Joy to the World

Hey guys!  Sorry about recent lack of Advent posts- I’ve been quite busy and was out of town last weekend.

Anyways, this has been an interesting Advent season for me.  I started out wanting to make sure and share the heart of Advent and Christmas with you all, and it turns out that I’ve needed to be reminded of the Joy of Christmas myself.

When we are young, the Christmas season is a time of unexplainable excitement and wonder. December takes about a year and a half to pass by,  everyone you meet seems full of the Christmas spirit, you could pass a whole day just talking about what might be under the Christmas tree, and every time you hear the Christmas  story or look at a manger scene, you get the feeling that you were old friends with Mary and Joseph and played an important part in that story.  And in the blessing of that season, you are fully aware of the fact that God loves you.

So what happened?

Just when and where and how did we lose that childhood view of Christmas [or the world for that matter]? Why are we just a little more reserved in our excitement? Why are our hopes a just a little less wild? Where did the childhood wonder and joy go? Am I the only one who feels like my heart is two sizes too small once in a while? What’s the deal?

 Some people call it growing up, some people call it real life, some call it experience, the way things are, a dose of reality, or site any number of other reasons for things “just not being the same”.

God calls it a fallen world.

You and I and every other human being on this planet are born into and grow up in a world that is full of sin, and heartache, and hopelessness, and strife, and tears, and lies, and pain. Childhood innocence is quickly replaced by grown-up “reality”. At some point we have all had our bodies, our trusts, and our hearts broken. It is a part of life in a broken place. Our mistake though is not realizing that there is evil and hurt in the world, but that as we mentally adjust to the people, places, and circumstances around us, we sometimes re-think our perspective of God [or His perspective of us]. 

It’s the “What-does-God-think-about-when-He-thinks-about-me?”question. If this life isn’t exactly what we’d hoped and thought it to be, is God maybe not everything we hoped and thought Him to be? Satan wants to put a little wedge of doubt in our hearts about God’s heart toward us; and he tries to get us to look at God in light of our fallen world- instead of looking at our fallen world in light of God. Satan has used the tactic of calling God’s heart into question ever since the garden of Eden. 

Part of what led Charles Darwin to look for a worldview that left out God, was his idea that all the pain and suffering in the world proved that God wasn’t loving. Charles Darwin was a man- and no stranger to heartache. His mistake was using his pain and sorrow as his lens when he looked at God, not letting the Comforter be the lens with which he viewed his world.

So how can we really know God’s heart toward us? 

I’ve heard it said that a lot of the time our perception of God’s heart toward us is subconsciously based on our own heart toward ourselves. If we are having a good day and pleased to see that we are doing the right thing, then it’s easy to believe that God loves us. If, however, we are struggling on a given day and falling short and feel worn down etc., then it’s a lot harder to believe that God loves us. 

Thankfully though, God’s heart doesn’t change. Our moods, minds, hearts, and circumstances change, but God is constant- the one being who will never let us down, never be in a bad mood, never be too busy for us, and never stop loving us.

I love to remember God’s message to us on the birthday of His Son:

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel of the Lord said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’ So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.”

What incredible and healing words for a broken world to hear. If we can get past the Bible-eese of these verses that we sped through as kids, we will find a treasury of blessing in the major statements of God’s heart toward us on that night in Bethlehem. 

God sent his message not to the priests- not to the king- not to somebody the son of somebody the son of somebody- but to some shepherds out in a field. I don’t guess these guys were on the Pharisee’s top 10 best Jews list either- they were regular guys. They were broken, they were disenchanted with themselves and with the world, and they desperately needed a Savior. 

God loves us enough to be that Savior. 

He didn’t resign Himself to have to put on His boots and help us [again], His whole world plan ever since man was first broken, was making ready the coming of our Redeemer.  

Jesus. Emmanuel. God with us. 

In case you’ve forgotten, in case you never heard, in case you just need to be blessed by the realization once again, allow me to remind you [and me] that God desperately, madly, wonderfully,  fully, securely, strongly, foreverly, unchangingly, unstoppably, unexplainably, undeservedly, completely, and amazingly,

Loves us.

That’s why He came. That’s why He still comes. That’s why He gave and still gives. And that’s why we have 

Christmas.

Thanksgiving, 20, and on to Advent

Hey everybody! Good to be back on the bloggy screen again! I must apologize for my inconsistency with posts, but I have been quite busy in several areas this fall. The last time I posted was in October at when I was going to Illinois for the SAT. [Which went very well by the way; God blessed and our candidate, as well as many other GenJ candidates won! :) It was an altogether pretty encouraging election as far as I'm concerned. As we continued into November, I don't know about the rest of you but we had one of the prettiest Falls I've ever seen. It's been very beautiful and long-lasting around here. You all may know this already, but November-February is one of my all-time favorite parts of the year. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is the holiday we celebrated last Thursday called Thanksgiving. In a day and age where our country as a whole has all but forgotten God's blessing and amazing Providence in and on our nation, it was a privilege to take some time last week with a group of our extended family to gather and focus on the true story of the Pilgrims in the 1600s who's example we follow today with our national  Thanksgiving.

Has anyone ever read George Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation? It's very inspiring and boldly claims the fact that we are a Christian nation. The writings of William Bradford and Mr. [John?] Carver do the same. In the attempt to "secularize" our country today, humanists have launched an all-out assault on our country's yesterdays. If they can write books that neutralize and leave God out of His own story, than the next generation of Americans will grow up at best very befuddled about what really happened. The revisions of history that happen today are complete nonsense of course, but if there's no one who knows the true story, than how will we expose the nonsense for what it really is? Anyways, that's why I love reading the writings of the great men and women of God who's lives make up the glorious fabric of God's work in

America's history.

After Thanksgiving, I had the honor of taking my sisters and cousins out to do some Black Friday shopping with some friends and our N.Y. Uncle and Aunt. Very fun :) The next day [Saturday] was a special day to me as it was my 20th birthday! :) So I had a real good time, and was blessed by the support of my family and friends. Thanks guys!

But with all that other fun stuff last week, yesterday marked the start of a time of year that is incredibly special to me and our family. It's the time during the last days of November, and the first 3 or so weeks of December, that we look forward to, prepare for, and remember the coming of our Savior who was born a little over 2,000 years ago as the final piece of God's plan of redemption that had spanned the whole of world history after the Garden of Eden. It's a time when we re-open and re-look at and rejoice in the glorious, wonderful gift of the first Christmas. It is hard for me to put into words the joy and excitement of this season that has been called 

Advent.

Last year around this time, I did some posts related to this season of Advent, and it is my desire to do the same sort of thing this year. With God's blessing we will all be blessed as we look once again at His plan and sacrifice and heart toward us- His creation that has rejected and sinned against Him, but who He loved enough to come down from Heaven to walk this earth as one of us- though fully God at the same time. It's the story of Christmas.

 

Student Action Teams

Hey guys! How's the fall? I hope everyone's enjoying it so far and doing well.

