I Got Hacked!

Yes, you read right, I got hacked. Yes, I'm hacked for a number of reasons most of which are familiar to most anyone. And yes, it was time to move along on from the sadness of losing our dog, although I keep looking for him everywhere at home, but he's gone. Anyway, I tried to call my bride last night on skype. I love skype and have been using and telling everyone about it for years. We really couldn't do without it because its the main way we are able to see and talk to Noah, Cohen, and of course their parents and our daughter too, not to mention a number of other folks around the world, for either free or cheap.

When I logged onto skype something was wrong, my contact list was missing and my skype credit was lower than last I recall. What happened was on July 21st, somebody somehow hacked into my skype account and used my account and credit to call literally all over the world, for approximately 2 days. We're talking Nigeria, Ghana, places in Europe, and some places I've never heard of. There were skype to skype calls, mobile phone calls, and landline calls. Many of the calls didn't cost anything but they ended up charging about $100 worth of calls and that's a bunch of calls on skype. Then they were gone, after two days.

Needless to say I was hacked at being hacked. I did whine enough to skype to get $25 back but thats it. Far as I can tell they didn't find their way into anything else, paypay, bank, but I'm still looking. Well, thats my rant for the day. Thought for sure I was diligent on all my security stuff. Still not sure how or when it happened. Whatever you do, watch yourselves and try not to get hacked.

Have a good one,
de

Man....that hurt!

Yesterday was a first for me. You tend to think that when it comes to the things of life, surely I've been there...done that, and I have. I don't even know how many funerals I've been to or presided over. The only folks who've done more are the funeral home folks. But yesterday after literally months of contemplating and agonizing, we took our dog Frazier, 17 years a part of our family to our friend and vet Dr. Larry and had him put to sleep. It wasn't a spur of the moment decision. He'd been struggling for a long time. His quality of life was really, really poor.

For me, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. We laughed with Dr Larry about how Fraz got run over the first few days after we had picked him up outside the Houston SPCA. The kids were young and we had lost our former American Eskimo dog King after a good long life and well...it was time for another dog. We couldn't afford to buy a designer dog of any sort so we trekked down to see what dogs were available at the Houston SPCA. About the time we were being greeted by the receptionist a young couple came in with this 6 month old schnauzer dog in tow, they couldn't keep in their apartment. We struck up a brief conversation with them, told the young lady behind the counter, "we want this dog." But that's not the way it works so she quietly instructed us that we'd have to take it all outside, arrange the transfer between ourselves and so we did. For like 75 bucks we did the deal outside, loaded up 3 very happy kids, (parents too) and headed home with Frazier, his cage, his bed, and his food bowl.

His favorite thing early on was to bolt out the door, and make a break for it just as fast as he possibly could go. Within just a day or two of bringing him home he made that break, ran outside and headed straight for the street, only to be rolled under an oncoming car. That was our first call to Dr Larry. He rolled under the car and thankfully not the tires which flattened out his hips pretty badly but he recovered. For the rest of his life he would sit on the floor with his hips spread totally flat and back legs pointing out like he'd been run over or something.

A few years later we had moved to a house just a few blocks over and were cooking one Thanksgiving day. Kim ventured out into the back yard, with Fraz, and saw the neighbor across the fence in her back yard. Why not go meet the neighbor? Sounds good. They met at the back fence and so did the two opposing dogs, whereby Frazier defended Kim and proceded to attack the neighbors dog through the chain link fence. He managed somehow to get ahold of the neighbors dogs paw and chew on it so bad that they had to call Dr Larry out on Thanksgiving day for a repair job. We never did get close with those neighbors after that, I'm not sure why.

There were so many other joys of having a good natured dog like Frazier. I don't recall him ever biting anybody else but the neighbors dog and me! Yeah me, good natured me. Even in the patient room yesterday as we waited even though he hadn't felt well for months, couldn't see, struggled to walk, and flinched everytime I put my hand on his head, we briefly played one last time. I would tap the side of his mouth, he would open his mouth and lightly snap...tap...snap... tap...snap. It was something we did his whole life. A couple of times over the years he snapped a little too much but he never really bit anybody but me...and maybe Jared but never any children or strangers.

He was always great around kids, of all ages. A couple of our grown children's friends wrote yesterday on FB about things they recalled and about life with our dog Frazier. He loved popcorn and people food though we didn't give him much of the people food, just as Dr L said. He liked grapes, watermelon, and bread...boy he loved bread. For years if you left the loaf of bread near the edge of the counter and he could see it was there, he'd jump up, grab the loaf of bread and have at it. I never did see him do it but found the half eaten loaf on the floor countless times. Oh yeah, no people food. He survived a cancerous growth on his foot not too many years ago, thanks to you know who. He gave us great joy and sorrow. He was without a doubt, part of our family. And because of how much he was a part of our lives...our childrens lives...our friends lives...yesterday... man...that hurt...it still does. I cried like a baby and I don't cry.

