Amazing....

This was the experience of a lifetime. My friend Maggie had a baby boy, Eli Raymond Shadburn, on Friday afternoon. I was there for every moment. It was amazing.

Random Showing

Today a realtor called Shana and asked if she could show our house. A young couple is moving to Atlanta and only had today to look at houses. I think our house was the last one they looked at. I was out walking the dogs while they were here and saw them taking pictures. We certainly didn't expect to show our house the week between Christmas and New Year's. I was on a mad dash to clean the house when I got home from work and get out in time for them to get here. We really need to sell our house. Keep praying!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a....a...a...Turducken?

Last Saturday we had our family Christmas get-together. It was a great time with around 50 people at my parents house. This year my contribution was a Turducken. It was the first time I'd ever attempted to make this concoction of poultry. The basic recipe (if there is "basic" for this thing) goes something like this:

1 - 18 lb. Deboned Turkey (all bones removed except legs and wings)
1 - 6 lb. Deboned Duck
1 - 5 lb. Deboned Chicken
3 lbs. Roasted Garlic Stuffing (store bought)
3 lbs. Andouille Sausage Stuffing (homemade)
Several feet of butcher twine
Much patience and an extra pair of hands

This picture shows the birds in layers... On the bottom/outside is the turkey, then a layer of stuffing/sausage, the duck, more sausage and stuffing, then the chicken, then the remainder of the stuffing and sausage.
Tying it up...notice the giant "needle" in the bottom right of the picture. It was almost like doing surgery. Be glad there are no pictures of the deboning process.
Here are the extra pair of hands I mentioned before...thanks mom.
She's never afraid to get her hands dirty.
Almost ready for the oven...
Here we have the fully prepped mutated bird which strangely
resembles an over-inflated football.
Basting with Garlic/Paprika Butter
Finished...after 3 hours of prep time and 10 hours of cooking. I got up at 2am to put it in the oven so it would be ready by 1pm (it took an hour of resting time).
The conclusion: Who knew that a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey with loads of stuffing would be that good? It sliced up easily (with no bones). In each slice you would have gotten a little turkey, a little duck, a little chicken, and a little stuffing. It was a fun process. It would have been much harder had I not had the tools and the space to prep at work. The process was long but worth it. However, it will be a while before we try this again. If you'd like to try it....well, have fun!

Taking Back Christmas?

I am constantly reminded at work that this is the "holiday" season and not Christmas. I am sometimes the sign maker at work and made one for our $4.99/lb standing rib roast (best price in town, you should all buy one). My boss told me to have it say something like "perfect for your holiday dinner." I asked if I could put "Christmas" instead of "holiday." He said no. I asked knowing what he would say. We do have a large amount of Jews who are shopping for Hanukkah. However, we also have several Christmas trees and Santas up around the store. Also, as many of you know I watch the Food Network quite a bit. They're not using the word Christmas at all either. It's all "holiday." Red and green are "holiday" colors. It's a "holiday" tree. It's also "holiday" music (yet it all talks about Christmas). You get the point.

The Christian argument will come in a bit, but first, this just doesn't make sense logically. My manager at work is NOT a Christian, but celebrates Christmas. He even gets mad about this stuff. From a non-Christian perspective it still doesn't make sense. Santa is only around for Christmas - not any other holiday. Same with red and green, Rudolph, jingle bells, trees, wreaths, and all that other stuff. So logically, it makes absolutely no sense to generalize all of those things to somehow include all the other winter holidays.

Now, for the Christian side. I don't think this should upset Christians one bit. Really. You shouldn't get mad about this. Really? Really. Why? If we (fine upstanding Christians) say Christmas isn't about Santa, snow, presents, wreaths, food, music, and blah, blah, blah, then why do we get upset when the world renames the world's version of Christmas to "holiday?" So yeah, really. I'll get upset when they start renaming baby Jesus to "baby holiday, born to Mohammed's Jewish cousin named Martha." We should have gotten mad several generations ago (I know we weren't around) when "we" let Christmas be stolen by department stores and the fat guy with the goods. Don't get mad when they call it a "holiday tree" when the tree in your window has nothing to do with Christmas anyway.

*note...I'm not saying don't have a tree and all that other stuff...it's plenty fun and nostalgic (I love that stuff as much as you!)...my point is to challenge the logic behind the battles that we choose and why we choose them.

Job Stuff

Well, some of you may know this, but some of you may not. I was notified in September that I would possibly be layed off from my job. Well, it has come to pass. My last day will be December 13th. I knew that this would most definitely come, and wasn't sure how it would come. Fortunately, Busker gave me 2 weeks notice, a luxury they hadn't given many others. So, I got a job at night working with Josh at Fresh Market a few weeks back. It is a lot of fun, and I believe I posted about that earlier. So, this is kind of a bummer right around Christmas time, but we know that there is a purpose and a plan for this as well. It was this time last year that I was trying to look for a job and it was a little difficult because of all the holidays. I didn't get the job here at Busker until February. So, I hope that it will go a little faster this time. I have a handicap in that I will not be around for long because we still have our house for sale. Our plan now is to get to seminary in the summer or fall. We have a long time till then, so we are pretty confident that our house will sell this time.

So, if anybody knows of any body hiring for temporary help for anything let me know. I will do almost anything short term. My resent research shows me temporary jobs don't pay near as much as regular full time jobs so I will have to keep Fresh Market. That is OK, it is kind of fun and mindless. Something I haven't had in a while. It is kind of nice not having any responsibility.

Final House Update

The votes are in. It appears that we are staying in Georgia for at least a few more months. The end of November has come and gone and the girl bringing the last would-be offer on our house has backed out. The contract with our real estate agent is also up (we will not be relisting with her).

When we started on this journey to Kentucky we set Nov. 30th as our do-or-die date to sell. It was nearing the date that I had to be registered for classes and it would still give us enough time to find a place to live in Louisville. That date has come and gone (can you believe it's December?).