I'm going to make this a short post, as I have some packing to take care of. As some of you may remember, I'm involved with a group called Generation Joshua that's part of HSLDA. GenJ is a Christian youth civics organization that trains young people in worldview, campaigning, government, politics, etc. Each election cycle, they send out Student Action Teams [or SATs] This year they have SATs all around the country and they've asked me to help lead the one in Chicago area. [Originally I was supposed to go to New Mexico, but at the last minute plans changed]. Anyways, I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow morning and meet the rest of the team at O'Hare airport. I would appreciate it if you all would keep these SATs in your prayers [as well as the elections in general] I pray that God would use His people to elect Godly candidates to lead our nation. Please also pray for safety as we travel and walk around talking to people, and stay in host homes. I will probably be in charge of a group of kids that will go around and campaign, sign wave, phone bank, etc. I'd also love prayer for my work with the kids and for the kids themselves during this week. I should get back on the 3rd of November, and if I'm not dead maybe I'll post a recap of our time :) [I mean dead tired......don't get all excited yet...I hope to live a good long time more ;) In other news, I finally got my laptop that I bought a few weeks ago.... :D it's pretty great! I'm thankful to have it, and now I have to pay case money [fiddlesticks] oh well, I found a case at Wal-mart that I think will be good. In even other news, please pray for "The Child" documentary. We hope to have it wrapped up and ready to be sent to the replicator by tonight!! I've been over at the office several nights this past week working on behind the scenes, but Grace and Daniel and Elissa have been pretty full time for a long time now. Please pray for everyone involved and the impact that God wants this movie to have. Incidentally, we are in the midst of scheduling showings all around the country [hopefully 5 in every congressional district I think!] The point is, we hope to have one near you! If you want to find out where it is, go to parentalrights.org and look to see if they have the showing list up yet. If there's not one near you, how about hosting you own showing? [Pretty fancy to tell people, "yeah me and my family like to premiere movies every now and then.. we know some filmmakers and they always give us the inside scoop" ;-) [or something like that] Well hey, I'd better go pack so I hope everyone's doing well, and to see some of you guys soon somehow! Ciao.

The Newest "Child" Trailer

Hey Everyone! Here's the link to our most recent "The Child" trailer: "The Child"  It's really cool and it shows alot more of the interviews that we did on our trip.

Also, last night I got to work the Parental Rights.org booth at the Peanut Festival. I had the late shift [8-10:30pm], but I still got some great responses from people...it was cool ;) We also have a TV that loops our main two trailers for the documentary...[so you have something to watch if no one comes by ;) But yeah, I think that every person I talked to [except maybe one person] had a favorable reaction to the PRA. So we'll keep praying and spreading the word. Also, as I've said before, feel free to stop by ParentalRights.org to find out more! Okay, well I've gotta run, so you all have a great day!

Happy Fall!

Hey Bloggers and Blogesses!

This is me, the long-lost blogger boy who has been doing alot, but not posting it on his blog. I hope you all will still look over here and not just give me up as a cob-webby corner on the internet ;)

Well to start off, what does everybody think of the Fall so far? Personally, I consider the Fall through the holidays to be my absolute favorite time of year. I told someone today that Fall and Winter weather seems to have a dignity and depth of character that is different from the rest of the year. Even tonight I heard we're supposed to get down in the 40s! I love it. So last time I posted, I was in the middle of the filmmaking trip for "The Child" and somewhere on the road. Alot of things have happened since then on many different fronts and "The Child" is in the process of full-bore post-production. The target premiere date is November 20th and there is still a ton to do. [All of your prayers would be greatly appreciated]. Director Grace T. is doing the brunt of that right now, and she recently put together a new trailer that was shown at the National Homeschool conference a couple weeks ago. I don't have the link right now, but I'll try to grab it and post it on here soon. [It's cool ;)

Changing subjects a little, who's excited about election season?! I know I am. I think it's really cool to see what I believe is a wave of "involvement" spreading across the nation. Some big things have gone down in the past couple of years, and alot of people have been shaken awake to the fact that we cannot just put the well-being of our country in the hands of "the other guy". The kind of government that our founders started is not one whose people can be flippant and apathetic about their role if they desire to keep it. Now this "wave" could be an excellent thing, but it could also just be a flash that quickly fizzles out. The key factor will be whether or not our hearts are turned to the Lord. "Conservatism" is well and good [usually], but that's not the real answer. I pray that God will turn the hearts and minds of our people back to Him. That would make for an amazing election season :)

Well hey, I've gotta run here, but I do plan to try and post alot more, so keep your eyes out. Good evening everyone!


p.s. Please pray for a campaign event that our Generation Joshua club is hosting tomorrow. From what I know about the candidate he seems real good, and if it's God's will, he could replace a pretty not-so-good guy. Thanks!

Quick Travel Update

Hey guys! This me from Tennessee. [Cheesy I know, but it does the job] So anyways, as you know I'm on the filming tour for 'The Child' documentary and we are about half way through. Thanks for your prayers, and please keep them up! God is really blessing us, but of course Satan doesn't like that. I'm glad I'm on the right side :) I know I haven't really done anything on here since I left, but I am one of the trip bloggers for the film crew. If you go to www.thechilddocumentary.wordpress.com, you can see some on-the-road pictures and hear a few of our thoughts. If you are a Facebooker, you can find us under "watchmen cinema" I believe. I hope everyone is doing well, and having a blessed August. Thanks again for your prayers!

So long for now!

"Hi! I'm From Whirlwind Tours....."

"Hey there! I'm your friendly local Whirlwind Tours representative. We are here to assist you in all your traveling plans and preparations. Shoot, we'll take care of everything for you while you just try to keep up with our pace. So strap yourself in [keeping all arms and legs inside the vehicle] and get ready for adventure!"

Okay, so much for the tour guide bit, but it does feel good to be writing an update about my after iGovern life :) The fact is, is that I am getting ready to leave tomorrow morning on a 3-week tour around the eastern half of the nation to do the principle shooting for "The Child". [The movie that the Tate family is producing]. Earlier this week,we were in D.C. for a few days getting to do some really cool interviews with some high-profile people [Mike Farris, Wendy Wright, Heritage Foundation, congressmen, etc.] =) That went great, but not without its fair share of adventure [sideswipings in D.C. traffic, technical difficulties, over-chlorinated pools etc.] However, the Lord blessed it and we had a great time. Now comes the long haul. Ms. Gina is the travel coordinator, Mr. Larry is the producer, Grace is the director and Daniel Tate, Justin Wright, Alaina Wright, a new friend Ray Ma, and myself are the crew [with embroidered Polo's to prove it ;) We are excited as well as wondering what it will all be like. All of your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we are on this journey and I hope to be able to update this blog a good bit while I'm on the road. It looks like I might be the bloggy guy for the production, so I will post links or whatever as I figure all that out. We also have a Facebook page, but I am not completely up on that as of yet. Well hey, I have packing to do, so I'd better run, but I hope you are all doing well, and look out to hear from me soon! Hi-yo Silver.........

