Vacation!

I took this entire week off so that I could work on some projects around the house:

1. Repair/rejuvinate outdoor table (Still not done with this.)
2. Replace outlets in Mollie's room (Done)
3. Build two book shelves for Mollie's room (Half-way done)
4. Put casing around windows in Mollie's room (Not started)
5. Repair doors of vanity in downstair's bathroom (Half-way done)

Without a garage, I've had to clean-up/put away every afternoon this week because of thunderstorms.

Also, on Tuesday, I spent 2 hours helping Jeremiah cut our neighbor's back yard in order to earn money for camp. Then, on Wednesday, I spent a couple hours cooking lunch for several Duke Energy & Bellsouth workers who have been working in our neighborhood. Again, that was to help Jeremiah earn money for camp.

Stephenie leaves tomorrow to take the younger children to grandma's house while we go to camp next week.

What a vacation...

My Take on the Oil Supply

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Genesis 1:28

There is much talk on the price of oil and the President Bush's proposal to increase oil drilling and exploration here in the United States.

While I agree that we should encourage the development of alternative sources of energy, I completely understand that those alternative sources of energy are not going to available to "general masses" of people for a long time to come.

I also understand that the typical consumer is having a difficult time "making ends meet" with the current state of oil prices.

I further understand that there is no quick fix.

However, I disagree with Congress' on their reluctance to allow further exploration of and drilling for oil in the United States.

God has richly blessed the United States with abundant natural resources. He has given us these resources not to simply "sit on" but He has given them to us to use. God has made us stewards of these resources. He commanded us to "subdue" the earth. That's a pretty strong word. Now, before anyone accuses me of simply wanting to "exploit" our resources at the expense of the "environment," please read on. (No, I am not an environmentalist that enjoys hugging each tree that I walk by.)

I believe that we can use the natural resources that God has given us in a responsible manner without destroying the environment. (No, I do not believe in Global Warming and yes, I would much rather save a baby from an abortion than I would a whale from slaughtering block.)

However, again, there is no quick fix. Even if Congress followed President Bush's ideas and allowed further drilling for oil, we wouldn't see any of that oil for quite some time. I read an article today that said it would be 3 years before we saw any additional oil. We must also increase our refining capabilities. Gasoline doesn't come out of the ground. It has to be refined from the raw material - oil.

That is one reason why it doesn't make too much sense for OPEC to pump more oil. Example: If the current refining capabilites is to be able to produce 100 gallons of usable gasoline a day, it doesn't matter how much oil is pumped. The refining capabilities need to be increased as well.

I've not used my blog in the was before but these thoughts have been swirling around in my mind for several days and they needed to be let out.

Dad in Vietnam!

I've been scanning my dad's old 35mm slides. This is one of my favorites thus far. It was taken of him while he was in Vietnam.

Iowa in Spring!

Busy!

Since we got back from my parent's 50th anniversary, we have been extrememly busy without a lot of time to breathe!

The day after we returned, Stephenie had our annual "Mother/Daughter Banquet." She had everything "planned" before we left but they had to put it all together the day of the banquet. They had a great time.

The following week I drove the bus so that our Academy students could go on a field trip to Dan Nicholas Park. (That event was key to what has put me behind up to this point. I have yet to "recover" from that field trip.)

Jeremiah & Mollie had their piano recital last Thursday night.

This week, I have gone to two different band/orchestra concerts that some of my youth group teenagers were performing in.

This week I also had to unexpectedly spend time trying to repair one of the office computers at church. Things like that always happen whenever I really don't have the extra time to deal with it.

The video projector in our main auditorium finally "died" a couple weeks ago. We were hoping that it would last until at least July. That's when our new church budget goes into effect. We had planned for a replacement in the new budget. Well, it didn't make it. The new projector arrived last Wednesday. We are waiting for a few more items that are needed to connect it to the computer and the DVD/VCR. We have an electrician in our church that is going to wire the new unit. We are mounting this new projector in a new place. That is why we need the the electrician's help. Hopefully we can have it put in place by the end of next week.

Neighborhood Bible Time is fast approaching. We had our first training meeting last Sunday night. We are still in need of one missionary teacher. We have additional training on June 15th.

