oh and did I mention that while all this was going on the little blonde was in the truck beeping the horn because she was ready to go?
So we finally made it to football practice with about 10 minutes to hang out with the team and then give them some barely chilled Gatorade and chat a little. We left practice, took Brad home and went to the house. I endured all this fed and washed the kids got them ready for bed just to have Tara come home with possibly life altering, alarming news so much so that neither of us got much sleep. Then, this morning we awoke to get better news that would take away all the worry that we slept with.
So what a day, what a day! Is it Tuesday today, will Tuesday be somewhat kinder than Monday? I hope you are entertained by my Monday, it was definitely one of the reasons we cling on to the weekends each week!
Have a great day!

Slow weekend

What a slow moving weekend by the Gatlin standards. Friday Tara and I helped feed the football team at Pedro, then we hung out and chilled for a few hours until the game. Friday night was a big deal for the girls because they got to cheer on the field with the cheerleaders for the whole first half of the game. Alexa and P.J. were about as excited as I have ever seen them. P.J. especially as she showed off her dance moves between each cheer. She was so funny, she would do the cheers and stay about one or two steps behind and as soon as the cheer was over, if the band or the dance team played a song then she was dance dance revolution for all to see. Alexa on the other hand after each cheer, would yell out yeah!, or Go Falcons! and do what almost resembled a toe touch of sorts as if she was a seasoned veteran.
As for the game we won, we played pretty sloppy on offense but we won 24-3. Which leaves us at 5-1 and we are looking to go 6-1 this week at Middleburg.
Saturday I awoke to honeydo's and lots of prep work for our big motor on the race car. It started out with the simple idea of planting two trees and a bush for Tara which her mom had purchased her last Monday afternoon. Well, it's never that easy is it. Tara proceeded to put the trees in places where there were more roots than dirt. I ended up spending a couple of hours on a 30 minute job with an ax and cutters trying to get enough roots out of the way to plant the trees. But, we got it all done and my dad and I worked on teh block and crank for my 406 which is the best engine we have ever owned, meanwhile we spent time working on Katie's car which is the most aggravating piece I've ever been around. It messes up for her, I finally got it to mess up for me last Wednesday and we have had it at my dad's since Thursday night with it never messing up once. It's kind of like going to the doctor, cars have that sense to where when you take them to a mechanic they fix themselves. So we were tracing a problem that would not show itself at all.
Later in the evening I watched the Gators stomp LSU(I must admit a highlight to my sports weekend) and watched Jeff Gordon take 4 tires instead of 2 and fall from first to 6th to finish the race.
Sunday was a great day, we made some more progress this week on landscaping and the final bit of trim work should be happening soon. We'll have the green trim painted and new bushes and flowers all around the building by the end of the month. We'll have our new projector screen hung and the new layout up on stage taken care of. Slowly the place is taking shape and we're livening it up one step at a time.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

That empty feeling

So I must admit I have a little bit of an empty feeling in my stomach right now. I am here at work and doing the everyday stuff while my racing friends are at Division Finals. Every season each race track around the southeastern United States sends their top 10 racers from each class to a race against all the other tracks. From Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. So usually there are about 15-18 tracks there with their 10 best racers in each class. I usually attend this event but his year I just couldn't make it, it's the biggest race of the year as far as prestige goes, but when I think about it what is prestige. It is the triumph of pride over humility.
Well, my buddy Curt Banks and his father Gary packed up the families and took off for Georgia late Wednesday and will be there racing today(time trials) tonight and tomorrow. The actual race is tomorrow, but as for today they have time trials and race of champions. Curt won the track championship in our class at Gainesville Raceway so he is able to race against all the other champions in the race of champions tonight so I am pulling for him for sure.
Now, back at the ranch our freshman football team pulled off the victory over Bartram Trails last night 29-21. It was a soggy, rainsoaked affair but they won. I also got a chance to watch the Pedro volleyball team win over St. Augustine which is a tough one for me because most of the players on St. Augustine's team are on the girls softball team I work with at St. Augustine High.
In between work and school we took off to Jim's place to get a bite to eat and relax for a few minutes in between the storms. We took the girls and enjoyed a calzone and some pizza with them before cheerleading camp. Once again last night P.J. had to teach me some of the cheers that are normally going on behind me during the game. So I will be torn during tonight's game as they will actually be on the track cheering while I am on the sideline with the team. I'll have tennis neck in the morning for sure from looking back and forth.
So that's it, busy, busy busy and loving it. Have a great weekend, thanks for reading!