I'm at iGovern

Hey everyone! Really busy, but I want to tell you that I'm having a great time, and we went to D.C. today, and heard part of the Elaina Keagen hearings. Great fun! Capture the flag is tonight, way too many things to tell right now, made alot of friends! Miss you all!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Hello all my friends and relations! I have missed you all profoundly, and I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. There are reasons though, and good ones. It all started back at the beginning of this year, right before I got elected as the president of our GenJ club. I was giving a campaign speech at the Tate's house and afterward we were talking about the Parental Rights Amendment, and how the word really needed to get out to the citizens of our nation who haven't heard about it, or haven't heard enough to care. The Tates had been thinking it would be very cool to make a documentary about the whole issue and the implications and consequences it could have on our culture. Another family that was there [the Kruses for all you Daughters of Destiny-ers], also really liked the idea and in fact, the dad had some background in news/media stuff. Anyways, it was all very interesting to talk about, but still, and idea. We did, however, pray about it as a group before we all left, and were still interested in the idea. Fast forward to the last couple of months. The Tates had done some research on the movie idea, and in fact, felt like they were supposed to pursue it. [As did the rest of us]. With that in mind, Grace contacted the heads of Parental Rights.Org, and asked them if she and Mr. Larry could come up and have a meeting with them to ask them some questions about the history and story of the Parental Rights Amendment. They did have that meeting, and the result was that the PRO guys were extremely excited about the whole documentary idea. They said they'd actually been wishing someone would get that thought and make one. On top of that, they agreed to let our production be official affiliated with Parental Rights.Org! And that they'd help us make contacts with cases of people who they'd worked with for interview bits! It was very exciting and marked the place that it looked like some kind of movie was going to be made. Okay, so research and other pre-production started, and then Grace, Elissa, and Mr. Larry went up to Patrick Henry College a few weeks ago to see a seminar by filmmaker George Escobar [a film executive who was called to start his own independent film company a few years ago called "Advent Film Group". One of their projects was "Come What May". This seminar was a great opportunity, and I waited expectantly to hear the pearls of filmmaking wisdom that would be brought back ;) In an amazing God-event, the Tates came back telling me that not only was the seminar great, but that George Escobar had offered us the use of his professional filmmaking equipment!!! It was truly an amazing [and slightly unbelievable] turn of events. Nevertheless, last Tuesday found me and Daniel T., Steven T., Grace T., and Elissa K., going up to Purcellville, VA to meet with an Advent intern to pick up and train on the equipment! It was a 10 hour round trip, but it was an amazing time. We didn't really know what they were going to give us, but we figured maybe a camera and a couple of accessories. It turns out that they were giving us a ton more than that. We were amazed as Miss Intern showed us a stack of flight cases containing a great camera, lighting fixtures, mics, audio, and the list just went on! In all, it was like a text book setup. We were so excited as we put it in the car and I drove back home with Steven and Elissa. This week is the start of shooting for a teaser trailer that is scheduled to be done soon. Very, Very, cool. Please pray, and I'll send you all to our film website once we get it up and running =) Another cool development in my personal life, was that I've been working on my application for the GenJ Leadership Corps. When we went to Purcellville, I had finally gotten it ready, and was able to deliver it to the head GenJ office. [very handy ;) I didn't expect to hear back too soon because the website said they'd get back in no less than 10 days. To my surprise, I got a call the next afternoon saying that I had been accepted and would I be available to be a counselor at the iGovern camp at Patrick Henry at the end of the month. This was one of the big reasons I wanted to get my application in quickly, so I was very blessed to see the Lord work in that way. With both of these subjects it has been very cool to see God confirm and propel these desires that I had been feeling were from Him, but had not really been given a clear go-ahead on. Needless to say, it was a great reminder of the fact that the plan that God has for me and my life is the absolute A #1 best way it could ever go. Sometimes I [and maybe you too] get afraid and worried when we don't see how our hopes and dreams will [or even could] play into the "hum-drum" of our immediate circumstances. I know that I don't really want to set my jaw and plunge down my own path of life, but it can be very disconcerting in our limited mindset to just do the next thing the Lord places in front of us and not calculate the probabilities or percentages of how everything could, or might, or should work out. I believe that God wants us to hope and imagine and dream, and the answer to this question is not to just nip our hopes in the bud and bury our dreams in the sand of impossibilities, but to ask the Lord for the hope and faith to trust that the plan is incredible and the desires that He gives us will not just be washed down the drain. Also, God has been reminding me that His plan will never leave me with regrets or feeling like I missed out on something better. His plan was custom made for me before time began. It is the most fulfilling, most moving, most inspiring story that could ever work out in my life. Pretty hopeful ;) So anyways, this is why I've been [and will be] busy, but I will endeavor to keep you all up to date on your post shots and I hope you've all enjoyed this one :)

Trader Joe's/ The Landing at Isle De Foray

Hey everyone! It feels good to do another post here. Sorry about the lack thereof, but I've been on my toes thereof. There are alot of things going on right now, and I am torn between several internet accounts, etc. when I sit down to the computer. [I know, I know, no excuse for neglecting my blog, but still.] So anyways, I though I'd do a lighter post than my last one, [though I enjoyed the conversation], so I think I will tell you about some humorous/adventurous things I have done by myself and with the entourage during the past few days. Okay, starting with last night, I will relate to you all the tale of my shopping trip to Trader Joe's. Some of you may know that I am a guitar player. Some of you may also know that I have recently been blessed to be able to start lessons again with my former teacher. [For those of you who don't know that, now you do]. So yesterday afternoon found me setting out from our house in the middle of a rain storm to drive the hour to Va Beach where my lesson is. Dad had arranged for me to borrow my grandma's car since I have yet to get mine back from a friend who's been working on it. I got to my lesson [and had a very good time with that] and then I was thirsty. As I was driving away, I suddenly had a bright idea. I was coming to a shopping center that had the only Trader Joe's for miles around. That store is not such a hot topic for me, but Grandma June loves it. [I also noticed that the same shopping center had a Sonic and that Sonic was sure to have cherry limeades!] With those two good ideas, I pulled in and went to Trader Joe's first. So here enters the funny [to me] part (:=3 [that's a chef] Anyways, I walked in the store and the first thing that hit me was, "Man, what am I going to get for Grandma June that is not outrageously priced here?" Then, because I was still thirsty, I got distracted by some really good looking drinks in glass bottles. Now I knew that this store has a pretty good selection of 'drinks that I would never drink'. So even though I was pretty sure these drinks were not alcoholic, I still didn't want to be looking all interested in the display and come to find out that it wasn't something I wanted. So I kind of pretended to be really interested in what was behind the display, until I could look at the bottle out of the corner of my eye and ascertain that it was safe, and then pick it up for closer inspection ;) After that ordeal, I decided not to get it, and then I started to notice that that store really seemed to be the young, uppity, beachy, high-tech, trendy, place to be. Really kind of shwi-shwi if you know what I mean. I started to feel slightly out of place as I roamed the isles of the store but I tried not to come of as a hick that had only been to this place once before. [though I had only been once before ;) [but hopefully not as a hick] So I was still searching for something when I saw The Samples. I love samples almost as much as free lunch. Now if you are a refined sample sampler, then you will know the tricks of the trade. By these I mean your approach. You don't want to appear over-eager or they will feel like you're trying to bum a free snack. My approach was to take the "food critic" persona. I politely asked if I could try one and then acted like I frequently tasted chicken whatever-whatever. I nodded my head to show that I was moderately pleased, but not to raise their hopes of selling me one too high. [That really works when you want them to quit bugging you about buying one]. Satisfied, I moved on to continue with my search. Finally, it hit me: Grandma June loves to get green olives from that store. The only problem was that I couldn't find olives. I tend to be a sign shopper, and I didn't see any sign that said "olives". Not even "canned pickled things". I felt pretty silly about asking a worker for one little jar of olives, but push came to shove and I did. He showed me where they were, and I went through the check-out with one item. I kind of felt beachy, like, "yeah, I only get one item from any given store. My pugs can't wait in the Prius to long so I like to make alot of short stops. Olives here, yogurt cups here, bottled water for the pugs here, etc., etc." ;) After I left the store and got back to the car, it was nice to be out of ritzy land. My escapade ended with a happy ending- a large cherry limeade. [In all fairness Trader Joe's is a perfectly good store with some cool stuff. I just had fun playing it up in my head. The girls or Matthew weren't there so I had to come up with my own adventure :)

