Seen in the parking lot

Yesterday, action. Today profundity. Some people just have all the good ideas. Today I saw an auto with the vanity plate that stated "No Tag." It brougt to mind the teeshirts that one sees in the catalogue -- the ones with "Your Name Here" printed on it.

I used txt3pic.com to find a template that suited my state of mind. Many of the "Christian" trinkets need a printing press and perhaps the resolve to use the printing press.

I will try once again. Later.

Runaway Cart!

Today, in the course of my work, I witnessed the charmed adventure of a runaway shopping cart. I say "charmed" because it managed to come to rest without hitting anything or being hit itself.

We were cutting across the parking lot after servicing a Belk's department store (to the right of the pictured lot) and we spotted the cart on the move. Its momentum was increasing as we tried to get in position to possibly stop it. We watched in wonder as it left the parking lot and turned down the "exit" toward the main road. There is no way that I could have run that thing down! It crossed three lanes of traffic and turned back to block one lane. A gentlemen got out of his pickup truck and pushed the cart to the median where he turned it on its side. I can only wonder how long it will stay there.

Ladybugs!

Today was a lovely day for the "longest day" of the year! The weather was pleasant and we had no one coming for Sunday lunch. So, we packed a lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and fruit salad, and a couple of Lipton brand green teas and headed to the Cherekee Foothills Scenic Highway (SC 11).

There is a nice "Wayside Park" that is privately owned and operated near a mountain creek that we had been to once by accident. It was further away than we thought, but it was worth the drive. The fall colors were not as vibrant as I had hoped, but they were impressive nontheless.

As we were leaving, I headed to the quaint "outhouse" that was provided. A rather well contructed unit, actually, with no electricity and no plumbing. I really wish we had brought the camera phone for this would be better with pictures!

Anyway, I almost went in search of a tree when what looked like a swarm of bees surrounded the structure. But nature called, and modesty prevailed. So I braved approaching the latrine. The swarm was of LADYBUGS!

Well actually, it was short of a swarm. I googled "ladybug swarm" and found that such are common this time of year. And some of them of "Biblical proportions." But it was unusual for me. I survived the "swarm."

My own "Word Cloud"

Thanks to Mel Duncan over at "River and Rhett" for finding this web tool. They also sell shirts with the same graphic on it.

I am pleased to find "God" and "Church" prominently displayed, though I would have hoped "political" would have stayed off. :-)

Well, I hope you guys in the USA turned your clocks back at 2:00 am. The "time police" are watching. Here's hoping we all get good use out of that "extra" hour.

Most Creative Booth

Well, I decided to participate in a different way this year. Our Reformation Day festival (in place of a "Halloween" celebration) fell on October 28 this year.

And so, I signed up to utilize our unused dart board (one of two, neither used) as a booth. After searching the internet for pictures of 16th century clothing, I opted to present the illusion of period dress and "go as" a 16th century innkeeper. With a long sleeve white shirt (collar turned inside) and braided leather belt I pulled it off. I tucked my pants legs into my socks to make them look like continuous leggings which came from under my shirt/tunic. I wore "matching" gray slippers to complete the illusion. Some pictures were taken, though I haven't got access to them yet. The above picture was taken at home with a cell phone camera.

I served pretzels and both rootBEER and gingerALE. But mostly I gave out candy to youngsters who successfully got three darts to stick. I gave them double and triple credit if they hit those circles. And a bullseye automatically scored a reward. There were a few bullseyes, but more misses than not, I'm afraid. In about two hours, there was not a lull in the action!

I was a hit! :-)

The Prepared Soil

In Matthew 13 Jesus delivers his most important parable: the parable of the sower. However, it is not the seed or the sower that makes a difference. It is the owner of the field. He is the one that has taken barren land to make a garden.

Once the field is chosen, a perspective farmer must perpare the soil in order to grow his crops. He finds the field and purchases it, and then He must break it, and even crush it. And then, he must rid it of life-draining weeds -- even to the extent of BURNING the soil to santitise it.

The farmer works hard. And the soil doesn't have it very easy! But in the end there is fruit everywhere!

Has God prepared YOUR soil for His seed?

"Spanish prisoner scam" > Sp..am

"Spam" has returned to snail mail. In an unusual twist, letters posted in Spain have been showing up all over the world since 2004. My wife got one offering lottery winnings of over $600,000!