The doggie door is closed today at our house and won't be opened again for awhile. I'm sure I'll continue to look and listen for him for quite some time...and miss him. For all those who have experienced such a loss, I know you know. Thanks Fraz for being a part of our family. With such an enjoyable relationship as they can be, surely, all dogs go to heaven, don't you think?

Thanks for listening,
de

Prayer for my friend

I tried to recall when M & I first met. It's been several years now, I know that. He came to our church through a fellow elder and friend via the prison ministry. M got in trouble back in the day for drugs and was one of those folks you hear about who gets hooked the first time and loses everything. That's what he did, he lost it all, his wife, his son, his long time and good job at the papermill, all to a crack pipe, and the price that goes with it. Somewhere in prison he found a Christian, the Word, the Lord and eventually us. While it certainly was the right move, in the right direction, it was far less than a miraculous and permanent turnaround. Truth is, for many who go the way of prison for felony crimes its a difficult and lifelong struggle after they pay their debt. Many do not survive it without returning again to prison or worse.

The best job he could find with that kind of record was working for an local outfit that hires many folks like him. That's good news and bad news. The good news is they will hire folks with a felony record. That's also the bad news because that's who you work with...not a real encouraging lot if you're trying to do right and good. It's been a real struggle for him these years since prison because he's got no family, few friends, and some of the same struggles he's had for years. By the nature of his workplace he fell in with a mostly ethnic crowd, courted a fairly young, sweet, naive, undocumented female, married her, and all was grand...until her family found out more about M. Not long after what looked to be the happiest days of his recent life, did her family literally take her away from him and forbid her to come back. That's another story but that's what happened. It's been an even harder struggle since then. The ethnic crowd at work hated on him so bad, he eventually quit his job or go crazy. Everyone it seemed was against him. Yet somehow he held on, found some temp work, and stayed in touch with a couple of us at church.

Believe it or not that's the abridged version of M's tumultuous life. Today however, I offer a prayer for my friend, and ask you to do the same if you're so inclined. Today, after working hard since he quit his other job, he starts a new job, thanks to a hispanic friend at our church. Today, he's got his TWIC card, which is a special maritime security clearance card that you have to have to work in and around the Port of Houston. (His felonies weren't enough to get in the way) Today, he has passed two different tests (a 96 & a 90) to get this new job. Today, he drove onto the Exxon plant property and begins this new job as a scaffold builders helper with one of the subcontractors on property. Today I ask you Lord to bless M, help him do well, to fit in to whatever situation comes his way and to keep him safe. May today be the step up to a better life for my friend. It's been years in coming and I don't think he thought something like this would ever come. Thank you Lord, and may it be the step forward that he needs and that I pray it is.

Thank you Lord for my friend M, and I hope he gets rained out about 3 pm. ;)

have a blessed day ya'll,
de

Moving On

I appreciate all the comments, mostly on FB, from my recollection and blog of Monday's events entitled "Never Know." "Necessity is the mother of invention," "there's nothing new under the sun," and lastly, "I am neither especially clever nor especially gifted. I am only very, very curious." Albert Einstein

So today, moving on from Monday, I'll share some of Terry Rush's thoughts recently on his 34th anniversary at the Memorial church in Tulsa. He blogs regularly and you may not always agree with everything he says but he's always makes you think and he has quite a heart for God.

From Terry Rush, not me.

It's been an interesting and exciting experience to be around this congregation this long. Here are a few of the things I've learned along the way:

1. Not everyone should think the way I think regardless of how strongly I believe they should.
2. Those who believe the strongest we are the only ones saved are often the very ones who fear most they are lost.
3. I preached too many sermons on church growth when I should have been preaching on The Church Grower.
4. I've learned to like to pray.
5. God will remain in the shadows of mystery and I need to learn to live there without explanation and response for every question coming my way.
6. I am not tired of ministry but am growing in curiosity. What has God in store that no one has yet seen Him do for mankind?
7. The Holy Spirit loves to work directly in our lives; yet He remains humble enough that mere man can quench him if we so desire.
8. Everyone is deeply guilty of sin; not just the rare few of us I had assumed.
9. People possess a deep strength within that only God will reveal when we are in pivotal crisis.
10. God will bless when we will risk.
11. The more we accept the unacceptables of society the more the heart of Jesus seems to reign among us.
12. I've learned the sermon isn't the main part of church; it turns out God is.
13. The more we stay out of His way the more we see His way becomes ours.
14. While I spent so much time trying to escape weaknesses I discovered they are His secret to my strength....II Cor. 12:9.
15. God will make a way....when there seems to be no way.