Now let me tell you about last Sunday. If you've read Rachel and Sarah's blog, you will know about the hike at the park. What you may not know is that Matthew and I went back the very next day. It happened like this: Matthew and I were sitting around on Sunday afternoon after some family worship time and no fun Sunday afternoon stuff to do. Now ever since Saturday, I had been formulating a plan to get my boat from the Solomon's campsite and go on a water exploration at the park. That was simmering in the back of my ideas and it suddenly jumped up. After a conference with Matthew and our respective parents, he and I headed out to see what we could do. We knew beforehand that I probably had only one oar [Which doesn't taste very nice preciouss]. Nevertheless, we left with hopes that God would bring us an oar one way or the other. [Or we'd just get my boat and come home]. We got the boat and strapped it on top of the truck. Next, we stopped to get some lunch at Pizza Hut in Suffolk. We completely baffled the waitress with our order but in the end had a great time. Our oar hopes weren't so high, but we ventured into Wal-mart to see what they had. We found a 5-foot canoe paddle for only $12.79 or something. That led us to hope that we could treat my john-boat like a large canoe and just use 1 oar each. We uneventfully got to the lake and launched the boat successfully. It's really amazing how a clunky boat can suddenly become so graceful and smooth once you put it on the water. Thankfully, it had no fresh leaks [though every john-boat has slight ones] so after praying we set out keeping to the edge of the lake and feeling like Frodo and Sam. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful out there. There were nooks and coves of water and rocky bluffs all around the edges. I could have spent hours and hours out there and never gotten tired of it. We came up to one of these coves that looked particularly inviting and we rowed up to the bank and tied on to a tree. Then we set foot on our newly-discovered island for the very first time. [Okay, it wasn't really an island, but we got to it by water, so that counts for something]. We knew right off the bat that this island needed a name. I suggested "Isle De Foray" [hence the post title] and we kind of left it like that. We got into a pretty good rhythm with the rowing. I gave the main power and Matthew the skipper steered from the back ;) We safely got back from our maiden voyage. and left with fervent vows to return soon. Hopefully with the girls. All in all, it was great fun and thanks for letting me tell you all about it. Oh, would anyone like to see a play we did on Mother's day called "Don Coolio's Package"? Let me know. See you all soon!

A Darwinistic Antithesis to God's Sovriegnity and Providence Over Life and Death

Taken From the Virginian Pilot Editorials on Wednesday, April 28th, 20210

Abortion Option

"With outrage I just read the following in The Pilot:'Gov. Bob McDonnell's effort to restrict government funds from being from being used for abortions.... was sustained by state lawmakers.' My husband and I tutor elementary school children who struggle with reading. My student happens to be one of eight born to an alcoholic mother and suffers from alcohol syndrome. It breaks my heart to look at his physical and mental disfigurement. Shouldn't this woman have been able to obtain an abortion? What are the prospects for this child, and what is /will the state and our illustrious male legislator do for him?"

[I am not disclosing the author's name at this point]

Dear friends and readers, is it really necessary for me to say anything? However, taking the risk of officiousness, I will lay out a few of the many errors that struck me as I read this sad peek into the worldview of a fellow American. Now, I understand that this mindset is common enough, and is a "natural" response of sinful man. Knowing those things though, only spurs me on to push the point farther. Okay, to start here, let me list some of the big errors in this argument coming from this twisted worldview:

1. This viewpoint shows a basic contempt for the sanctity and holiness of life.

2. It rejects the sovereignty of God's Providence that let this child be born into this world [i.e."Shouldn't this mother have been able to obtain an abortion?"].

3. It suggests that a person's worth or value [maybe even right to live] comes from their "potential", or achievements, or physical or mental capabilities. [Instead of a "certain inalienable right" that was directly given by the Jesus Christ to this child.

4. In the repeated cuts on Bob McDonnell and "our illustrious male legislators", the author shows an adherence to feminism and a very socialistic view of government that would elevate the state to the level of Almighty God and would "give" the state the power to determine who should live and who should die. Also, the author basically takes the lawmakers to task for letting a "incompetent drain on society" ever come to life in their state. [Further implying a trust in the State as high priest of this sought-after "utopia".]

So there you have it, an example of the thinking that a nation without the Lord will quickly slide into. This lady was basically saying,"It breaks my heart that this mother let this disgusting child ever be born". She wishes her student was dead! I seem to recall Jesus saying something about the thought of murder being as wrong as the real thing. Once a culture heads down the slippery slope of pride that would allow them to be deceived into thinking that they should be the ones who determine who has the right to live, where will they stop? I shudder to think of who would be next on the "compassionate hit list". Maybe the sick and elderly, maybe "anti-social and reclusive families who refuse to entrust their children to the state". You know, this mindset is not at all new. Hitler would love this article. The truth is, God is the only one who has legitimate authority to decide who lives, and who dies, and when. It it wrong and despicable to attempt to take over His role. I pray that God will turn our nation's heart back to Himself, and that our culture will realize that abortion is murder and murder has always been the easy way out. It's just that in the past, murder is not what Americans have aspired to for their nation.

Big Moment

Hey guyses! I [sniff], I just want to [sniff], I just want to let you all know that this [sniff], is a very emotional time for me because I just got my first ever blog award. I just need to stop a minute and take this all in.

:) But seriously folks, this is cool. And very gracious of Ms. Ozee the younger [the benefactor]. In essence, my Lady Catherine De Bourgh. [yeah, yeah, I watched it with my sisters. And actually, I enjoyed it pretty well.] So anyways, here it is for your admiration. I have to think for awhile about who I'll award it to. See you all later!