As "THEY" say, "If it looks too good ..." Well, that amount of loot was supposedly our share of a European lottery which neither of us had ever entered!

According to the info I have read, the original "Spanish prisoner scam" was in 1911. However, the good news is that MOST of that stuff comes online, and therefore can easily be dispensed as useless bits.

What appears to be a Spanish stamp is in the corner of the envelope, but there is no return address. It should have been immediately obvious what whas going on. However, when my wife showed it to me I had no doubt it was a scam. Subsequent "googling" removed all doubts. The scam artists did not even change the exact figure of the amount won (be it dollars or euros). My wife was supposedly one of seventeen winners, but at least that many were posted on sites that exposed the scam.

The letter came with an application form that was to be faxed to the lottery headquarters. The form asked for every conceivable piece of information to assure the money was going to the right place. Yeah, right. This scam does not even mention the money they will eventually ask of you for processing before they can get money "transferred" to your account.

One only wonders how many people send info and/or money to these goons!

A Little Frivolity

Well, I was going to get serious about politics and religion. But I got a link to txt2pic.com via either a spam program (which shouldn't get through) or one mighty bored nerd out there. Anyway, This bookcover was created at the link below.

I was going to comment on all the hysteria over the "threat" of evangelicalism in politics these days. I was in Barnes & Noble bookstore this evening and saw numerous books from liberal religionists railing against our "agenda." But, a little levity for now. I'll get into the "good stuff" later! :-)

Georgia's accidental wonder

Back when Georgia was being settled by the western expansion from the Carolinas, farmers learned the hard way that irrigation and crop rotation is a must. In the "back yard" of Providence Methodist Church their "clear cut" method, that farmed the land and then abandoned it, rather quicklyresulted in a disaster that could not be "undone" by the governments best engineers.

The best they could do was plant trees. FDR learned the hard way that just "ground cover" was not enough as he unwittingly unleashed kudzu on the south!


The result of the inaction of nineteenth century farmers is what is now called "Providence
Canyon State Park." Back before it was "discovered" my brothers and I actually played on the banks of some of the less steep cliffs! My wife took these pictures.

The Hardest saying of Christ

This morning's sermon was from an excellent guest preacher, Terry Johnson, from Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, GA. His text was John 6:26-37. However, the thoughts I have tonight are from later in the chapter where Jesus elaborates on the simple "I am the bread of Life."

Verse 54 Jesus says: "Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will lift him up on the last day."

We can surely sympathise with the disciples who said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" (6:60) And Jesus' remarks to this question didn't help much, for he began:

"Does this offend you?" (6:61) ... "the words I speak unto you are spirit and they are life," He continued.

But the "damage" had been done. We read in John 6:66 that "many of his disciples went away, and walked no more with Him."

But why would Jesus have used such inflamatory language at the height of His popularity? He surely knew that this would offend the observant Jews who would not dare even drink animal blood much less human blood. They were way too literal in their mind set to accept the "spiritual" meaning conveyed by the vivid picture of consuming one's Master!

This is exactly the reason He spoke in parables to start with. This is very evident in the synoptic gospels. Matthew states in 13:34 "All these things Jesus spoke unto the multitudes in parables." This "weeded out" the glory seekers while at the same time strengthening the true believers. This is one time Peter got it right: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (vv 68-69).

And so, this is one of three "6-6-6" verses in the Bible. Can anyone out there share the others with us? This is the only one that deals with a case of apostacy.

Of Grief and Guilt

Tonight, I took my wife to a free movie. Yep, we were told to bring an unbeliever back to the Christian Film Festival and I brought my wife. :-(

Well, this Film Festival Tour is the premier showing of this new movie starring John Schneider. It is not a "Hollywood" producton though it is definitely a professional film. It contains the gambit of emotions as old friends return to the hometown for the funeral of a childhood friend. The character played by John Schneider sees Christians facing conflict and resolution in a manner that is faith assuring.

The name of the film is "Hidden Secrets" and it features a judgmental Christian among other Christians with secret sins that have nearly detroyed their lives. The story is how these Christians face those sins and find forgiveness from God and from each other. The "hypocrite" sees her error and the unbeliever comes a long way toward salvation (last line of movie, unclear). The gospel is presented fairly clearly but not in a harsh or overbearing way (except by the "shrew").