So here we are. We are relisting our house with a new agent but we will be doing all of the leg work (which costs us a lot less). He will list our house on his sites and all of the real estate sites and then if/when we get a contract he will do all of that work as well. We are responsible for following up on all of the leads and doing all of the showings...which we pretty much did with our other agent at full price. Our timetable is now much longer which puts less of a burden for us to sell quickly in this cruddy market. If we sell soon...great...we'll find a temporary place to live until school starts.

Shana and I aren't worried or anxious. As Shana posted (scroll down a bit), we do believe that God is sovereign and this is where our faith in that God is lived out. Would we love to be going to Kentucky for school next semester? Absolutely. But I've said since the beginning...I know God wants us to go to seminary. When He wants us there, He'll get us there. He'll sell our house when the time is right. I suppose we could go ahead and move "trusting" that God wants us there now, but that's not where we are. There is a point where you can be presuming upon God's will. I'm not comfortable with that. God also tells us to be wise with our money. Going to Kentucky with a mortgage in Georgia isn't being wise with our money.

We do have some prayer requests that we'll put out there. But before that I would like you to note again that these aren't prayer "concerns." We've been called according to His purpose so we know that all things will work together for our good. So in your prayers and ours we will acknowledge God's control over everything and make our requests known to Him. He is working this together for our good...so knowing that Shana is being laid off soon (request #1), and will be looking for a job during a time when no one is hiring (request #2), but has a job at the Fresh Market with her meat cuttin' husband (request/praise #3), and that we still need to sell our house (request #4), we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and that God is sovereign and in control and not simply "allowing" this to happen because He is Working this out for our good (and His glory). With these truths and promises (and this incredibly long run-on sentence) we humbly lay these requests at His feet and we wait on our Lord (by the way, waiting on the Lord, that thing we don't have the patience to do - including me - somehow really does renew our strength). He is the author and perfecter of our faith. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

PS - There is a picture of the Fresh Market's dynamic duo coming soon!

Athiest Sunday School?

Here is a link to a really good article about athiests forming their own version of Sunday School by Dr. Mohler. It is a must read.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1061

Update on Shana's life!

So, isn't my title of this post just thrilling you with excitement. Just kidding obviously. Well, I do have some news to post. Some of you know that I have been waiting to be laid off at my current job. Well, the day has come. My last day will be December 13th. I am kind of relieved. Things haven't been going to great there for about 6 months. They did a bunch of lay offs in September and that is when they informed me that I would soon be cut as well. O well, life goes on right and all things happen for a reason.

It is times like these where our theology needs to be fleshed out, or the rubber meets the road. I have no stress, no worries, no why Gods. I seriously trust that I will be taken care of and that this is some small part of his great scheme for my life.

There have already been some really good things to come. I get to visit with friends and family before our long anticipated trip to KY. If I would have been employed with Busker still that wouldn't have happened, they have been a pain in the butt about time off. God has already provided in that just this week I had picked up a second job in the evenings at The Fresh Market. I call it my fun job. I feel like I am going to play. I know that might change after a couple of months, but I think being a cashier is kind of mindless fun work. Although, all the good food that comes through my line looks so good so I feel hungry all day long.

So, that is a nut shell of what is up with me. So, if you think about us please pray. I don't ask for prayer because I am worried or stressed. I ask so that I will continue to accept and be in agreement with God's will no matter what comes my way.

Whatever Football Game

Charles, Maggie, and Andrew Shadburn came over this Saturday night. There was some cool football game on TV that Charles and Josh watched while Maggie, me, and Andrew hung out. It was a lot of fun. Josh grilled some really good steaks, as usual. I made baked potatoes, bread, and a Stringer recipe, Carrot Casserole. Maggie brought chips and queso as an appetizer and brownies for dessert. She left the brownies behind too, which I will have to get her back for. I gained 2 pounds this weekend; probably from all the Thanksgiving food and the brownies I have been stuffing my face with. Andrew helped me make the Carrot Casserole. I recruited him to help cause I wasn't sure if he liked carrots and I thought it would help him to eat it; well I was wrong. Although, I can't figure it out if he was playing a game or if he really didn't like it, KIDS! I have so much to learn. Andrew had a really great time playing with Bogie and Zoe. Here are some really great pictures of Andrew cooking and playing with the puppies.

House Update

Well, I need to post something new because everytime I open up my blog and see that scary piercing face it makes me sick. I have no clue what I was thinking that day. I really have a hard time looking at it.

We have a prospective buyer coming over tonight. She came by last week to see the house and evidently loved it to the point she wants to meet with us and ask us questions about the place. We are really excited. Josh and I have been sick for over a week. The house hasn't been looking that great, so when I get home I am going to have to do a mad dash clean up.

Update on seminary too, we didn't get accepted into the housing complex we wanted. There was only one complex that would allow you to have pets. No folks, that does not mean we will be giving them up. We were put on a waiting list. If things go really well today with this prospective buyer then we will most likely have to travel to KY to look at alternative housing. So, if any of ya'll know that area and would like to recommend some spots to check out, please recommend away.

Wordless Wednesday

So on my fever enhanced day off (I came home sick from work), I was privy to some TV that I don't normally see. I caught a little bit of Entertainment Tonight this evening. I usually work late or have something better to do. I'm definitely not promoting celebrity gossip shows and tonight I found a few more reasons not to watch. I remember when ET was a nice show with some cool info about movies, music, and celebs. Now its simply a show that promotes the smallest celebrity gossip into front page news. Tonight's main topics: Kayne West's mom dies of plastic surgery complications (they never said her name); Oprah's dog almost dies; The Osmonds (how does one family have so many "important secrets"?). It's just sad to me that people see the stuff that they report as important news. Shows and magazines like this are why celebrities think they have so much influence over important social and political issues. Oh well, I guess that's the society we live in. Yipee!