Catch-up

Hey guys! How's it going? Sorry about not posting for quite some time, but we've been quite busy. Work has started to pick up, and on top of that, we've been working on the Walker's mobile home project. I've had some great ideas for posts [and I'm not discarding them], but I just haven't had the opportunity of time+energy to write them out. So, here's a question I've been wondering about: Would any of you followers be interested to see any video blog posts on here? [You know, instead of a written post, a video of me talking.] I love writing posts and I'm going to keep doing that, but I didn't know if it might be a fun variation. Let me know. Hey, another thing is that Matthew and I have had time for some pretty great volleyball practice! We've been working on the "bump, set, spike" routine with just the two of us. We had alot of fun. On the other hand, I have been feeling really old! My knees have been killing me for the past week or two. [I think it's the sliding to a stop and twisting around from volleyball. I have evidence too because my shoes that I just bought in Feb. have holes worn through the soles ;) So, I guess you all heard that this past weekend we hosted a percussion ensemble party for my Uncle David's students. That was really cool. I'd met several of them on different occasions, so it wasn't real awkward or anything. This one guy is a guitar player, so we had some fun with that :) We also played speed volleyball and that was pretty hilarious. See, alot of them kind of came with the "ODU Norfolk kid" attitude. Not anything mean, but just a "cool kid" thing. When we got into speed vb though, these guys went crazy! Some were real good, but at least as many were chasing the ball all over the field and yelling and waving their arms etc., etc. [We did some of that too ;) There was this one guy who was on a team with one of our friends who would stand there and say, "oh yeah! I'm feelin' it!" We wondered what exactly he was feeling because it wasn't really the ball. ;) [Please note that I'm not trying to pick on these guys, because I do the same kind of stuff, and it's just really funny!] So that was a great time, and that's my recap of it! Well hey, it's been fun blogging here, but I've got to run, so hope everyone has a great day!

Music Tag

Hey everybody! To Miss Butler: Very sorry about the length of time it's taken to get this tag done! Please accept our deepest apologies and condolences. Also, please accept this video as the answer to the problem. Matthew and I made this thing [along with Sarah the techie girl], and we had alot of fun. [At least I did, you'll have to ask him if he did ;) So anyways, here it is for the blogging world to see. Also, let me set down a few pre-requisites: this is our first music video, and as such, you may notice a few "bobbles". [such as the tape squeal toward the end]. We could say that's artistic license, but that would be dishonest. One last thing, bear in mind that I am no Mac Powell, and my voice was kind of worn out after all the takes we did. [Though Rachel says that should make me sound just like him ;) Now, on the other hand, I certainly don't mean to demean our fine music video- in fact, we are pretty pleased. It was definitely fun, and we would love to do some more! [Also, be on the lookout for another one from the Daniel Matthew's Band featuring the talents of renowned rhythm guitarist Katie Wilson...........




So, what'd you all think? Please leave comments!! See you all later.

P.S. Mr. Oldest of Many is co-poster on this here post.

Wow! Just...Wow!

Hello to Everyone out there! I know I haven't posted for awhile-I was leaving that last post up there to catch some more comments. Commenting has been kinda slow! Do I hear an echo? Now I'm sounding like Matthew! ;) I thought I'd let you all know two very exciting things that I am about to step into: First off, I am under contract to make a film for Malaprop Studios. They are a rising film company run by a few families. They have asked me to direct, and co-star in a film based in World War Two. But I can't tell you many details, because I am under strict silence. Check out their webpage here. This is really exciting for me. They contacted me after seeing the PRA commercial I worked on, and really loved the technical filming, and also my acting.
The second exciting thing, is that I have found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with! My sister Rachel describes her this way: 'She has soulful brown eyes, and sleek black hair. She is very thin, weighing only 60 pounds. Her family ancestry is Germanic.'
I can't tell you how much I love her. I found her hanging around the V.B. animal shelter, and she is such a tenderhearted thing. But she has arthritis in her hip, even though she is only 7 years old. For several years we have officially "adopted" her, but now I think it's time to move onto something more serious.

APRIL FOOLS!!! This is Rachel hijacking Daniel's blog, and by the way, the woman I speak of is none other than our dog, Licorice who is part German Shephard and Black Lab. Oh. And the movie thing is fake too. But the link does really work! :)

So the Healthcare Bill passed. Now What?

Hey guys, this is an email that I sent out to our Generation Joshua club regarding this recent healthcare bill. I hope you all enjoy it, and please consider signing Cuccinelli's petition online.
Thanks for reading, and I'll post again soon!



From the office of the President:

Hey everyone, how's it going? If you have been following the recent developments related to the health care bill, you know that the House of Representatives voted to pass this highly controversial bill last Sunday, March 21st. You know, right about now is when we can become very discouraged as conservative Christians in the United States of America. We've protested, we've written letters to newspapers and civic leaders, we've prayed for this bill not to pass, some of us have been full-out front line fighters on this issue, and yet, the votes were cast, and the results were in favor of the health care bill. Was all our prayer and work and energy for nothing? Is this just one more example of how useless it is to resist because the Federal government will do and get away with whatever it wants despite what many of us believe is unconstitutional legislation? Is it one more reason to avoid speaking out or being involved in the politics of our nation? Is this one more nail in the coffin of the voice of Truth and Justice? Have we simply wasted our breath? Well ladies and gentleman, I'm here to say that by no means is any of this true. I firmly believe that this is the Lord's nation no matter what our people or leaders may say or do to the contrary. There is still a remnant [and not a small one either] of true Americans who acknowledge the rightful authority of the King of Kings. If we tuck our tails and go home because of a parliamentary defeat, then that means that our hope and confidence was not where it should have been. Now don't get me wrong; I'm not saying, "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal, worse stuff has happened, just chill out". No, that's not at all what I'm saying. What I am saying though, is that as Christians, our Hope, our confidence, and our initiative, should come from the fact that no matter what setbacks or "defeats" we may experience as ambassadors for Christ, we are on the side that ultimately wins. The Lord's sovereign plan is in no way changed by the vote of a congress, and we can have peace in that fact. In His word, Jesus tells us, "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." [John 16:33] You see, we are the salt and the light to a world without peace. A world without hope. We all know there is trouble in this world, we experience it every day. The difference is, we have a Lord who cares and who has completely overcome this world and all of its troubles. Jesus Christ has overcome the world, not Obama, not Nancy Pelosi, not the TEA Party, not the PRA, not any anti-healthcare bill, and most certainly not this health care bill. This should leave us with a huge amount of hope and passion to not settle for this in our nation, which is the Lord's nation. It should spur us on in our efforts to proclaim the crown rights of Jesus in our country. That's one of the reasons I'm writing this email. If you haven't heard yet, our recently-elected attorney general Mr. Ken Cuccinelli, has, with about 10 or so other AGs from around the nation, decided to contest the legality of this move by the federal government. This is a huge undertaking, and there are those who would tell Mr. Cuccinelli that he's just wasting his time, he'll never win, etc., etc. Thankfully though, our attorney general is taking the line of John Quincey Adams who said, "Duty is ours, results are God's". If the people of this nation listened the nay-sayers every time we had a tough decision to make, I doubt that this nation would have ever come into existence. We must boldly execute what duties have been entrusted to us, and not step into the snares of probabilities and percentages. Okay, so here's where we come in: Mr. Cuccinelli can't do this alone, and he shouldn't have to. We need to do what we can to help stand up for our rights and the rights of our state. So how do we do that? Well to start with, you can go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stopthemandate/ and sign Ken's petition that deals with this whole subject. Also, please email your friends and family and ask them to consider signing this petition also. Please pray for our leaders and ask the Lord to give them His heart and wisdom as they make decisions in and for our nation. All of us here at TACT GenJ, would love to hear from any of you all in relation to this subject, in relation to starting you own GenJ club, in relation to doing a GenJ presentation at your church or school, or if you just want to say hey that's fine too! Well hey, thank you so much for taking the time to read this message, and for your continued support and effort for Christ in your communities and this nation as a whole!
May God bless you all, and may God bless America!