The movie is rated PG-13, mostly on "thematic" grounds. There is no violence, or profanity, and no sexual situations. However, specific sins are mentioned and dealt with. Therefore, a PG-13 is definitely appropriate. I would give this four stars out of five.

My wife believes. Help MY unbelief.

That is, I am probably "taking advantage" of this ministry. It is supposed to reach out to unbelievers, but I am not sure it is an effective tool. In the end, it is the preaching of the WORD OF GOD, pure and simple, that effectually leads God's remnant into fellowship with their Savior. I am afraid, as is my wife, that the heart-felt appeals at the end of these films work cross purpose with the message of the true Gospel. An emotional revivalism abounds: Jesus saves, BUT. Jesus saves, now IF... What about: "Sinners, repent. Jesus saves, are you saved?"

The point, I guess, is that Salvation is a GIFT. As such it is NOT CONTINGENT on our actions, not even our response to an "invitation." Two questions: "Do you believe Jesus saved you?" and "Does your life show that you are saved." Heart and Hands, it's what you believe AND how you live.

Christian Films on tour

The Christian Film Festival is back in Greenville. My wife being away, I decided to take in a film or two Friday night. After picking up a "hot and ready" pizza -- a medium, and I ate the whole thing! -- I was able to get in two films (both produced by Rich Christiano) . the first one was the latest, and the other was their first.

It would have been better to have seen Time Changer first since it was less finished product. I found myself comparing it to the latest production, Unidentified, which I had seen first.

Apart from technical considerations though, I think Time Changer was a more daring endeavour since it starred two well-known actors in supporting roles (Gavin MacCleod and Jennifer O'Neal). It dared to comment on the state of society today and even the "Churchianity" practiced in America and elsewhere. The hapless time travelling professor seemed a little naive in his approach to the changes that a century had brought. I am not sure if it could be attributed to the presumed "ivory tower" experience of a professor in the Victorian age, or just to idealism on the part of the film makers.

In Unidentified, the story-line is far more believable, though it deals with the unbelievable. The investigation of UFO's by a skeptic and a nominal Christian brings out two unacknowledged aspects of the UFO phenomenom: human greed in taking advantage of the gullible, and the spiritual deception behind the numerous, and truly "unexplained," sitings every year. This polished production did not have any "big names" that I recognized, but I am not into films very much.

I was actually in a Christian film over twenty-five years ago. I appeared in two scenes very briefly as different characters. The film was Sheffey, based on The Saint in the Wilderness, and produced by Unusual Films, a ministry of Bob Jones University. As a first year grad student I had the chance to grow a beard for the period film! This film, though, will not show up in a theater near you. I would highly recommend it for your home library.

Time + sound = music

Tonight at the quarterly meeting of the Creation Study Group of Greenville, SC, our guest lecturer was less than "inspiring." After a lifetime as a music teacher he has become a lecturer on Creation science. As an artist he makes scale models of Noah's Ark (but alas, no such visual aids tonight). The local group wanted him to speak on the principles behind music in nature. He taught us about the pipe organ.

Afterwards, some of the questions did get a little interesting (or should I say, the answers). It was interesting that he had way more freedom to speak his mind in Russian schools than he does in American ones. Hmmm .....

When I got home I was just "blurfing" and came upon a link to scientists putting the seismic sounds and vibrations of volcanoes to notated scores. The results are fascinating. They used software to convert the data to to music.

The originator of this project, Dominico Vicinaza, produced THIS when he "mixed" the score on a symphosizer. Mt Eatna never sounded so good!


The raw data from any activity can be "sonified" and even mixed to give us "music." However, as this random activity on an internet server illustrates, the purposeful activity of nature is "more than random"!

If this IS possible with a "cheap MIDI interpreter," then I want the software. I wonder what sunspot activity would sound like. Or even the orbits of the planets!?

Just call me "# 158M" for short

In a hospital in northern California, in the wee hours of the morning resident number "158,934,552" was born in the USA on January 10, 1953.

That one was a white boy (me!). This week that figure was almost doubled when resident number 300,000,000 was born probably somewhere in California as well. Or so some say. Chances are that child was a boy as well. But he probably was not white.

It is hard to believe that I since I was born the population has DOUBLED! The net rate now is about one person every 11 seconds. When I took my first breath it was around one every 12 seconds. Just one second, but that is an increase of 9% statistically.