Camping

We went camping again this weekend. It was so much fun. I have to say that I really enjoy it. It was perfect weather, yet again. We curled up by the fire and in our awesome tent. Bogie and Zoe also enjoyed themselves. We guess that they enjoy themselves because when we get home all they do is sleep. We camped on Hartwell Lake. I don't know what the site name was, but it was really nice. We saw lots of deer. We were right on the water. Well, several feet back from the water since we are in the drought. It was crazy. We would drive around and see boats on dry ground and no where near water. It was a really insane image. Can you believe that I didn't take any pictures too. Man, that definitely puts a cramp in my scrapbook.

Another good one by Jerry Gillis

New Clothes

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Galatians 3:26-27

I still remember the year and the feeling. 1984, beginning of the school year, and I was sportin' some superfly charcoal gray parachute pants, with this smokin' no collar, layered, lay open break dance shirt. First day of school, new clothes, feelin' good. I remember wanting to wear those clothes the moment my mom bought them for me about two weeks before school ever started. I tried them on about 30 times, and even broke out some sweet skills on the dance floor (which happened to be my kitchen floor) while trying them on. Man, it's funny, because right now I can go to that place and remember the smell, the look, and even the songs I used to love at that time.

New clothes make a serious impression on us, don't they? Paul says that for those of us that have been baptized into Christ (another way of saying that we have identified with Christ and experienced union with Him), Christ has given us new clothes. What kind of clothes are they? From what era? I mean, I already have my share of Def Leppard memorabilia, you might say, and I really don't need any more airbrush t-shirts from Six Flags that have an arrow pointing sideways and reading "I'm with Stupid." Well, these are not clothes from the closet. They're better. They are Jesus.

Paul tells us that when we experience union with Christ, it is like He clothes us with Himself. The greek word used for clothed is the word enduo and it means to cover over or to sink into. He literally covers us. We are covered in His righteousness, His grace, His freedom, His mercy, His wisdom, His love. And, don't miss this, we are also covered by His sinlessness. His perfection is what clothes us, and though we are not perfect in a practical sense, we have been made positionally perfect before God ONLY through the covering of His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus.

I was 19 years old when I got those new clothes from Jesus. I will never forget it. I can still remember the smells, the looks, the places, and the people. And these clothes are, and always will be, in style. Good thing too.......because my Members Only jacket is starting to get a little tattered.

http://www.jerrygillis.com/emusings/entry.php?e=232

Wordless Wednesday

My friend Jennifer does this on her blog every week. I have a link to her bog in my favorite blogs to read, Jordan Family Happenings. Jennifer what do you think of my first Wordless Wednesday?

I was doing some random thinking today. Sometimes there are things that are so good that even when it's not up to par the thing is still pretty good.

Here's my short list of "stuff that's good even when it's not so good" (feel free to add to it):
Pizza
French Fries
Ice Cream
Action movies
Camping
Fall days
A nap
Chocolate
Football

House Update

The house is showing again this evening after work. That is 4 times this month. YIPEEE!!

Night of Praise

Josh and I went to Blackshear Place Baptist Church last night for their Night of Priase. They just finished a building project and were in celebration. Josh's parents are active members of Blackshear. It was a really awesome night. The music was really great. It has been a while since Josh and I have heard some music like that. They have over 100 people in their choir. The student choir sang a few songs with them, and there were over 100 in the student choir. It was a packed platform. On top of that there were many baptisms. It was really a night of celebration.

http://www.bpbc.com/

House Update

We had 2 showings this weekend on our house. We are pretty excited about that. We don't have any feedback yet, but will keep you posted as soon as we do.

House Update

The person who was looking at our house liked it, but decided to look at something closer to Stone Mountain which is closer to his kids. Oh well.

We have decided to put a deadline on seminary and the house. If our house doesn't sell by the end of November we will wait until the next semester to go. So this is crunch time. "Don't get scared now!" (Home Alone movie quote)

Everybody you have to know that I didn't post this. Especially with the movie comment. Josh posted this one.

Snap-Shots

I added a new feature to our blog today. Jennifer sent me an email with some links to spice up my blog. I have added them to my favorite sites list so that you can benefit from them as well. I believe the helps are for any blog, not just blogger.com.

So, I added Snap-shots, which is really neat. If you notice when you place your mouse on a link it should pop up with a display. It is super easy to put on your blog and absolutely free. If you would like to add it to your blog, there is an icon for it at the bottom of our blog. You can click on the icon and it will take you there.

Happy Blogging. Am I addicted or what.

House Update

I got a call today. A realtor wants to show our house Wednesday at lunch time. This really has put a smile on our faces. Some of ya'll might be thinking, so what it is just a show. You have no idea what it is like selling a house in this market. You just get excited that people are actually coming to look at it. Nobody has been to see it in about a month. I am so tired of keeping the house cleaned up every single day.

I am still open to any tips on selling a house.

Firsts.........

So.. you might be thinking this is Zoe's first bath. This is actually Josh's first bath giving. It was a cold one too. I watched Josh give Bogie and Zoe baths after work today. Zoe has really grown up. She has sooo much hair!!

Need New Job

Unfortunately, I am going to have to start looking for a new job. My company is going to lay me off in December. If anybody has any leads to something temporary or full-time I would be greatly appreciative.

Walking on Water?

Ok, so you've all probably seen this bumper sticker right? Or at least something similar. Shana and I were driving home tonight and I saw this one. Now I realize I'm being a little over analytical (I really don't have any objections to this), but I realized something. If you or I could be perfect it doesn't necessarily mean we could walk on water. Walking on water didn't make Jesus perfect. It wouldn't make you or I perfect either. Sinlessness made him perfect. Walking on water made (or proved) Jesus was extraordinary. He was more than perfect. He was supernatural.

Toliet Paper Wedding Dresses

So I know that I post some really crazy stuff at times, but seriously there is some crazy stuff out there. My mom sends me the bulk of it. Today my mom sent me an email with pictures of the winners from a handmade Wedding Dress contest, out of toliet paper! I know how crazy. I am only posting the winner. Can you believe that this is made out of toliet paper? I can't.