I told you it was good.

cya,
de

Never Know

The call came yesterday morning, Monday morning, about at 10:35 am. Monday's are notoriously less than productive for me in ministry life. Most Monday's I'm tired. Sunday's have a tendency to wear me out, even with the periodic Sunday afternoon nap. Mondays are pretty tough to get going. I used to take off on Mondays but then decided I'd rather have off later in the week when I can get going better, but that's another blog or not. You get the idea. The phone call Dave, what was the phone call? Oh right.

"Chaplain Ellis, this is B-town Police dispatch, Chaplain P is out of town today, can you respond to an incident this morning? It involves an officer that has been shot and killed." "Do you need an officer to come and pick you up?" (normal protocol) "No," I said and they told me where to go.

I got in my truck, after going over in my head exactly what she said, and telling the other staff at church, and headed East on I-10 towards the HRP, raceway. By the time I turned off I-10 to look that direction, I knew it was bad because there were four helicopters hovering way back. By the time I reached the scene, got past the perimeter which is not easy even with correct ID, parked, a half mile away, and finally found who I was to talk to, the County guys had already left to make the notification of the death of the officer. They just couldn't wait. Everyone else was focused on the situation at hand and considered that taken care of. Not why I came but I went to see what else I could offer.

I spent a good bit of time with the fallen officers partner, who was standing right next to his uniformed brother when the shots rang out. His partner was shot and killed instantly while he escaped any physical harm. He and another officer who came in shortly after shots were fired ducked, grabbed their brother, and drug him out of the trailer home. They were both really shocky when we visited. I checked to see if their families were notified they were ok and if they were alone. They nodded, offered few words, and continued to look dazed and confused by what all had happened. I politely declined to enter the ambulance where the fallen man lay, to pray for him. I did pray mind you, but declined to get in with him.

After awhile there I went back to the Command post to await the outcome and be ready to offer my services if needed. Man, was it hot. "Lord, please make it so that I am not needed any further today? Please keep all these men and women safe? Please let there be no more loss of life than has already taken place?"

I was pretty much useless the rest of the time, clergy wise, and am thankful for that. I mostly handed out water and gatorade. I can say without a doubt I have never seen so many officers of different kinds ever in my life. There were Baytown PD, Pasadena, LaPorte, Chambers Co, Game Wardens, Hiway Patrol, and Texas Rangers everywhere. There were aircraft circling, a bomb squad robot in action, and at least 3 different SWAT squads working. There were EMT units from everywhere, thankfully again, not needed.

It all ended pretty much the way I thought it might, the gunman dead in the house, probably from the first gunfire exchange or something he did himself not too long after the fact. It then took hours of coordinating dozens of specialized folks to make sure it was resolved some 8 hours later with no more loss of life. The day started off pretty much as normal. It ended in a day I will never forget. It just goes to show, as Jack Johnsons song says, "Never know."

It all happened so much faster
Than you could say disaster
Wanna take a time lapse
And look at it backwards
From the last one
And maybe thats just the answer
That we're after
But after all
We're just a bubble in a boiling pot
Just one breath in a chain of thought
The moments just combusting
Feel certain but we'll never never know
Just seems the same
Give it a different name
We're beggin and we're needing
And we're trying and we're breathing

Never knowing
Shocking but we're nothing
We're just moments
We're Clever but we're clueless
We're just human
Amusing but confusing
Helping, we're building
And we're growing
Never Know (hope I haven't violated any copyright laws) by Jack Johnson

cya,
de

Wanna Be Healthier, Breath!

Yes, I know it sounds silly but many health experts say if you want to have better health, reduce blood pressure, and reduce stress it as simple as breathing. Well, not really breathing, if your reading this you must be breathing if not please call 911 now, sorry. The key is breathing better. Do some breathing/relaxing exercises. I was reminded of this today by Dr Mercola, whose health newsletter I get every week via my email. He was reminded of this by attending a talk entitled "The Most Powerful Health Recommendation of Dr. Andrew Weil." Dr Weil was doing this kind of thing way here in America way before it leaked its way into the mainstream. Some say it hasn't and never will and for some they will never let it. Doctors always know best right? NOT! Keep breathing dave, thats right, slower now. I have a certain aversion to the all knowing approach of western medicine and its practioners. Anyway, Dr Weil has an article called Breathing 101. You may think that sounds crazy, breathing is breathing, but its not. I remember one time several years ago when I was having trouble falling asleep. The remedy I found that worked then and still does is a breathing/relaxation exercise. I've got pill aversion. Call it semi-hypnosis, or whatever you want, I learned how to regulate my breathing, relax myself through some breathing exercises, and go to sleep. I haven't had to use it much lately but who knows. When my bride was in such terrible pain, even with meds, one thing that helped her was to work on her breathing, to relax.