This Sunday is our family's 8th anniversary at South Charlotte Baptist Church. It is also the 1 year anniversary for Pastor and Mrs. Waller. Pastor Waller came on staff last year as our new school administrator.

Right now I am at home, on my "day off." I'm sitting at the dining room table working on this Sunday's order of service and my Sunday school lesson. This Sunday is "Promotion Sunday." The 6th graders will be promoted into the youth group. There are quite a few 6th graders "moving up." We will be having a "Welcome Lunch" for them after the morning service.

Stephenie coordinated a "Teddy Bear Picnic" for the Kindergarten & 1st grade students today. She's right now resting on the coach.

Next Friday is Kindergarten graduation. Titus is graduating!!!! Stephenie's folks are planning to come down for the ceremony. It will be a busy week. Stephenie is going bowling with the video school students on Monday. We will be having our annual Field Day on Thursday.

Everyone keep in touch! I posted my "face" on Facebook this week. It's an interesting site and an interesting way to keep in touch with friends. I have caught up with a few old college friends on Facebook. I found out that one of them is a pastor in Iowa not "too far" from my parents.

Until next time...

Iowa is Green!

On our way to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary, we spent a couple of days in Kansas City. While we were there we visited Cabella's. It's similar to Bass Pro Shop but much bigger. Jeremiah, Mollie & I spent 2 hours in Cabella's. It was awesome! The above picture was taken there. We also visited the KC Speedway. Richard Petty's Driving Experience was there. We were able to go down to pit row and watch them drive the race cars. Even though we didn't ride, it was still quite an experience.

My parents were definetely suprised to see us on Saturday night. They understand how difficult it is for us to get away but they were sure glad to see us. We went back to my parent's home after dinner and spent some time looking at old photos. My brother and one sister left Saturday evening and my oldest sister left Sunday morning.

On Sunday, we attended Fellowship Baptist Church, which is were I spent a lot of time growing up. They had a group from West Coast Baptist College sing in the evening service. The leader of the group know "Mr. Cody." (Many of the teens in my youth group know who he is!) After church on Sunday night, we went to visit my Grandma Lounsberry. She enjoyed our visit.

On Monday, we drove to Newton, IA to visit my Grandpa Campbell and Grandma Myrtle (my grandpa's second wife). They enjoyed our visit but the kids got a little stir crazy.

I have eaten at all the places I look forward to on every visit...Taco Johns, Maid Rites, Zenos, Ev's Ice Cream. When we went to Maid Rites we saw Tow Mater from the Car's Movie. I'll have to post a picture later. It is still on our camera. A tow company here in Marshalltow has put together a very good, real-life version of Tow Mater. Titus was sooooo excited to "meet him." He even had the "ghost light" hanging from his tow cable.

All in all we've had a very good visit but it is too quickly coming to an end. I never would have said this as a teenager but, if the Lord would every allow, I would be more than happy to move back to Iowa. (Stephenie's just not so sure how she would do during the winter months.) This is the first time that Stephenie has ever seen Iowa in the spring. Her comment has been, "It's so green!"

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of me with my siblings...

Good Friday!

It truly was a good Friday! Please allow me to tell you why...

1. The kids were out of school.

2. I cleaned out the gutters around the front porch and then installed "gutter guard." With the number of trees that we have, it only takes a few weeks to fill up with leaves. Since we replaced all the gutters last year, I want to make sure that we take care of them and make maintenance as simple as possible.

3. I trimmed our oak tree out front. I trimmed it a couple of years ago and it has gotten bushy again. After I trimmed the branches, Jeremiah undertook the task of cutting the branches up so that the city would haul them away next week. Jeremiah actually volunteered for the job and he did a wonderful job of cutting the branches up and then stacking them up.

4. For lunch, we went on a picnic. We packed some water and chips, stopped by Burger King for some "burgers," and then headed for the Pineville Park. We had a great time!

5. I cut some grass, put out some "weed & feed," and put out some mulch. Again, Jeremiah jumped in and helped me unload it from my truck and spread it around the front flower bed.

6. I trimmed our Crepe Mrtyle bushes.

7. I could go on but I'll stop there....

It was a good Friday!