Today, After Church . . .

Jamaica Container

Today a lot of great people showed up at the CSI Ministries' headquarters to be the hands of God, helping us load a 20 ft shipping container. Around eight thousands pounds of cargo was ever-so-carefully packed, including the personal belongings of full-time missionaries in Jamaica, educational items for young Jamaican students, and other items that will be used in ministry there. Many people will be blessed when the container arrives to its destination. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to lend a hand!

Sleep . . .

. . . has been improving. Its not there yet. But definitely improving.

Great Weekend

-Got to spend an entire day with my wife -Got to eat at my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot -Got lost in a corn maze with the youth group -Got to play Grog and scare a bunch of kids -Got to hang out with some great peeps -Got to sleep a little bit -Got some new wooden beads -Got to make a new header for my blog -Got to start a new season of Supernatural on DVD -Got to write a little -Got to watch Prince of Egypt in Kidzone -Got to eat General Tso Chicken -Got to . . .

102409

Today Kimberly and I had a beautiful day celebrating our anniversary.

$ Mo Money $

this is our God

Russian Ice Skating Circus Bear

Anyone else hear about the Russian ice skating circus bear that attacked two people? Well, if not, you can HERE. So, I'm probably kinda evil for seeing some humor in this, but I can't help but think it's just a little funny:

"It is unclear what caused the bear to attack Potapov, 25, nearly severing one of his legs while dragging him across the ice by his neck."

Really? Yeah, its so mysterious as to why a circus bear on ice skates would be grumpy.

*Interject sarcasm as you see fit ;o)

Tonight

Last night/this morning I slept for 3 consecutive hours, which is the most hours of continuous sleep I've had in a few weeks. I felt GREAT when I woke up, but the greatness wore off around 2pm and now I'm just exhausted again. I've tried taking drugs, but they just make me feel . . . drugged, as I lay there awake. Last night I got experimental, and maybe a little brave/stupid, taking a little dose of just about everything we had that's supposed to cause drowsiness and/or sleep. It didn't work. Just thinking about going to bed makes me feel a little anxious as I wonder and worry whether or not I'll doze off. I've even tried falling asleep in random places such as the couch or my favorite chair, to take the edge of the expectation that sleep should ensue. Yeah, that didn't work either. I've asked God if there's something in particular I should read in the bible, or something I should be thinking/praying about. But for some reason I haven't really asked Him specifically for sleep. So, tonight . . . I know. Duh.

Happy Anniversary!

I LOVE YOU !!!

SO. TIRED.

I've been going through another sleepless phase lately. I'll toss and turn, until finally falling asleep. I dream a weird, random dream, then wake up and not be able to fall back to sleep for the rest of the night. I'm starting to feel the affects. Nausea. Emotional. Basically, I'm a big sleepy baby that's about to throw himself onto the floor and have a full-blown tantrum if he doesn't get a good nap soon. Wah! Wah! Wah!

Heart Song: After Thoughts

I am so thankful for our Heavenly Father who places songs in our hearts to sing, callings to answer, convictions to carry out, etc.! It's such a wonderful thing to praise Him for! I love our missionaries, Marggy and the Black family, and its been such a blessing to watch them respond to His call obediently. I hope this evening encouraged them in their journey. Everything seemed to run relatively smooth, with only a few audio issues here and there. Everyone did a good job of sharing their hearts with the audience through their songs and commentary, and we received a lot of positive feedback. This entire experience was great! I am exhausted and ready to sleep, but honestly, I'm a little sad its over. Oh well, I guess there'll be another project to work on soon enough!

A Picture and the Story it Tells

Today I've been helping to prepare for a pastors' breakfast that CSI Ministries is offering next week. I've been going through boxes of old pictures to display. These pictures tell a remarkable story of how God has changed lives through His obedient servants. This is one of my favorite pictures. The woman's name is Cathie Benson and she has been a missionary in Haiti for 14 years now. This picture was taken in '96. You can see her love for these young Haitians in her smile, and the joy it gives her to wrap her arms around them. I wonder if she had any clue when this picture was taken that this would still be her life thirteen years later.

Everyone Needs Some Love!

Text

Within the past 30 days, Kimberly and I have sent/received 3,669 text messages. That's 122.3 messages a day. 5.09 messages an hour. If we continue to text at this rate, we'll send/receive 44,028 messages in a year.

I remember four years ago thinking texting was absolutely ridiculous. And now. I just. Can't. Stop.

Ahhtumn

It's chilly outside. The leaves are changing. Ahh . . . So nice!

Experimenting With a New Way to Present Pics

Heart Song Rehearsal

Tonight we had a rehearsal for Heart Song. It was an amazing experience. Five men who love God. Who want to share what He has placed in their hearts. It was a great time of fellowship. Very worshipful. Very authentic. Nate and I have spent hours reading through everyone's lyrics to make slides and create a song order, listening to short recorded clips here and there. But to actually hear them all in person for the first time was really cool. Derek Chalfant has written a great song called Its Not About Me, and we're all doing it together, which felt great. Now I can't wait until Saturday! Thank You, God, for allowing me to have this experience!

Columbus Day Weekend With -V-

Already Wearing My Halloween Costume

What a Blessing!

Today a faithful servant named Brenda Underwood stopped by CSI to deliver some items to ship to Jamaica. Brenda has an amazing gift to find much needed resources. As soon as she hears there's a need for something, she finds it. Or it finds her. Using this gift for God's glory, Brenda set out to find educational items for impoverished schools in Jamaica, locating a pre-school that was closing. God placed Brenda in the right place at the right time, because she is willing and eager to serve Him. Brenda & her church purchased every item in the school for only $300! Now many children will be blessed through these resources and the help of obedient Christ followers.

Another Test: Video Messages?

This is a video from our last youth bowling night of awesomnes. *Nate

This is a Test: Sending Pic Messages to Blogger by Phone

I am learning how to send pix and text to Blogger using my phone. Its kinda confusing to get started, but I think I got it. Here's a random pic of Kimmy as a test. YAY for learning new things! *Nate

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Our Great Day With Mom & Dad

1812 Reenactment: if you've never been, GO!

Christmas hat shopping: why not?

Halloween fun: spooky!

What a great day! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Two days in, going strong.

The TV's built into the workout machines keep me motivated.
And the cup of coffee at work keeps me awake afterwards.

;o)