Sincerely,

Daniel W. Heffington, TACT President
--
http://www.tidewatersactiveconservativeteens.blogspot.com/
Faith. Duty. Courage.
http://www.generationjoshua.org/

A Story

Good evening everybody, how's it going? Whew, I don't know about the rest of you, but things are pretty busy, full, action-packed, speedy, etc., etc., in a "hang-on-let-me-grab-my-thesaurus" kind of way. In light of all this, I decided to do what some might call an "irritatingly irrelevant and superfluous kind of post". Not that I mean it to be boring or lacking in enjoyablility, but that it's a story about something that happened to me [and one of my sisters] a few weeks ago. So it's nothing earth-shattering, or incredibly fresh, or new, or cutting-edge. Though, it was quite interesting, even suspenseful, dare I say, downright dangerous. I think we did however, manage to live through it. I'm pretty sure. So without further ado, here's my story:

"It was another rainy day at the Heffingtons' house. After spending the morning doing various chores, jobs, tasks, etc., Daniel felt that it was time for some lunch. His parents were out, his other siblings had eaten, and there didn't seem to be any of that left. He didn't mind this though. You see, he remembered that a certain Burger King that had been closed down for the better part of a year or even longer, had recently re-opened. As you may know, when this particular character is deciding what to eat, he is always on the look-out for some sort of meat. So, putting two and two together, [along with some money from his wallet], he set out to eat his lunch at said restaurant. As he was leaving though, his dear sister Leah begged and begged him to let her accompany him. [And though we would never mention it to her dear reader, I do believe she may have had a hope that her philanthropic brother would take pity on a young girl and by her a drink]. Whether or not these suspicions were validated matters little because that's just what he did. After he had finished his wonderful lunch of a Whopper Junior combo with small fries and a drink, and she had finished her drink and some of his small fries, they set off in the Subaru to go home to the rest of their brothers and sisters. As they got in the car and started toward the first stop light, Leah found an abandoned lock-blade pocket knife on the floor of her brother's car. Knowing him to be the suspicious character he was, she whipped out the knife and grinned at him in an unsettling and gloating way. [Okay, okay, maybe it was more like she slowly opened the knife out of pure curiosity. Writer's license and all that stuff.] One way or the other, the knife was opened as they began their drive. Seeing the open knife, and being the conscientious, safe, and aware driver that he was, Daniel calmly and serenely said, "Close that knife! If we were in an accident or something you'd fly forward and that knife would get me right here!" He accompanied this last statement with a violent gesture to somewhere in the region of his neck. Leah quickly saw the truth to that statement and just as quickly realized she didn't know about how to close this particular lock-blade knife. Seeing they were at a stoplight and feeling as he did about open knives being brandished around while he was driving, Daniel took the knife from her and closed it himself. It was a good thing too, because little did either of them know just how prophetic Daniel's dire prediction would turn out to be. As they neared the edge of town, they came to the spot that Daniel likes. He likes this spot because it says 55 instead of 35. As the car accelerated to cruising speed Daniel and Leah kept up a friendly chatter. [Though some say she kept glancing furtively at the knife] [But Daniel and Leah were there and neither of them will agree with that last statement so that means it's false.] Anyways, they continued home with light hearts, neither of them suspecting what was to come. Here's how it happened: At a certain spot in the road, Daniel and Leah were driving in the slow lane as their right turn was 1/2 mile ahead. Along this piece of road there is a severe ditch some 4 or 5 feet deep on the road side. This is partly because the road is built up higher than the surrounding lands though, so the ditch is much shallower on the yard side of the ditch. [Meaning people's yards.] So, as it happened, right at this particular point in the road a purple 18-wheeler decided it would scare the living daylights out of some young travelers and merge into their lane when they were right behind it's cab door. It may have been much less devious, in fact Daniel and Leah suppose they must have been in the truck's blind spot, but either way, it did start to come rather decidedly into their lane. Both Daniel and Leah noticed this movement as it was forcing them off the road. Daniel had to move the right wheel of the car onto the shoulder of the ditch because the truck kept on coming. Daniel was of course blowing his horn the whole time, but to no avail. Suddenly it happened. The truck had caused them to move so much to the right that there was no more shoulder to move on to. They were going into the 5 foot deep ditch!! Suddenly and miraculously though, there was at that certain spot, a narrow driveway crossing the bridging the ditch for about 8 or 10 feet. Somehow, [Daniel says it was no stunt driving skills on his part], the car was able to move onto the driveway in it's leap from the road. This saved them from crashing into a 5 foot ditch on the passenger side [Leah's side]. What did happen however, was that the car hit the driveway and flew into the air. During the mini-flight, the car crossed the ditch line and landed in the yard. They were still traveling quite fast for yard driving though, [they were after all flying off of a highway. Though Daniel had been braking the whole time with skid tracks to prove it] and so they ended up plowing into the ditch on the shallower yard side with Daniel's side of the car. The other point [or more like two points] of this driveway crossing however, was the fact that a mailbox and newspaper box were blocking the car's path. As they flew across the driveway they flew through those two items, breaking them into pieces. After they had landed in the ditch, it was quiet for a tiny while. [They had been yelling during the incident. At least Daniel had. But he maintains that all he said was "Whoa!" and we believe him.] After getting over the initial shock, Daniel and Leah said to each other at the same time, "Are you alright!?". They assured each other they were [thankfully] and climbed out of Leah's door as the car was at a slant with Daniel's door pinned against the ditch bank. Some kind passer-by called a deputy and he arrived quickly at the scene. As did the ambulance, fire truck, etc. After being assured that Leah and Daniel were okay, and checking the car for damage and leaks, the ambulance and fire truck left. The deputy called a tow truck and took report from Daniel and Leah. [The author would like to note here that Leah conducted herself very maturely and bravely during the whole episode. There was no crying, whimpering or anything of that nature. The only time we had a hint of her nervousness was when the deputy was pulling up and she stammered, "Am- am I going to have to testify?"] To the amazement of our heroes, the car was completely unscathed. All that needed to be done was for the tow-truck to hook a cable up and pull the car out of the ditch! The kind officer found no reason to charge Daniel with anything "unsavory", and only left them with the order to see that the mailboxes were repaired. A very thankful Daniel and Leah then got back in the car and drove to the tow-truck shop to pay for the tow. Their parents met them there and after having assured their mother that they were both okay, our two companions drove uneventfully back to their house. But I've heard that to this day [a few weeks later] Daniel still has an unusual suspicion of 18-wheelers."