This leads me to ask, what have ya'll done with your wedding dresses? Do you have plans for your wedding dress? Mine is in my guest room closet, still in its garmet bag. I am kind of sad that my mom spent all that money for me to wear it one time. I wish that I could wear it again, but not literally (it you get what I mean). I remember the first year I was married I would get it out and try it on a few times just for fun. I really love my dress. I think the dress actually fits still too. Maybe that is what I will do this weekend, try on my wedding dress. My ceremonial wedding pictures turned out horrible, so I think maybe deep down I haven't done anything because I dream of having pictures done again in my dress. That would be a great surpise (Josh if you are reading this). Get a photographer, my wedding dress, the tux Josh wore at our wedding, and take some new pictures. Anyways, I want to know ya'lls stories about your wedding dress please. Where is it now or what did you do with it, do you have plans for it?

After I posted this, a friend of mine (Ashley Jansen) went looking for this contest online and found out this is not the actual winner. This is the 2nd place winner. Here is the link to the site. http://www.cheap-chic-weddings.com/wedding-contest-2006.html THANK YOU ASHLEY!

Ponderisms

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

Life is sexually transmitted.

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take

Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Skye

My mom sent me some new pictures. Isn't she cute?

Here is a picture of my mom and Skye. It is very rare to catch my mom in pictures. It is as if she were an endangered species or something, rarely caught on film. Someone must have tied her down to catch this rare shot, especially with her smiling. I have no clue where they might be in the water shot. I sent Skye a care package this month, I had been collecting stuff since July. It had all kinds of goodies in it. Whenever I eat at a fast food place I almost always get a kids menu. So, I request the girl toys most of the time and send them to her. I got a cool floor puzzle FOR FREE at a garage sale too, I put that in there also. OOO, and I found the coolest things. Ceiling Fan Socks! Have you even heard of these. Well, I found them back in July at Lowes. They are so neat. Her room is a princess room and they were fit for a princess so I just had to buy them for her. I am such a sucker. I have already finished her Christmas shopping. Josh reminds me everytime I want to buy her something else, WE HAVE BOUGHT HER ENOUGH ALREADY. He is right though.

Camping

This past weekend, Josh and I went camping for the first time since we have been married. We had a blast. The Lucas' family invited us along with them and the Garner family. We had a really great time. We went to Desoto Falls in Alabama. As you can see we took the dogs with us, and they enjoyed it too. Josh had a blast roasting a ribeye over top the fire. It was really good. Josh loves to cook/grill and he is great at it. I can't wait for our next camping trip in November.

Zoe is so cute in these pictures too. This rock area had water everywhere that streamed through. Zoe loves the water and we let her play a little. She looks so cute looking up at me doesn't she? What can you say I am smitten by her.

House Update

I know it has been a while since we have updated on the sale of our house. Well, that is because nothing is happening. We have appreciated everybodys encouraging words and prayers for us. Many of you have said you are praying for the sale of our house, thank you. The lady that was back and forth for weeks was supposed to put an offer on a house across the street, but we have yet to see a contract sign go up. Who knows, maybe she backed out of that one too. Anyways, we are still with our current realtor, but only till November 30th. Her contract runs out then and I am pretty sure Josh and I will not be renewing it. The house hasn't even shown the past two weeks. Josh is real optimistic, but I am bummed. We had hoped our house would be sold by now.

A FAVORITE!

You can see I added a new feature to my side bar. It is my "Favorite Sites." The first one I added is to a radio station in my home town. It is the JoyFM. It is a really good "CHRISTIAN" radio station, no pretending and a little dab of Jesus here. It is 100% Christian. It has won many awards too. I listen to it through the computer all the time. It is wierd living here in Atlanta where there is a multitude of almost everything, except good, pure Chrsitian radio, go figure right. Well, I hope ya'll will enjoy it as much as I do. Let me know if you listen to it and what you think.

Absolutley My Most Favorite Movie Of The Year!!!!

So, I went over a month ago to see this move with Judy (my mother-in-law). I found myself thinking about it yet again this morning on the way to work. I find my mind wondering to it frequently. I loved this story, and I am not a huge fan of girlie love stories. I have never read any of her books, but this makes me want to try. Gosh I can't say enought about it. I absolutely loved it. Here are some scene shots from the movie to tease you with.

This movie introduced me to James McAvoy. He was great in this. He enduced my first movie man crush. I don't really have a crush on James McAvoy, but the actual character, Lafroy. If you saw the movie "Notebook" and cried, you will cry even more if/when you see this one. I am not much for a DVD buyer, but when this comes out I definitly will be adding it to my wish list. Love, Love, Loved it!!!

FALL!!

I am so excited that Fall is here. Can you believe the weather this week here in ATL? This is probably my favorite part of the year when it starts to get cold. I love bunding up in clothes that cover every inch of my body and turning on the fire in the house. There are so many family traditions that come with Fall too. In my house we always decorate even for fall, which reminds me I need to pull it all out. I love putting pumpkins on our door step and hanging my fall wreath on our door. I also have little pumpkins and scarcrows to place as a center piece on our kitchen table. Before we know it Thanksgiving will be here. For the past 3 years that Josh and I have been married we have always gone down to Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parent, but this year we will have a change of events. We will be staying here and having Thanksgiving with the Stringers. It will be neat to see what kind of traditions they have for Thanksgiving. I guess you can tell that I love family traditions. What are your family traditions for this time of year?

Crazy Pumpkins

So I thought these were really neat pumpkins. My mom sends me some good junk mail occasionally and today she sent me an email with a bunch of crazy pumpkins. I thought I would share these two with ya'll. I have no clue how they even did the sea urchin one, but doesn't it look really cool. In honor of Halloween, I would love to hear if you have any family traditions for this spooky holiday.