I told you, my regular readers, whoever you are, that my blog goes all over the place, but you know that by now. Today, its on breathing. So, don't just read, think, that's weird and go to the next blog, check out your breathing, learn some exercises. It's good for you.

I think I'll go outside now and stand in the rain,

de

Go here and read some of the health claims on breathing.com

Always Something New

My nephew Blaine, one of the most creative people I know, posted this link a little while ago. Ours is a fascinating and interesting world.
Atheist Camp.

de

Final Day/First Day

Technically today is the final day of our Mt Belvieu campaign. It's been so busy I've lost track of what day it is. Paul just told me its Wednesday, oh yeah, that is the last day of our door knocking. We've endured days of 100+ temps but done well. Yesterday was the first day it didn't break 100. We've even had some rain, which you know in Houston just make it steamy, but we are grateful for every cloud and every drop of rain. This mornings Chronicle said today looks to make June 2009 as the hottest ever on record, yep ever. While the heat did likely cut down the amount of time we could walk and knock, it didn't discourage our spirit. We knocked on 100's of doors, met lots of people, and prayed with around 200 people. That's right, prayed with them, at their door on the front porch or in their house. There were all kinds of different responses, hardly any were rude or terribly dismissing, a few maybe but a real minority.

Today we spend the last day knocking a few more doors, but also doing some follow ups on those who had a positive response in some way, wanted us to check back, wanted to talk to a spouse, had background or interest in the CofC, were interested in a bible study or just were really hurting and obviously needed a friend.

So, today's the final day of door knocking for this effort. Actually, its the first day of a follow up campaign that I pray will last months and even years because of some relationships that may have been started. Follow up is the key. We need to follow up with continued prayers and concerns and really be Christ to these people. Final day, first day. Truth is, I guess its that way every day, the final day of our past, the first day of our future. With God as our guide, every day is an opportunity to serve and a day to give Him praise for every good thing.

de

Post Time!

Haven't really felt that much like posting lately. It's been hot and hectic here in H-town. Last year we had a 25 year hurricane, ya'll remember hearing about hurricane Ike, right? That was the one that may have caused more damage than Katrina but went suddenly left the airways after 3 days. Oh yeah, now I recall, that was the one. Once in hopefully 25 years or longer will we ever experience that kind of thing again. Truth be told I'll be good if I never go through that again, ever. In lots of ways we're still recovering from that storm and lots of folks in our area will never be the same. In my afternoon walks, I take S Burnet drive all the way to the end and the bay. It takes me about 5 minutes to reach the part of the street where homes once were before Ike. The majority were damaged beyond repair and demolished. A number were gutted to the studs and the roof and rebuilt. Several new homes, all on tall stilts are beginning to be rebuilt. It's slow but its coming back.

Now we're in the midst of a 29 year spell of heat and drought. Not since 1980 has the Gulf Coast and this area seen the kind of heat and dry we've got now. It just so happens we planned a door knocking campaign in our area. Yep, that's right, every afternoon since Thursday about 20 of us head out to knock doors and tell people about our "Prayer Works" campaign. We're working in Mt Belvieu, about 10 miles to our east where there's no mainline church of Christ. There's a couple of small ones but nothing really to serve the numbers of folks that live out that way. This is Texas so there's lots of Baptists and they are going great guns. The other truth be told is that many who likely grew up CofC and moved out to that area now attend a Baptist church because its more convenient. But that's another blog maybe.

So, we've been out, introducing ourselves to folks, asking them if we can pray with them and for their needs. The response has been good. Of course, lots of folks are not home, some don't answer the door, some don't need prayer (right), some declare their faith to us, and some are open, honest, and tell of their hurts and needs. There's lot of hurt and fear out there right now, with jobs, families, children, multiple marriages, well...you know. But sometimes we forget.
A couple of folks wanted to study the bible with us, yes! Those are ongoing.