So that's my story. It really was amazing how God provided that driveway at the exact spot that we left the road. We were very blessed and thankful that it wasn't any worse of a turn-out than it was. So there you have it, another example of the adventures I have with my sisters. [Maybe I shouldn't do something as dangerous and wild as going to Burger King next time :)

P.S. For anyone who was wondering, I did fix both boxes the next day. And they look pretty good. [If I do say so myself ;)

Late Tag

'Ello to the various and sundries! Oim getting to be an old bird and Oi don't 'ave toim to be settin' down with moi alpha beta grammar book........ Here you are- a man wiv a wooden leg and you can read. And here I am wivout a wooden leg, and I can't read! Hey guys, that was just a few lines that have been rattling around in my head from a movie called "Our Mutual Friend". Some anonymous persons let us borry it a while ago on the terms that I wouldn't let it become as scraped about as some of my other c.d.s [heh-heh] Never fear though! We've kept it safe! So anyways, back to the real point of this post. First off, as promised I will reveal the identity of Mr. "X" after all those very-pleased-to-get comments. Dun-dun-duhhh. It......was......ME!! What I don't get though, is how so many of you seemed to guess that!? ;) ;p Okay, here are the answers to the belated tag of Miss Ozee and Mr. Walker. Book or stories [I think that's what it was] that I'd like to live in:

1. The Scarlet Pimpernel

2. The Pickwick Papers [I think]

3. The Mitford Series

4. Jotham's Journey

5. The Hardy Boys Series [Hey, I know I'm gettin' up there, but it still would be cool :)

6. LOTR

7. Narnia Books

8. Glory, Duty, and the Gold Dome

[I have a few more because I've been tagged at least twice]

9. James Herriot's Books

10. With Wolfe In Canada [G.A. Henty]

11. Kidnapped! [R.L. Stevenson]

12. Sargent York

13. Roy Rogers [Or any good wholesome western where I was sure to not get killed]

14. Treasure Island

15. [Hey, this may make everyone shake their heads in a "how juvenile" fashion, but...] Adventures in Odyssey [the ones full of espionage and intrigue :)

16. I am very grateful/interested/surprised/sometimes scared/thankful/hopeful/expectant/excited/alot of other things, to be in the story that the Lord has written for me.

So there you have it. As far as other tags go, I tag anyone who has not been tagged with this that wants to. [I don't think I know 8 followers who haven't yet:) Alrighty, thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a great night!

Okay, Here's a Real Movie.... sort of:

Okay everyone, as some of you all noticed, I tried a little video test yesterday seemed kind of confusing and troubling. However, the test showed me that it's pretty easy to post movies on Blogger. That's why I'm giving you folks one of the first opportunities to see an interview we captured while in NY. Soooooo, here goes nothing :)

Well, there you have it. In case you missed it in the credits, I said that if you leave comments I might reveal the identity of this Mr. "X" guy. [Nobody pays attention to those privacy releases anymore anyways.] 

Okay, I'll tell you the really fast behind the scenes story on this interview. It was one of those late night things that was completely improv, and no rehearsal [obviously]. But  hey, I thought you all might enjoy a laugh today! Thanks for watching and see you guys later!!

Here's a test

Hey, this is just a test video that I'm putting on here to see how posting movies goes. [I've never done it, but if it works, look out for more].

Hey!

Hey everybody! How's it going? I just wanted to do a quick little post here before I loaded up for work. Well, I'm back from my Northern [Yankee-loving according to some] expedition! We had an absolutely wonderful time doing all of the various and sundry things that we did, but you know, what made the whole time so fun was that we got to do it with our Aunt and Uncle. And for those who were concerned, I must submit to you that I am a Yankee-lover. I would actually be disappointed if I didn't love my Northern relatives. That would make a trip..... awkward. Oh, by the way, the stories you may have heard about our skiing adventures were all true. [Even the one about Rachel and the ski-lift bar]. If you've never been, I highly recommend both kinds of skiing, cross-country for beauty and the "hiking" experience, and downhill for the excitement and exhilaration. [Also for boosting self-image when you realize that you can land a jump!] [Though you may start right back where you were when you realize that it was about the size of a wheelbarrow ;) Well hey, I must apologize for several of us to Ms. Butler for the lateness of our tag results. It's not at all that we don't care, in fact we've been practicing and everything. It's just getting us all together when we aren't needed for other things. Very excited though. Also, I heard rumor that I'd been tagged by one of the Narnian Highnesses, but I never really saw it. [If I have, maybe the tagger could leave a comment telling me where to look:) So listen, I've been thinking over some more ideas for posts, and I hope to put them up here for your readability soon. Well hey, it's been great checking in, hope you all are doing well, and I will be back soon! Th-th-that's all for now folks!

A Solemn Farewell

Hey everyone! The packing is done, the people are getting ready to leave, and our trip is about to start. Ahhh. Parting is such sweet sorrow. The North is calling us and we go. [Cheesey I know]. Well hey, we are going to miss seeing all of you that we normally see on Sun., but we will try to stay connected from NY. If you watch the Olympics, I love the snowboard half-pipe! [Probably because I'd kill myself if I ever tried it :) But anyway, farewell and have a wonderful week!! Oh, we'll miss you bloggers too by the way.