I was just reading the blog of Jerry Gillis, he is one of my old Pastors. In fact, he baptized me. Well anyways, I was reading up on his blog and thought this message was really good and wanted to share it with my readers. I apologize again for the formatting I have no clue even how to put spaces in paragraphs on this thing. The only way I can think to seperate it is by color.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" Psalm 139:23-24

I can't log on to my home computer, with its "news" homepage, without seeing that someone is being investigated for something by somebody somewhere. Literally, it's every day. Politicians are being investigated. Moms and Dads under investigation for killing or molesting their kid or somebody else's. Celebrities under investigation for some financial issue.

We are a culture that loves to investigate, but hates to be investigated. It's understandable really. Who can resist taking the opportunity to find out the juicy details of the person under investigation? It's like being a fly on the wall of their personal lives or getting to go Jack Bauer on them and "bug" their phone, email and home. It's hard to resist for many, even though it seems so distasteful (case in point, there is a similar logic behind why the National Enquirer and others stay in business - and it's not because the readers are all married to their cousins and living in a double wide next to the Mississippi River). Man, just hearing the words "You are under investigation" is like a nightmare for most people.

So picture David, this harp playing, slingshot packin', Sasquach killin' shepherd who is on the lamb for a while in his life (get it.....shepherd.........on the lamb..........never mind). He actually asks God to investigate him. Great. Glad that got preserved for all eternity in the pages of Holy Writ so that we can all feel exceedingly intimidated. Yeah, it's bad enough if someone were to just call up the IRS and let them know they were hoping that they could find it in their heart to audit them this year because they have been waiting patiently for 18 years............but to ask God to investigate you? That's another thing altogether.

But, that is just what David did. He asked the One who needs to collect no evidence to check him out. And then David asked God to point out anything to him that wasn't supposed to be there. All at once, I feel disturbed and encouraged by this jointly stupid/courageous act. Disturbed because I realize that asking to be investigated feels REALLY uncomfortable, and encouraged because I know there are some things that just don't add up in my soul and I know that only God can fix them. What to do?

I think this tension might be the reason that people don't really want to spend any real time in the presence of God. The longer we stay in His presence, the more we see ourselves the way He sees us - and that is equal parts scary and freeing. When we spend time with God, He will not fail to point out to us where we are clutching onto sinful habits, attitudes, behaviors. But He will also never fail to speak love to us, around us, in us. This journey is just a little too scary for many followers of Christ, so they are content to sit in the bleachers of spirituality without giving themselves over to walking in the "way" with Jesus. Checking out on our soul is no way to live though. In fact, I think that it doesn't really constitute living - just existing.

I want to have the guts to let God examine me - investigate me. It's hard for me sometimes, truly. And I know it is hard for you as well. But unless you and I do it, it will be very hard to see our footprints on the way of Jesus.

So, this week, get before the Examiner....the Investigator and ask Him to open up a case file on you. Listen to what He says to you in the pages of His Word (forgive, don't sow seeds of dissension, keep your romance confined to your spouse, lay off the liquor, quit overeating, love people, let go of your anger, stop being bitter). But know that in all of those things that He points out to you and me, there will be a message, just as strong, that will accompany it:
I love you.

http://www.jerrygillis.com/emusings/

Role Call!!

If you read my blog would you comment with your name. I am curious to know who reads my blog, even if I don't know you.

HELPFUL TIPS

I have found something to be super useful in an ordinary way and thought I would share with my blog readers, who ever you all are. My hair is really oily, and if I don't wash it every day I can almost feel the oil sliding down my head into my ears. I absolutely hate that feeling. So, on days I run out of time, days I don't feel like showering, or even the day after going to the hair salon and I want to keep the style I put baby powder in my hair. You are probably thinking this is crazy, or you have heard it before but wasn't sure it would work. I have to tell you it does. I put a little at a time in my hands and spread it through my roots all over. It actually gives my hair some extra volume too which is nice especially after a day of no washing it can be super flat. Let me know if you try this and what you think.

I woke up late this morning, so I actually did this.

Birthday For Callie

This is the group of girls that I spend pretty much every week with. Callie turned 21 so we had to celebrate. As you can see, we come from all walks of life, but make a great hodgepodge. We had so much fun. Caitlyn decided to try and scare us in her halloween costume. Don't we look terrified just when the camera was set to take a picture. Again, we had a lot of fun. We started a little tradition too, I guess it started at the beginning of the year. We get together sometimes just for fun and bring all the things we don't want in our closets and swap. It is so much fun, and so far I have walked away with some great things. These girls are such a blessing in my life for so many reasons. I LOVE YOU LADIES!!

Update on Dead cellphone

I have to give praises to God because he provided me another cellphone for free through one of his children. I know! I was so thankful because it would have cost Josh and I probably a hundred or so dollars to replace it. The person knows who they are, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. You and your family have been overly generous with us and I can't say thank you enough.

So, because my phone died, I have no phone numbers. If you tell me to call you and I don't please don't get mad at me because I have no phone numbers. I guess I will resave them as people call me and I save them to my phone. If you like, email your number and I can put it back in my phone. Don't post it on here though, to many freaks.

CELLPHONE DIED

Just a quick post to let ya'll know my phone isn't working, and I don't know how long it will be till it is up and running again. So, please don't think I am just not responding to your calls. I don't want to post the numbers you can contact me at instead on here due to internet freaks. So, if you need alternative numbers for me just put a comment on this one and I will email them to you.

Josh got me the most beautiful white roses Saturday night. If you know me, I love flowers of all kinds. These are such a pure white. To sad that they won't last very long. You know I was thinking about how Josh brings me flowers and they die and get thrown away, but every time he brings them to me it puts a huge smile on my heart. I think just the act of thinking of me and bringing them adds to it. So, in that case I am glad they die and have to be thrown away because it gives Josh another opportunity to put another smile on my heart and I love that feeling. I guess flowers must die over and over again. I hope when we get to heaven that God puts me in charge of something that grows from the earth, it would be even better if they were flowers.

SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME FOREVER TO POST THIS
Labor Day Weekend

I know it has been a few weekends since here, but I just haven't gotten around to putting something up, particularly my pictures. We had a really restful Labor Day weekend. It started out with Norcross' 1st football game at Duluth. We left early because there was lightning and we thought the game was going to be called, but it stopped and Norcross kicked Duluth's butt. This weekend is yet another Norcross football game; I can't wait. Since we left the game early we decided to run home and head to Dean and Judy's (Josh's parents) house one night early. Dean and Judy were at the Keith and Joan Jansen's lake house. So we stayed the night up at Josh's parents house all by ourselves. It was nice. Saturday morning we left Dean and Judy's early and headed with the dogs to Lake Hartwell (Keith and Joan's lake house). We spent all day there. It was a good time. My favorite was playing with all the dogs in the water. We jumped off the dock and played around. The dogs were so much fun to watch and play with. You'll recognize us and our two black dogs. These pictures also have Mark Jansen and his dog Baylor in them. Baylor is another awesome dog. We liked to think of Baylor being Bogie's girlfriend until Zoe came around. Anyways all three had a great time together. We were so proud of Bogie for actually getting in the water and swimming out to the dock; no jumping off for him though. Zoe went crazy once Josh and I were both in the water; she just had to be in there with us. She would job off the dock to the boat and then to the water full on. It was great. Zoe liked to swim over to you and then rest on you. She doesn't do much to help herself; she just lays on you. Even when helping her out of the water back onto the boat; she didn't help me at all she just layed there as I drowned in the process. Well the dogs swam all over the place. Bogie finally entered the water when all three were playing on the shore; Baylor and Zoe came charging into the water and Bogie was following. All of a sudden you could tell Bogie had realized he was in the water cause his eyes got real big, it must have been the peer pressure of the other two dogs. Well he kept coming out to us with the other dogs, but once he reached us he turned right around and shot back to shore. All in all it was a really great day and I loved being in the water with the dogs. (I am almost done) Well Saturday night we spent the night back at Dean and Judy's without them. Sunday morning woke up and drove down to Duluth for church. Zach was preaching and Eric and Callie were leading worship. It was a morning not to be missed. Boy am I glad we didn't miss it. Zach did an really great job of leading us through scripture. It was really awesome. Eric and Callie did an awesome job as well leading worship. I love it when they lead worship. I hope they get to do it again sometime soon. Well, I told you I was almost done and I meant it. Bye.

House Update

Well, she didn't place an offer. She placed an offer on a house across the street. Josh and I are bummed. I can't help but feel a little ticked at my realtor. Do ya'll think the mess with her could have influenced the other realtor to pursuade his client to the other property? Even beyond that, I am noticing that she doesn't do to much to sell our house. Anybody who has come to look at it has found it off MLS or some other listing service. I want to fire her and hire a discount realtor. Now that I look back they suckered us into signing our contract on their first meeting. I am really down about it. Pray for us because the farther and farther we get towards the holiday the more and more less likely our house will sell in time for seminary, based on satistics. If we don't sell, then that would mean we won't leave in January.

Email Devotional From A.W. Tozer

Revival: The Urgency of God's Will

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. --Revelation 7:13-14

If we are serious about our Christian witness, the day may be near when we may be persecuted-even killed-for our faith. We should be stirred, as John was stirred, as we witness this vast company of God's saints in heaven who have come through earth's great tribulation.I am not saying we are not Christians. I am only trying to find out why we are so far from revival and refreshing and renewal. I am only trying to determine why we are so far from recognizing the urgency of God's will laid upon us by the Holy Spirit.If we belong to Jesus Christ, we should never compromise our spiritual decisions on the basis of "What is this going to cost me?" We ought only to ask, "What is my spiritual duty and my spiritual privilege before God?" Jesus Is Victor!, 115.

"Please, Lord, give me this kind of commitment. I fear it's far too easy and all too common for me to be guilty of asking, 'What is this going to cost me?' Strengthen me to only ask, 'What is my spiritual duty and my spiritual privilege before God?' Amen."

House Update

I bet some of you can hardly stand it that I haven't updatd about our House. Yeah right! Anyways, I apprecate everybodys prayers in this matter. The buyer we have been telling you about got sick last week. So, we didn't hear anything until yesterday. I finally emailed again to the buyers agent. He said she was sick and that they were suppose to talk this week. This girl isn't urgent to buy a house if you ask me. Josh was talking to our neighbor and found out that the buyer knocked on their door and asked if she could put her dogs in his fence. They are really great neighbors, but I can only imagine. They had just had a baby too, crazy buyer. Anyways, I hope it helped in her decision making. So, even though we were suppose to have known something this time last week, hopefully we will know something by the end of the week.

In the mean time, we have had at least one showing a week. This is where I need your feedback. My realtor from week 2 has said we need to lower our price. When we signed they said ahh sure we can list it at 188, well now she wants to drop it to as low as the other properties, 182-184. What do ya'll think?