Any guesses as to when the NEXT 100 million mark will be met? And what of the 10 Billionth living inhabitant on the earth? I predict that the earth will be home to 10 billion people in about 2030. That means that, if the predictions of Armageddon are meant to be literal figures, this will be reduced to about 4,444,888,900 (reduced by a third twice over). The series of 4's in that number sparked memories of a conspiracy theory regarding square roots and the dreaded "666" with regards to a store convenience card I carry. And sure enough, this projected population is EXACTLY the square of 66670! "Spooky," huh? [The square of 66666 is 4,444,355,556; and of 66600, it's 4,435,560,000.]

That is, of course, if the 2000 year mark from the Ascension to the Return of Christ holds true. And that, my friends, is something none of us can know for sure until it happens!

Seal of Approval

Actually, I was not sure what to call this blog, but it has to do with a site I found via "Bestest Blog" this evening. Above is one of a few seals I generated at "says-it.com." I am trying to decide what to use for my "ego de lego" campaign. This seal displays the Hebrew for "Lord" (Adonai) rather than the more correct "LORD" (YHWH).




This one says it fairly well, since the phrase "Ego de lego" means "I, though, say." I like the laurel, as a symbol of the crown of life. The lamp is His word.












And this is an excellent reminder of our mission: To reach the lost in this world with the message of the grace of God in Christ! I replaced the laurel with wheat, for ovious reasons.




Of course, the "says-it.com" site would love to custom design seals for individuals and companies, in order to make money with their programming. However, with their limited library on line there are "countless" combinations for excellent seals to upload to websites!

Let me know when you post YOUR seal. :-)

The Power of food

I have recently eaten "free food" which was designed to facilitate fellowship. Behind that fellowship, though, was the pushing of programs which require money!

On Friday we ate at a friend's house along with three other people and the host couple. Not as many folk were there as were hoped, but the purpose of the evening seems to have been fulfilled. My wife and I are making arrangments to be paricipants in the featured conference in November.

Tonight was the opposite, but with similar results. We attended a banquet with a sumptious buffet type meal that included salmon and brocoli (two of the "superfoods"). And then there was the iced tea (another "superfood"). With the crowd of perhaps four hundred had gathered upon the plain to hear Him preach. The enemy was on the run.

And so, we plan to give of our time for the CCEF conference, and ultimately we will give a total over 200 dollars in the next two years to the building program at the Wilds. Meanwhile, the money changers have taken over much of the courtyard. If we don not heed the Word of God, then the counsel of the world will snatch us into its diabolical masterplan.

How far do I have to walk to burn off those two meals? :-)

The Church of Sardis

We were treated today with to very sobering pictures of the church in the early twenty-first century. Dr. James McGoldrick is pulpit supply at Second Presbyterian Church (link opens sermon) in Greenville. He is professor of Church History at Greenville Presbyterian Seminary.

We heard of the church at Thyratira (the "Compromising Church") and the church at Sardis (the "Dead Church"). As bad as the theology at Thyratira was, the dead orthodoxy at Sardis was even worse! If my understanding of the churches is correct, then the long history of the Thyratiran church was played out in the around 1066 years between the last church counsel (AD 451) and the beginning of the Reformation (Oct. 31, 1517). With the Reformation attention turned to purity of doctrine. This presented the appearance of "life," but in reality of the breath of God was gone.

There is a danger among conservative, "traditionalist" churches like the one I am a member of to have all the right doctrine while the outreach beyond the historically significant walls is next to nil. We have to praye for Philadelphian fire that is seen in the evangelistic zeal that arose from the Westminster Confession (AD 1646) that spread the gospel to the ends of the earth in two short centuries. Unfortunately, as I see it, this flame burned out, giving way to the putrid Laodicean era (AD 1848 to AD 1914).

If I am right, we are in the endtimes, building up in a crescendo to a climax by mid century. If the cues in typology are correct, this "age" will be "as in the days of Noah" -- 120 years! We need individual congregations, and even denominations, to rekindle the Philadelphian spirit to survive the coming onslaught of the world. Even in the Sardinian and Laodicean churches, though, there were believers that had the life of God in them. It is those that breathe the air of heaven that will move the body on earth!

As in the days of Noah

The second millennial "day" since creation was probably the worst time in history in which to live. In those days the "remnant" of God's people had been reduced to ONE person, and perhaps his family. But even then, "Noah found GRACE." That is, God favored him over everyone else. God's grace is not dependent upon what men might be or even what they are "on the inside."

