Quick Update

Our house continues to move along. Other than a little painting, putting up some lighting and yardwork, the outside is pretty well done. We are now looking at late August. It is coming up quick. They have put down our wood flooring downstairs this week. We will continue to wait anxiously.

I will be starting my schooling a week from Monday for work. That will be the beginning of 2 years of school. There will be many late nights studying, but it will all be worth it in the end. The last class had a 54% failure rate. That makes me a little nervous, but we will see how it goes.

The Net will be starting launch team meetings in September. It has been amazing to see how everything is coming along with that. It seems like there are new people coming on board weekly. It will be great to see what God does in this area.

Not too much going on right now, so I thought I would give a quick update.

Update from last blog...

You may want to read the last blog first. This will make more sense then. I made a phone call earlier this evening and got to talk to Harold, the gentleman that I helped with his truck a couple of weeks ago. I have great news. He sounded great and was excited about a new job that he starts Tuesday. When he told me this, I got goose bumps taller than the mountains here. If you help people out, God will reward you with a happy heart.

Share Your Blessings!

Many of you have probably heard of Josh Hamilton by now. If you haven't, you should. His story is amazing. I have attached a link to an article he wrote himself. Check it out at http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2926447 . This is an amazing story that shows how big our God really is. I had to get up and go to work early the day after the home run derby was on TV, but I got so into his story that I couldn't stop watching. He didn't win the Home Run Derby, but he gave Yankee Stadium one of her greatest moments. His story had an impact that will far surpass any homerun hit there. Remember to say a prayer for him and others like him who are struggling. If we are honest, that would be all of us in one way or another.
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my role as a Christian. God has really been working on my compassion for others. I recently blogged about a gentlemen that I helped on the side of the road one day (Picnic in the rain...). I have not been able to get him off of my mind. He wrote me a note that I keep on my visor, so I can see it everyday. I was driving home one day, after having a rough day at work, and looked up at it. I was reminded how blessed I have been and how needy others are. I have tried to call on a few occasions, and I hope to meet up with him again, to see how he is doing.
One thing that I really want when we get into our new house is a four wheeler. I have talked about it for a while, but this brought up a conversation between Kristina and me. What if I save up the money to buy one, and God places a family in my life that is having a rough time? Would I be willing to help them rather than buy something I have been saving for? I know it sounds kind of silly, but replace that four wheeler with something in your life. I have been blessed, and I don't think we need to live in shacks to be Christians, but I do believe that I need to rethink how I became successful, and what I am going to do with those blessings. I really believe that God has placed me in Chattanooga to be a part of The Net Church for a reason. He has recently started a work on my heart that I hope will continue to grow in a way to show His love to others. I can tell you this for a fact. You don't have to buy someone a new house or a car to show them Christ's love. All I did was help someone on the side of the road. In today's society, people are suprised by kindness. That saddens me, knowing that we live in a country so full of Christians. The last note that I would like to share about this story is how I have been impacted. I thought I had stopped to help someone on the side of the road, but in reality, I was the one being helped. Like my wise wife said, "It's funny how you can think you are helping someone else, but in reality God has put them in your life to help you."
Next time you are having a bad day, just stop and think about the things you have been blessed with. If you are honest with yourself, you should probably be praising God rather then complaining. Keep your eyes open for opportunities that God is giving you to share his love.

No More Hippy!

Time has come for Luke to get his first haircut. We have put it off as long as possible, but my little hippy was due. Believe it or not, this is the same kid in both pictures. Once we started having other kids refer to our youngest son as "her," we knew it was time.

Our drywall is now up in our new house. It is starting to come along quickly now. Hopefully, we won't have to sit on the floor too long, since we sold most of our furniture before moved. There may be some nights sitting on a blanket in front of the fireplace. Of course, it's too hot for a fire, but we can use our imaginations.

Nothing else is really going on right now.

Busy Weekend!

This has been a busy weekend. We started out on Friday night going to check on our house. The stone work on the outside is now done. They will be starting drywall on Monday. Things are going smoothly so far with it. We picked out our sink and faucet for the kitchen yesterday morning. After that, we went back out to the house, because we have some friends in town that are building 3 houses down from us. After checking out the houses, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the Children's Museum. Don't let the name fool you. There were no old kids on display. There were three stories of fun and exhaustion though. We spent time playing with water, digging dinosaur bones (pictured), seeing Clifford the big red dog, blowing bubbles, and several other things. After that we spent the evening hanging out in the apartment and letting all the kids play together. Today, (I am ashamed to say) we finally went to church. We have been out here about a month, so we figured it was time to stop making excuses and go. It was great to get back to church, and it made me even more anxious for The Net to get up and going. It is still scheduled to start in January. Today is truely going to be our day of rest. I am sitting on the couch and watching some baseball. That is our exciting weekend. More to come later.

Nearly a home!

This week has been a huge step toward completing our home. We spent Thursday picking out some of the final details of the house. We have decided on antique white counters with a beige counter top. After that, we picked out the tiles for our bathrooms and laundry room. It was a lot of fun picking everything out. Now I can't wait to see it all together. We also finished our decision about the stone for the front and fire place. Our builder also decided to put a stone mantle on the fire place for us. He has been amazing to work with. We are now narrowing down colors for the walls, and then we will just have to pick out our hardwood floors and lights for the house. It will be just over a month until we can move in. I can't wait.


The fourth was incredible. We went down to the river in downtown Chattanooga where they had an orchestra and an amazing fireworks display. The boys were in a trance during the show. I think this is definitely going to be a family tradition to go there every year. I am going to be starting my schooling for work soon. I don't look forward to being in school again, but I am ready to get it over with. That is about all that is going on here.

Picnic in the rain...

Here is the beginnings of the Net. Saturday we decided to get everyone together that was in the Chattanooga area. Not everyone was able to make it, but those of us who did had a great time. We started out at a beautiful park on the TN River. That was quickly interrupted by a huge storm that came out of no where, so we did the only logical thing to do when you are soaking wet and cold. We went to Clumpie's Ice Cream parlor. We spent about an hour and a half visiting before heading to a carousel that is over a hundred years old. It was awesome to see the people that are going to be a part of this incredible experience.

Now for a serious note. Today, on my way home from work, I stopped to help a gentleman who had run out of gas. He drove an old work truck and needed a ride to get gas. In the process of helping him out, our conversation turned toward the bad day he was having. He has been a truck driver for over 14 years, but was let go today, because gas prices are hurting business. He had not even told him wife yet. This grown man broke down into tears and was obviously unsure of what his future held. I was able to help him pay for gas and gave him a little money to help him out. When compared to what he was facing, what I did was nothing more than a drop in the bucket, but the appreciation that I received from him was so worth it. On the way home, I must admit that I broke down in tears. My heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest. This was an incredible man with an incredible personality, who was placed in a tough situation. I am writing this for 2 reasons. First, to tell you that the feeling of helping someone who is really in need is worth every bit of effort. Second, to ask you to pray for this man. His name is Harold, and he is going through a very tough time. He never asked for help, and actually tried to talk me out of helping him, because he knew that I also had kids at home.

That wraps up this blog. I'm off for now.