Steve and Shannon are old friend from high school. This story is 100% true. I enjoyed it so much that I really wanted to share it with ya'll. No worries, I got his permission to do so. Sorry for it being all over the place in formatting, I have no clue how to do formatting on this blog. I hope you enjoy it. "You can take the Mersingers out of Kentucky but you can't take the Kentucky out of the Mersingers." -ancient redneck wisdom So most of you are wondering, who are these people again? It's been a while since we've communicated with the outside world, sorry! A lot has been going on and we'll fill you in with more details later on. For now, the best thing for me to do is hop right to the Story of Caleb and "the DGC". It's a delightful tale in which no exaggerations need occur. I do have the gift of exaggeration but what you're about to hear requires none of my skill, and you'll see why! Most of you know that nearly 21 months ago we popped Naomi out on a Lazy Boy in Kentucky. Little did we know that it would cause a deep curse to be placed upon our family. Approximately 4pm on 9/13/2007 Shannon Mersinger started to receive increased contractional activity. So we went to Applebees. Dinner was good and stuff. Around 7pm those contractions got even crazier so I (Steve Mersinger Jr.) drove Naomi to my parents for them to watch her. By the time I returned Shannon's contractions were causing her to spurt profanity and throw stuff (slight exaggeration). After 24 hours of labor with Naomi, we didn't want to rush off to the birthing center and end up having to turn around if she wasn't dilated enough. However, Shannon's mom, Kitty, with crazy wide eyes said "it's 45 minutes away, we should leave". I'm not one to ignore the advice of someone who has popped out nine kids, but Shannon wanted to wait until she was having minute long contractions (she likes to feel the burn!). The contractions were only lasting 40 seconds so she didn't want to leave quite yet. However, they were starting to be only 2 minutes apart. So eventually, at midnight, we couldn't outlast Kitty's gaze of foreknowledge saying if you don't leave soon you're going to pop this baby out in the van on the way. We packed Shannon up, I was already tired from pushing on her back and felt like I needed to rest for the long night ahead of us. So when she asked me to let her mom drive and hop in the back with her, I nobly (cowardly) deferred to her mom and said I needed to drive. We were about five minutes from the house (on a 45 minute trip) when Shannon cries "oh my God, my water broke". I grinned and thought "of course her water broke, why wouldn't it." I then beat the crap out of my weak stomach and told myself that placenta stuff smells like roses and continued driving. Kitty had me call the mid-wife and fill her in on what was going on. She remarked how calm I sounded, I replied that freaking out wouldn't help (besides, we had hours left in this thing). The phone call ended and was met by an abrupt cry by Shannon "I feel his head!" Surely this was intense emotional overreaction. Shannon's mom checked and I was right again! But Kitty said, you need to drive faster. So I cruised up to 55 in a 45. She said faster and I said I didn't want to get pulled over. Then three words shook my steel like confidence "yes you do!" I suddenly wondered about all of those roadside birth stories and got this grin on my face that I wish someone had recorded. I thought what a cool story it would be to have Caleb in a vehicle, but reality set in that this kind of thing doesn't really happen, or if it does certainly not to people like us. (heavy foreshadowing, but you're doubting aren't you?) I eventually found myself cruising up to 75mph in a 45 and running red lights. While my wife was in intense pain, I was experiencing my dream! I've always wanted to get chased by cops and outrun them in a piece of crap car, now my son was giving me the perfect excuse. 10 minutes down the interstate doing 20 over still hadn't drawn out any coppers. Shannon started saying something about pushing, I checked the vomit from my esophagus, and realized that I had a job to do. Faster and faster we sped, while pieces began to shake on the van threatening to fly off and solidify our roadside appointment with destiny. I saw flashing lights up ahead and decided to take matters into my own hands. As I stopped halfway in the third lane of traffic (in SW FL where everyone is in bed by 7), I jumped out of the van and ran for the state trooper who sat in his vehicle grinning like a hall monitor who's hopped up on impotent power and pop rocks. I said to him "sir, I don't know how important this issue HERE is but my wife is in labor and I was hoping you could give us an escort". I'm not sure that he knew what labor was or if he'd ever seen a woman naked, but he looked panicked and said I"ll call an ambulance. I told him that was unnecessary and we were fine, we were just hoping for an escort. He told me that he could call an ambulance but wasn't allowed to escort us. I think he was scared. I said no problem and ran back for the van. During my sprint I noticed two forms hanging into the passenger window from the outside. Two women from the "accident/speeding violation/whatever was going on there" were staring at my wife while she screamed and bled and pooped all over the interior of our van. They began screaming like crack addict banshees telling me to get her to the hospital. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't instantly sped away they would have climbed inside and rode with us screaming the whole way. We found the trooper about 3 miles from our exit. As we got off I put my game face back on, dreamt of nice, pleasant smells, and determined to tear up Fruitville road like an illegal alien getting paid by the pound. This is a long road filled with lights that like to get in your head and tell you how they own you. I wasn't having it, I came off the interstate and flew through the red light making a statement. Shannon was doing great but I started catching random phrases like "feeling the head" and "need to push" and "he's coming" and I felt a bit unnerved(slight underexaggeration). We were about 10 minutes from the birthing center and I heard a sound come from her that screamed "baby is being shoved out of me as I groan". I'm cutting into turn lanes and around traffic stopped at red lights flashing my brights and honking; varying between 75 and 90 mph depending on how close the next light was. Kitty tells me that I have to call the midwife again and tell her that Shannon is starting to push. I reach to the passenger seat to find the number again and realize it's gone! I look everywhere and it finally smiles at me obnoxiously from up in the corner near the passenger door. Dodge Grand Caravans are larger than you might realize and the only way for me to get that number was to bust out some crazy Tony Hawk move while I'm flying down this road. So I look around and realize there are no cars which makes swerving an acceptable maneuver, I take the steering wheel in my left hand and get out of my seat, step across, and grab the paper with my right hand. We managed to stay between the three lanes of traffic during this. I get the number dialed in and as the phone is ringing I hear a sound like Jim Carrey coming out of the fake Rhino in Ace Ventura 2. The midwife picks up as I hear my son cry and all I can say is "it's a boy!" My grin from earlier comes back as I realize that my freakin awesome wife just popped a kid on the front bench seat of our Dodge Grand Caravan. Kitty, mother of 10, winner of 33 consecutive wife/mother of the year awards (not to be confused with the mother/wife award) just delivered our kid while swerving across three lanes of traffic doing 75 mph down Fruitville road. All I can do is shout "Caleb, holy shit you are so freakin cool, you were just born in a van!" I love my family! I told Harmony, our midwife, that I was still flying there and would get there as quick as possible but Caleb was crying, sounded fine, and Shannon seemed totally fine as well. We pulled in to the birthing center, got Shannon and Caleb in and cleaned off. Homeboy is 7lbs 4oz and somewhere between 20 and 21 inches (he was squirmy). He was born near the intersection of Fruitville Rd. and Lockwood Ridge Rd. in Sarasota, FL at 12:32am 9/14/2007. He's super chill and looks a good bit like Shannon. Naomi isn't quite sure what she thinks of him yet so pray that they bond and she loves him like crazy! On our way home around 415am Shannon said "it's pretty crazy that we keep having our kids on things that our friends and family might have to sit on." Quote of the year! Also notable: Aunt Jackie was coming for the birth, but missed out. She wouldn't have made it anyways, unless she jumped in our van as we sped down the road, but she stopped at 7-11 for flowers and mentos. Like 35-55 percent of you, she did not believe me when I said we popped Caleb in the van. Unlike 35-55 percent of you, she got to see Caleb and find out that I didn't even need to exaggerate this story (though a little spicing up never hurts). So for those of you that think this is as big of a ploy as last pregnancy's modeling of Rob Raborn in a diaper (can't ever get enough of that, personally I love saucy pics of Rob), you'll have to wait a day or two to call and get Shannon's confirmation, but she has read this and fully approves of the facts, details, and spicy anecdotes that lie within. We love you all, sorry about not keeping everyone up to date; our new info is: 380 Harvard Rd. Venice, FL 34293 941-493-3870 mersingerzoo@gmail.com (man that email fits even more today!) We'll write more soon, check out the attached pics (one of Caleb, one of Naomi)!