And now we seem to be in a repeat of those evil DAYS. We are in or near the seventh "day" in which we can expect the "rest" to come. Recent senseless masacres in the USA show us that man will still "evil continuouslly." A unreached populace will always tend toward violence.

Christ is much too pure to have an impure "body." We need to emulate Him, seeking daily for His guidance.

Giving Back

Boy, was I tired on that night! Friday the thirteenth indeed! Here is what I meant to type:

Taking a look at my paycheck stub I discovered what seems to be an "over payment" of at least a day in my "vacation" selection. It lists "88 hours" for the time used. I looks like I may returning the money I was overpaid.

One would think that in a day of computers, ... incoherent (see below).

And so, I will go to bed now. I cannot see straight, my head is hurting and the ol' neck is not looking forward to the night either. Incoherent rambling (see below).

The original post:

"Taking a look at my paycheck stub I discovered what seems to be an "over payment" of at least a day in my "vacation" selecton. It leasts "88 hours" for the time used. I looks like I may returning the money I was overpaid.


"One would think that in a day of computers, one could chose the right days SOMETIME. But Jesus did not want to heal everyone - only those that came faithfully, even the tune!


"And so, I will go to bed now. I cannot see straight, my head is hurnig and the ol' neck is not looking forward to the night either. Just remember, "antichrist" was a movement in the 20th century, until human interests changed things."

I am not sure where the idea of Jesus not wanting to heal came from, much less the "tune"! And then, we ALL remember the "antichrist movement," right? :-)

It may be that Jesus DIDN'T want to heal the faithless. But then, He was "marching to the beat of a different drummer," so to speak (though I don't think you can discern a "tune" with a drum, huh?) It is such musings, I suppose, that stirred up that old "antichrist" movement! :-)

Ego de lego - word of honor

Matthew 5:
33 ¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.


The application of Jesus' admonition is harder than it seems. In today's world, against rampant humanism, no one trusts another. One's oath must be backed by reams of paper. It costs a small fortune just to keep an heirloom in the family. All because we don't let our word stand alone. If a child of God says something, that should be it!

But alas, we are all "human," and as such we are prone to forget promises and even pledges that we have made. It helps to have things written down - and even signed - so that we will not forget it within minutes.

Now where DID I put that paperwork?

Confronting the "anti-christ"

I have just spent the evening scrolling the pages of "symbols" set down by Lawrence W. Page II, self-proclaimed reincarnation of the Teacher of Righteousness as revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Basing his rantings on number tricks with the number 11 and unproven assumptions of the origins of the tribes of Israel (especially the "tribe of Judah"), Page proceeds to interpret all of history through the lens of the Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran. He claims that Simon Magus lead a band of thugs under Roman rule to wipe out the Qumran community and steal their texts. From these texts the New Testament was supposedly fabricated to include arch villians Saul of Tarsus (Paul) and Simon Peter (the Rock). The character of Jesus was invented to replace the slain Teacher of Righteousness (aka "Jacob ['James'] the Just). The book of 'James' closely resembles the Rules of Community of Quram and supposedly is as close as any NT work comes to being the truth.

The man goes on for pages about the evil of "the Vatican," nowhere differentiating it from true Biblical Christianity. Jesus, to him, is a "fantasy god" based more on Babylonian myth than anything else. This man has the gaul to claim to be the true Messiah while challenging the very basis of all we believe to be true. At the same time, he pulls together the "best" of eastern religion and sets up the straw man of the failures of western civilization. The greatest threat to the world, to him, is Christianity.

I think I have wasted my time "worrying" about what he has written. He upholds "truth and righteousness," while saying that "faith" is for fools. And so, we are to "believe" him based on numerology and astrology? Hmmm.... :-(

The Axis of Evil

Well, it seems that things just keep edging toward Armegeddon. The world is not a very safe place these days. And I guess this is to be expected. Since the waining days of the twentieth century I have been "preaching" that we are most likely in the last generation in this world as we know it.

This is not an easy position for me to take, for I am an optimist at heart. I would much rather be a post-millenialist basting in the glow of the advance of the kingdom of God across the globe. But the events of the twentieth century do not point in that direction.