Busy, busy

Yesterday was busy and not so busy all in one. I was able to make a lot of contacts I needed to make as I was in teh office the majority of the day. I was also able to make some visits that were much needed to set up more presentations in the coming months. I was also able to spend some time with a close friend trying to help a situation that I have no answers for. I found myself in just shut up and listen mode, trying to listen as the person discerned what was best for her in teh situation.
We had a good start to the WEdnesday evening deal as I picked up 2 from football practice at SAHS, Jordon was at Pedro doing the same. I swung through and grabbed another pair at a house past 95 on 16 and then sped off to church. I hopped in the van and rushed off to pick up others in different neighborhoods but by the time I got back to the church we found out the hot water heater had died and thereby dumped all of the water into the floors of the youth house. Not good! Angie and Jordon had it mostly dried up and cleaned up by the time I got there, but we had to shut off the water. The lesson and discussion times went off as planned and we had a decent crowd in attendance. I hopped in teh van and took out crew home, got home a little after 9 and just in time to tuck my two little ones into bed. That was the extent of me seeing them today, tucking them in that's it.
Today, however will be different. I will be at Pacetti Bay Middle School all day once again so no cellphone signal, no outside interaction for the majority of teh day. Which means I can spend my half hour break working on my message for 2 weeks from now. I have actually enjoyed my time at Pacetti Bay for that one reason, my breaks are peaceful. I go into a little room off the library and study with no cellphone ringing, no computer with emails jumping out at me and no distractions. I have got to start turning my cell off at the church when I am studying, what a difference it makes. I don't answer while I am studying, but I do feel it vibrate and find myself looking to see who it was.
After school I am getting the girls(all 3 of them) and we are going to feed the jv and freshman football teams, then we are all going to get a bite to eat. THe girls will then go to their final night of cheerleading camp before their big night of cheering in front of the whole stadium Friday night(which both of them are so excited about). Then we'll watch the freshman game together and go home and get ready to get up and do it all over again tomorrow!
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Never complain!

Never complain about an uneventful day because the next one will change that for sure!
I again spent the day at Pacetti Bay Middle School talking to students about suicide and at the day's close I have shared my thoughts on perspective, perception and suicide with 24 classes in the last week and a half. Before I could even get to Pacetti Bay in teh morning however, I had to go in to teh office and get things together at about 6:15 so that I would have time to go by the church and drop off the plants that Tara's mom bought for the church. That's right, as soon as we get the trim painted we are going to start landscaping the place and soon it will look like a brand new church. It's our hope that more people's attention is drawn to the building and more people will come through our doors. Mainly because it seems that the people who have actually come through our doors have stayed, we have another family that has been for the past 2 weeks and talked to me about joining just last Sunday evening at the prayer service. So getting them there, and getting the word otu is our biggest plan of action right now.
After my day of Suicide talks I rushed to teh house to get my new books which I have been waiting for and work out. After that I did some reading then rushed the girls out to football for a while because they had to see everyone for a few minutes and tell the football players and watergirls that they are going to cheerleading camp. THat started last night at 5:30 so I went back over to football and then to pick them up from cheer camp at 7:00. They had a blast and P.J. was more than happy to do cheers all the way home from camp, and all the night long in teh bathtub, at the dinner table, on her way to bed, and even a few mumbled cheers in teh bed. I hope we haven't created a monster there, only time will tell. I also couldn't help but notice that there were about 6-8 girls in each group with 2 highschool cheerleaders coaching them, but P.J. seemed to have her own person and it wa 4 girls to 3 cheerleaders in her group, HMMMM I wonder why?
One of the new books I picked up is Gameday for the Glory of God by Stephen Altrogge a associate pastor to C.J. Muhaney my favorite pastor and writer in the whole world. It's an interesting book for anyone who is a believer and loves sports. It even says it is a guide for athletes, fans and wannabes which pretty much covers us all.