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HOUSE UPDATE

Ok, Today was yet another day of waiting. The buyer's parents came by with their agent on Monday for the 4th time. I spoke with their agent today and he hasn't heard anything, but anticipates an offer being brought this week. Well, if you read our blog you know we had our home listed as a FSBO for a while. Well, this buyer came to us through our FSBO sign. I have been in a bit of a struggle with my realtor. We listed our house about 3 weeks ago. I told my realtor about these people the night I signed our contract, how they contacted us the first time off our FSBO sign; even at that point my realtor took no action ( I didn't expect her to) and I considered it a direct sell if they were to put an offer since they came off my FSBO I listed.

Well, it has gotten a little messy. Even without having an official offer. YUCK! So, if anybody knows anything or can give some insight to what you are reading right now. PLEASE HELP!

I have spoken with my realtor asking about the possibility of breaking our contract if I get an offer. She says as of right now she can't release the property. I guess her broker is the only one who can do that, and he or she says no as well. I have been a little frustrated from the get go because they made lots of grand promises and appearances in their interview which haven't held up. She says she wants us to sell our home no matter what. I wonder if that is her blowing smoke. We spoke this evening and settled on waiting to see if we got an offer before we talked and tried to negotiate. I wonder if their is anything to negotiate. I can't see them making commission of this potential offer. I have done 100% of the follow-up with the buyers agent, and they found my property through my FSBO stuff. In our contract their was a cancellation fee of I think $495.

Note * When I contacted my realtor about the preparation and logistics of canceling our contract, Then is when she decided to contact the buyers agent. In our conversation leading up to that I told her she had no need to contact them, I have been in contact the entire way. She did anyways and when I asked her after the fact she said it was a customary follow-up. I was thinking you never initiated a follow-up when I told you about them when we signed three weeks ago. Seemed fishy.

Ok, I am going to leave it at this. It is getting late and I can't type anymore. Zach if you are reading this and my english is all messed up I apologize; I am tired and not even paying attention. If any of you needs more information to access our situation please ask and I will post more. Seriously, anything ya'll have to offer on this subject will be greatly appreciated.

So I haven't posted in a while, and I do have a lot to post. This is one of the most recent pictures Josh took. It is of me sleeping with Bogie. I don't really care for the me part sleeping, but it is cute that Bogie is snuggling with me taking a nap. You can tell he is asleep too.

Today is the last day of August. Boy, years sure go by faster the older you get. Feels like yesterdy we were celebrating Christmas at the Stringer's new house. Josh and I are looking forward to a restful weekend. We plan to spend it up at his parents house. Josh recently quit his job, which was for the best, and now we have way more time to be together. I guess you coudl say we are taking advantage of it and seeing his parents a lot before it is time to move to KY. Our house is still for sale. We listed it with a realtor a week ago yesterday. Still not sure how I feel about it. The house hasn't shown at all this week. I read somewhere that it should be shown a few times a week. I am getting anxious. I don't feel like they have done much this past week on our house. There is this website where we are suppose to see all that they are doing, well I am not impressed. I was impressed when she gave us her entire presentation, but not feeling the same now. I think I might email her. If ya'll have anymore wisdom on that thought, please let me know.

Ok, I need some poll feedback. Josh and I are flying to Orlando next weekend. It is kind of a anniverary celebration thing. Well, I have everything booked and paid for except a rental car. I have been waiting to do the priceline deal so I could get a really good deal. I have a few options though and curious as to what ya'll might think.
1) Our hotel is in close proximity (walking distance) to everything we are going to do: restaurants, shopping, and Universal. Should we just get a shuttle to the hotel?
2) Should we get a rental car, but only a economy. The cheepest car they have?
3) Should we have a little fun with it and get something nice?

Curious as to what ya'll would do and think. Can't wait to see what you post.

ADVISE ON SELLING OUR HOME

Josh and I have had our house for sale for a week now. I know it has only been a week, but only 1 person has called to look at the house and I am pretty sure they were nosey neighbors. We have only lived in the house for almost 2 years. Therefore, we don't have a ton of equity in the house. But, we remodeled the kitchen so we have that going for us. Good news is we won't have to pay property gains taxes because of the kitchen upgrade and a fine line on the circumstances of our move.

So, a friend of mine asks for advise on her blog all the time and it has been fun to respond to hers. So, I am asking all our readers for advise. Please Please. If you have any experience, ideas, knowledge, or really absolutely anything to say on the matter of selling a home, I would like to hear it. Currently our house is listed on Craigslist.com and has a FSBO sign out front with flyers. Anything ya'll have to offer would be absolutely great. Even if you have ideas for when people actually make an appointment to come see the house. Can't wait to see what ya'll have to say.