The New Year Crew

Happy New Year....

From Dad

New Year Prospective

I heard these sobering lyrics in a Bluegrass song::
Prospective
"The last suit you wear won’t need no pockets,
When that handful of dirt goes back into the earth
What you’ll be worth, only heaven knows".

We've all heard the statement, "Heaven only knows.....
what will he write next, etc." My writings "never leave home"
Without Jesus and His Kingdom on my mind".

As we glance back at 07, only the things we did serving Him
matter. If our deeds were selfish, they will burn up along
with our earthly possessions.
Planning ahead for 08, will we add to our eternal net worth?
If so only Heaven will know. Time is our most valuable possession.
We should use it wisely..like investing in Heavenly things.
"Only Heaven knows" if our heart is right with God and our
motive for doing things.

1st Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Our only chance is to send it on ahead:
Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

I'm looking forward to hopefully encouraging you, and serving Him in 08

Pretty Cool...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - For nearly seven years Melina Salazar did her best to put on a smile and tend to the every need of her most loyal and cantankerous customer.
She made sure his food was as hot as he wanted, even if it meant he burned his mouth. And she smiled through his demands and curses. The 89-year-old Walter "Buck" Swords obviously appreciated it, leaving the waitress $50,000 and a 2000 Buick when he died.

Rest Of Story...

Christmas with Nana...

How 'bout that...

The game we were at the other day --is gonna be on the cover of Sports Illustrated....

From Sports Illustrated
In the euphoric aftermath following Carroll (Mont.) College's 17-9 win over the University of Sioux Falls last Saturday in the NAIA football championship, AP photographer John Russell snapped a photo of Carroll junior linebacker Brandon Day celebrating on mud-caked Jim Carroll Stadium in Savannah, Tenn. That image appears on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated as part of our PICTURES OF THE YEAR issue.

Day, 21, tells SI.com's Richard Deitsch what it means to be a Carroll football player and what he was feeling when Russell took his photograph. Russell also gives us the story behind the picture from his perspective. . .

The big word we use around here is brotherhood. I know it's kind of cliché and lots of teams use that stuff but it's real here. We play for each other and we believe in the tradition that our coach (Mike Van Diest) has developed. I was born in Boise but my family moved to Helena when I was 8. Helena is a quintessential Montana town. You can see the mountains everywhere and be at three different lakes in 15 minutes. I started playing organized football here in the fourth grade and played linebacker and tight end at Helena High. There are about 1,400 students here at Carroll and I share an a house about a mile from campus with wide receiver Travis Browne, free safety Tyler Pasha, and wide receiver Stevie Sloan.
Read More

From Dad...

Testing Positive

“I wasn’t juiced! I’m innocent!” I was the oldest pitcher in the Dixie Youth league at 64. I was “Poppy the Pitcher” on the coach-pitch team. I was out there pitching, running, jumping and screaming. It wasn’t drugs. I was high on “Grandson enthusiasm”.

Grand-children have a way of making us do things not normal for our age. I found Margie sitting on the living room floor “going like a truck”. She got “cranked” by a Grandson’s request.

People used to say, “I’d have to see it to believe it”. That doesn’t work anymore. If a “big” leaguer hits a home run, we don’t know if it’s really him or if he’s been “juiced” and turned loose. I’m sure you’ve heard about the drug scandal in baseball.

By the way, this is really me you see. I’ve been working out. That’s not Lance speeding by on the bicycle at daybreak. It’s just me high on exercise with a tailwind.

I use self-discipline to make my body do things. I used to exercise trying to get Lil Abner shoulders. Now I tell myself, “Do it or die!” I’m trying to survive!

I’ll admit to being a user. I use God. Now they’re trying to “outlaw” Him But I’m already hooked! I’m trying to get into the Hebrews “hall of fame”.

I’m not a loser, I’m a user. Better yet, God uses me and fills me with good stuff. I’m mainlining. When He tests me, I hope I test positive.

Merry Christmas

Not big on country music---But this is one great song....

Christmas

Evil Eye

Mud Bowl...NAIA championship...

Mistakes---and I have made tons...

“Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come.”

The Scholar Returns . . .

Ray--'Nuff Said...

One of my favorite Christmas songs...