The scenario of a confrontation in the mideast that includes the ancient powers of Iran (Persia), Iraq (Babylon) and of the far east (200,000,000 men!) is easily forseen. China's "control" over North Korea will come to be a turning point in her return as a superpower. Together with her willing students, Bejing can easily make herself known.

You call THIS a holiday!

My first day back from vacation and it is a "bank holiday." It is the commemoration of Cristobal Colombo's first land fall in the Bahamas! Sailing on, and losing ships, "Columbus" eventually "discovered" Cuba, Central America, and a bit of the South American continent. Never once did he step foot on good ol' US of A!

The day was October 12, 1492. However, as "Columbus Day" began to lose favor, the "holiday" was moved to the Monday most likely to fall nearest to the day -- the second Monday of October. A long weekend for the bankers, but not many others. Since my work is so tied to the banks, I worked only a three hour day! So much for my "raise," huh.


However, all is not lost. For those that don't like Columbus, by a stroke of providenciality, today was actually Lief Erikson Day as well. How odd, but apparently the first organized immigration from Norway landed in NYC on Oct. 9, 1825!

I have some Nordic blood in me, I'm sure. So where is my present? :-)

And for our Hawaiian brothers - Happy Discoverer's Day. They got smart and realized that Columbus never even knew Hawaii existed. They honor Captain James Cook instead.

More Jett

Well, it's been a while, but I finally got the hardware and software needed to upload pictures from the cell phone. The pictures of the sunrise seen earlier were coutesy of this new technology.

So, now I can share a little of Jett as he grows up. The following four shots were from a recent visit. I particularly like the last shot. My wife should have been a photographer (at least part time)!

As with most babies, they are absolute angels -- when they are asleep!

The shirt upon which Jett is resting is mine.

The boy is getting a right bit active these days!

As I said, my wife ought to open a studio. I entitled this picture "picture perfect." It is hard to believe Jett is only five months old in this picture.

Well, that's it for today. But I am sure that Jett is a lot more exciting to watch than I am to be read.

He Tabernacled among us

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.


Well, the feast of tabernacles is upon us. As I have written before, I think this is the time of Jesus' birth. It is easier to determine the "date" using the lunar Hebrew calendar. If I decide to observe "Christmas" at the "true" date, the lunar calendar is a better way to go, since it will be "right" regardless of the year of Jesus' birth (I use 2 BC).

A note concerning yesterday's post: the "blazing" speed of the La Quinta Inn's Wi-Fi seemed so fast due to earlier attempts in the week with weak signals I was using in Albany. I am home now, close to my router from my DSL. The speed is 54 Mbps. Just what I AM used to! :-)

Atlantic Sunrise

Well, today turned out to be just a day of travel. We managed to turn a three hour trip into a five hour journey, however! Below is a sequence of the highlight of our day -- Sunrise at Daytona Beach beginning at 7:15 am.



















We traveled from Daytona to Savannah, getting lost when we missed our turn off the interstate! We ended our day, though, settled into a La Quinta Inn and eating at an adjacent Denny's.

The Wi Fi here is a blazing 54 Mbps! I could get used to this!

Well, I managed to take the computer with me, and I posted every day! Tomorrow we will visit historic Savannah and travel home in the afternoon. We hope to be home in time to wind down safely. I will be posting then from my usual perch in the dining room!

300 miles for Sam

Today we came 300 miles - from Albany, GA to Daytona Beach, FL, to visit my son Samuel at school. I know, "Going to school at Daytona Beach? Must be rough! "

Actually, he is studying areospace engineering at the premier school in that field - Embry-Riddle Areonautical University. We ate supper at a local Longhorn Steakhouse.

A little "side trip" delayed us for about an hour. We continued yesterday's theme of Home Sites. We went by Gainesville, FL, to do a "drive by" photo shoot of yet another place I have lived: the University of Florida. I was so young then that I don't remember any of it, so I just took a few pictures of some campus housing and moved on. An hour later we made our way out of greater Gainesville!

And soooo, Happy Birthday Samuel.

Old Home Day

Well, I travelled to all my south Georgia home sites today, making a circuit of about one hundred miles. I found the houses in Ft. Gaines, Dawson, and Leesburg. One of the houses had been either painted or had siding that changed it's color. But otherwise, it was a good trek.

Meanwhile, we took in Kolomoki Mounds, Providence Canyon, and Westville (an 1850 reconstruction in Lumpkin, GA). Unlike yesterday, my timing was just about as I had planned.