11:54 PM

Hey guys! It's me, I have broken the silence of the cobb-webby corridors of this blog. Once again, my sincerest apologies for the lack of postings. I do declare that it is my greatest intention and desire to post so much more frequently. And I do have several post ideas stirring in my mind. Yes, the music tag from Ms. Butler is underway. I have been privileged to have had at least two impromptu rehearsals with the various artists that will be recording with me, and we're working on it. [Still trying to work on the release of our latest album and finish lining up all the tour dates.] Seriously though, if this pulls off well, I will consider doing "concert video" posts every now and then. [If it is desirable] By the way, I use brackets instead of parentheses because I prefer [this], to (this). My reasoning goes two ways. One is that it seems to lend a certain definitiveness and maturity to the type, and the second reason is that you don't have to press shift to get the brackets. [I did not randomly decide to mention that, I was asked why on Abigail's blog] So, most of you all who follow this blog, follow the esteemed "Our Family View From Us Two", and "Step By Step He'll Lead Me" blogs. For that reason, I will not go over the wonderful time we had with Matthew's surprise party and skits in their full detail. Suffice it to say that it was decidedly great. I don't know if this part got mentioned or not, one of the other major highlights was that we had a really nice time of playing and singing all of our favorite songs with Uncle David doing an excellent job with his drum set. [No surprises there:) Okay, you may have heard that we are to set off on a northern expedition on Friday. It is true and I am looking forward to it with much excitement! I absolutely love airports. They make me feel very important and rich :) I even get a little thrill from getting pulled out of the line for a surprise security check and coming off clear. [That's probably a good thing, because I get pulled at almost every opportunity. I must look suspicious or something. Anyway, if I had a security phobia, I would almost certainly not enjoy airports like I do. Ok, one last thing before I go. After leaving Matthew's party on Fri. night, I drove home with my sisters and Daniel Tate. It was the worst driving conditions I'd ever been in. It was a nor'-easter and we were leaving the ocean front. Thankfully we made it home safe and sound [though I might have taken a few years off of DT's life:) and were able to tell everyone about the great time we'd had. The unfortunate thing was that when we got out of the car in the rain-storm, my cell phone fell onto the ground and spent the night in the wetness. When I found him in the morning, I put him into a bag full of rice for 24 hours and then tried him out again. He responded but has no control over the left side of his keypad. All that to say, I have a new phone on the way that should be here by tomorrow or something. Thankfully Dad had thought it a good idea to buy insurance for my phone when we got it. [I'm not that huge of a liability though, I have a mostly good track record:) So, for $50 I can be back in business. The replacement is not the same because my phone had some life on it, but according to them, it's a better phone. [Better for what is my question!] But hey, I'm sure it'll do fine. Alright, I'd better head off to my upstairs. Thanks for reading and see you all later!

Batten Down the 'Atches!!

Hey guys! I just sat down to do a quick little post to proclaim my excitement and enthusiasm about the 6"-12" of snow forcast for our area!! [For those of you who may not know me as well as others might, I have always loved [and hopefully always will love] a good dumping of snow. We never get much of any snow to speak of, and now we may be in for the biggest storm since 1989!!!!! Please forgive me if this snow-joy is a little too childish or undignified, but I can't do much to help it. Now if I can just find a good sledding hill......
So anyway, that news has sent us into a day of gathering supplies, starting up generators, and generally getting ready for a winter wonderland. By the way, if any of you need snow removal, dad is getting the word out that we'll bring our Kubota over [for those of you who live in Tidewater, and own preferably large shopping centers], and clean up the place. That's another kind of ex$$itement :) So yeah, I hope we get alot, and that we have a good time with it! Alright, I hope the rest of you guys might get a bit of winter weather as well [except for the farm-owners- I hope it falls all around your house and yard, but leaves a nice clear area around the animals and barns:) Ok, see you all later, and have a great day!

Did You Miss Me?

Hey all of you poor, neglected, readers. How's it going? :) I must say I am very sorry for not having a post for a long time. What with everything else going on, I have been busy going to inaugurations, setting up GenJ officers meetings, practicing guitar, etc. [I know, those are just excuses to you hard-core bloggers]. But hey, I am here, and I have a post. Please understand, this post is more of a conglomeration and catch-up type, but I hope to get some better ones going here soon. Wow, I have been pretty busy recently. As you know from my last post, I am the new president of our Generation Joshua club. I have been doing my best to wrap my head around what that means/ solidifying my personal vision for what that means and what kind of leader I want to be. Like I said before, one of my first "official actions" was setting up a meeting with the other club officers to discuss strategy, vision, and goals for our club for this new year. We had that on Tues. night. [By the way, I can't take all the credit for that, the Tates had the original good idea of an officers meeting :)Last week however, I had the privilege of going with our club to see the inauguration of Gov. Bob McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, and A.G. Ken Cucinnelli! The Tates drove us up to Richmond where I got to experience my first [of hopefully many] inaugurations. I always enjoy the adventure of walking around big important cities where important decisions are made for the governing of our state, country, etc. It gives me a very "National Treasure" feeling. [Don't repeat that to anybody ;) But yes, I do love the parking, the walking tremendous distances through crowds being directed by soldiers, police, etc., successfully getting through security [though believe me, I've had my unsuccessful times], finding the best spot to jam in to see the platform, and all of that kind of stuff. So, all that to say, it was a great time, and I was personally able to talk to Ken Cuccinelli as he unloaded his family from the Suburban and walked into the Capitol :) !!!! :) [He liked my "Don't Tread on Me" sticker ;) One last thing about the inauguration, as we waited for the parade to start afterward, a 13 news reporter came up and interviewed Grace Tate and me. Our interviews were actually shown on the news 2 days in a row [or so I'm told]. If you want to take a look at them click here. Okay, enough of that, let me tell you about a great book I just finished. It's called "Glory, Duty, and the Gold Dome". It's written by Vision Forum's Nathaniel Darnell [the guy who started their video dept.], and it's about a father/son team in Georgia's sate capitol. The dad's a state representative and the 14-year-old son is his legislative aid. [It's fiction, but a great example of Biblical world-view, generational politics]. Thanks to Morgan Wilson who let Rachel borrow the book and to Rachel who let me get my mitts on it :) [One note though, it could probably have a better cover for such a good book]. Okay, I've kinda got to run, so let me bid you all a good night and farewell, with a solemn vow to try to be more regular with the posts Ms. KT. [hey, the music after church last Sun. was great. We really need to get together again. What did you mean by "do this" or something like that Katie?]. Alrighty, Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all later!

A General Catching-up on My New Year, Why I Haven't Posted Since Last Year, and the Tale and Results of My First Political Race

Hello to one and all! Ahh, it feels good to have the keys clicking under my typing fingers again. From my activity [or lack of it] on Blogger, you all my have assumed that my inheritance finally came and I've been enjoying a week or two in Bermuda since Christmas. Well, the truth is that this has been one of my busier week-after-Christmases. Starting right before Christmas, I was led to run for president of our Generation Joshua club. That sent me into a busy time of preparing a platform and speech, working with my campaign manager [Mr. Daniel Tate is a great one for any of you aspiring candidates:) to set up a website, and doing a photo shoot at the courthouse. I have really wanted to post for a long time, but it never seemed to fit in. I have been really using my computer "skills" alot though, with setting up a gmail account [it was big for me anyway] and editing this campaign website. Okay, mebbe you want to heer reesultz? Yes? Well, our club elections were on Tuesday night, and the Lord allowed the vote to go in my favor. All that to say, I am now the new president of TACT Generation Joshua club. Please pray that I would be a good leader and have strong vision for this new year as we seek to impact our community and spread a Biblical world-view for the areas of politics and government. By the way, thanks to all of you who got wind of this election and prayed for me and our club. Hey! I almost forgot to tell all of you HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I will not sing "Auld lang whatever" for you all because I have previously expressed my feelings for that little ditty. I also want to thank all of my followers who have joined this blog in the past year and have found it worthwhile to stick with it! I'd better get going now, so I will bid you all good day. I look forward to many more posts in a much more regular fashion than the past weeks' postings. See you all later!