When we go back, my brother took us to supper. It was a good day.

From Plains to the Little Whitehouse

Well, for a boy from southwest Georgia, I have been gone too long! I had planned quite a long day of visiting the sites to include natural and national "wonders." By the time I went to bed last night I had pared it down to just two stops: The small towns that contained the "only homes" that two presidents ever owned.

I chose to first go to Plains, where Jimmy Carter was born and grew up. He moved back there after a stint in the Navy and even after being president. We figured maybe an hour "seeing the sites." Well, two things happened. First, we didn't get away until almost 11:00! Two hours after I had anticipated. Anyway, we got to Plains (a mere 38 miles away from Albany) around 1:00 pm. Our first stop was the boyhood farm. That alone took an hour with a self-directed walking tour. I got a few good pictures, but I haven't got them uploaded yet. And then we went into town to the old Plains High School which is now the "Welcome Center" and museum. Them folk are might proud of ol' Jimmy! Another self-directed tour of the surprizingly rich history of our 39th president and former governor proved to take a LOT longer that we expected. We left plains about 3:00 pm in the hopes of reaching the "Little White House" in Warm Springs in time to catch the last tour of the day.

We didn't make it. Well, if we had wanted to do a self-directed "whirlwind" tour in 20 minutes we could have got in for a little over half price. We browsed the bookstore, tempted to just buy a souvenir and say we were "there." We will be going back at a more convenient time. I visited the Little White House years ago, but my wife has never been there.

We took the "long way" home after eating near Columbus at just about the time I thought we would. We saw a beautiful sunset while scoping out tomorrow's adventures to the "west coast" of the Empire State of the South. We'll see quite a bit of the Chattahoochee River tomorrow.

Do Your Best and give God the Glory

Sometimes reality is reflected in fiction. This time, the very making of a movie illustrates the message of the movie. The theme could have been any number of things, but they chose football. Some might question the timing of bringing out a football movie on a small budget, as an indie, in the same season as two other football films. But, then again, those other two did not seek an overt Christian message.

Some have said that Facing the Giants lacked professionalism. But I saw none of that. They did not use cheap video cameras, but only ONE high quality professional camera (according to what I read on the site). I was in one film, which was big on professionalism, and this film was on par with it. The other film, produced by Bob Jones University, was a period film (Sheffey) about a circuit riding preacher. A small church production company succeeded in getting into theaters that would shun those of a large religious producton company.

I have also played football. And the action shots were tremendous in this film. The work of turning a football team aound can be daunting - look at Lou Holtz's dismal record with the losing team at the University of South Carolina! Even a coaching legend needs material to begin with, and this fictional UGA alumni (again MY alma mater, though I didn't play college ball) is seen as a sincere coach of a CHRISTIAN school.

That the team would be up against an obviously different division school is odd, but it certainly made for good drama, not to mention the TITLE. Well, I don't think a Christian school would call their team the "Giants," but then, this is fiction (not to mention a parable of sorts).

The comic relief was incredible with the assistant coaches! The family problems of Coach Taylor rang true, though I wish the actors could have produced more real tears (Mrs. Taylor did show tears ONCE). That car was just like some that I have had! It is a wonder, I suppose, that they could have afforded that house in the Albany market on $30,000 dollars a year. But then, they may have been more like Leesburg. :-)

The message of the gospel was clearly shown. And furthermore, the message of the Christian life was even more prevelent. Over all, Facing the Giants was an excellent movie and I recommend it to all Christians who feel they can in good conscience go to a secular theater.

And the PG rating? Well, kids might just ask about WHY they couldn't have a baby. Or maybe even HOW? Hmmm... :-)

But then, the ones who rated it explained that it WAS the religion. I think it probably SHOULD be watched with a parent because it has so much spiritual meat!

Festaval Time in a small town

I wish I had had a camera. There we were, "lost" in backroads Georgia, and we run right into a traffic jam with police and/or patrolmen everywhere. It was around 9:00 pm and things were apparently breaking up. Cars were parked along the sides of the main road (street) through town.

I wonder if they celebrate "New Years Day" three months early? Hmmm...

The town was Roberta, GA. The crowds were mostly African-American as far as we could tell. Everything was orderly (except for the litter - against the plea of the city limit sign "Keep Roberta Clean"). But we didn't stop.

We'll never forget Roberta, Georgia! :-)