I know, I know, you thought the days of door knocking were over. And for some folks they are over with. Some of us are too afraid, still. But "perfect love drives out fear" the book says. And when you go to a home and someone comes to the door, hurting about job, family, health, whatever and they say they've been living there for two years and you're the first person to come to their door and ask to help by praying...well its worthwhile. Or when you go to the door and the couple says, "we were planning to be at your church on Sunday," and they actually come...thats exciting. Or when a young lady answers the door and quickly begins to share her concerns and fears and says..."please pray" and by the time you leave, she's weeping...you know that God sent you to that door, to that young lady, that day.

Yeah, its hot, really, really hot...but that hasn't stopped us. Three more days to go. I know the Lord will bless us by hopefully being a blessing to those behind those doors. We're planting seeds, not likely watering yet, its too hot...but the rain will come...and God will give the increase. He always does.

de

We prayed last evening for over 100 different prayer requests given to us by Mt Bel folks.

My Life in T-shirts, coming soon!

Got my next blog in mind but don't have time to write til later or tomorrow. It's called "my life in tshirts." It was an interesting afternoon that sparked the idea. Coming soon.

de

Blogging Goes All Over the Place

Most blogs I read tend to have one particular flavor or direction. I think you get my meaning...its all Astros...or politics...or religion...or family stuff. Certainly not to dismiss the validity or importance of any of those...from time to time I'll cover most any of them. But me, I like to venture out and about and go different directions...sometimes sharing my humor...other times probably my ignorance.

Today the topic is PC's. I'm really probably considered a novice as I have no formal training but I have been around since the Commodore 64 and Texas Instruments machines...booting from 7 inch floppies and formatting your own hard drives and machines with a whopping 64k of memory...I think...its hard to remember exactly...I think my hard drive is full.

I do like to think that I keep my PC's in pretty good shape and long lasting. Can't recall the last time I had a problem with a virus or much...beside my cable modem several weeks back...but that wasn't my problem...that was Comcast...but I digress.

Came across an article the Worlds Most popular freeware. I use freeware, mostly because its free. I like free...don't you? I currently run numbers 1-6 and number 8 on all my pc's. I'm responsible for several. Check em out...they are all worthwhile.

Only one thing...you gotta get em, keep em updated, and run em regular...say once a week. How's that for all over the place? See...keeps me from bragging on my newest grandson.

de

You Matter -

Here's something I came across today. Thought it was worth sharing. By Seth Godin

You matter

• When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.
• When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter.
• When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.
• When you continue to raise the bar on what you do and how you do it, you matter.
• When you teach and forgive and teach more before you rush to judge and demean, you matter.
• When you touch the people in your life through your actions (and your words), you matter.
• When kids grow up wanting to be you, you matter.
• When you see the world as it is, but insist on making it more like it could be, you matter.
• When you inspire a Nobel prize winner or a slum dweller, you matter.
• When the room brightens when you walk in, you matter.
• And when the legacy you leave behind lasts for hours, days or a lifetime, you matter.

Let's all matter today, ok?
de

Blogging From Forneytown!

It was a normal hot afternoon this past Sunday in H-town. The bride, son, and I were trying to cool it by spending some time in the pool. I decided to go in a bit early to dry off before going to our Sunday afternoon Life group when the phone rang. Aaron is calling to let us know his bride called him back from Praise team practice because her water broke. How exciting, Cohen has officially decided to kick himself out of the water and into the family. I called the troops in from the pool, called Lynne, our LG host to tell her we weren't going to make it, and hurriedly packed up for Forneytown. Within an hour we're off headed north to Presbyterian Hospital to welcome our newest grandson.

He managed to get here only a bit more than an hour before we arrived and all are well. He was scheduled a c-section because that's how his brother was born. We hoped we'd be there before he arrived but no cigars...until after the birth. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. and as of today, Tuesday he and his momma are doing great...the rest of us doing great too. I'd like to say I could post some pics but couldn't find camera before we ran out the door. :(

If you want to see some pics Kim posted a couple to her facebook page from her new Verizon Storm phone. She ditched her blackberry world phone for one that takes pics and does all that other cool stuff including post pics to facebook. For now, we're on Noah duty along with Allisons folks. The rest of the fam comes home from the hospital tomorrow. It's a world away from Noah's coming 5 weeks early and spending 9 days in the NICU. Aaron commented that after he was born they just handed him over to his parents and "let em hang out." Pretty nice having things go pretty normal this time. Last time the same call came we were in Cooperstown for Thanksgiving and tried to figure out how to get back to Dallas. We did but it was quite a stressful several days. They whisked Noah off to NICU and monitored him closely for that first stretch and it was all quite stressful. Cohen arrived much more low key and fully ready for life in the world. By the time we got to the hospital and got to see Aaron he was beaming, ear to ear.

They are all enjoying a restful start to the first couple of days and Kim and I enjoying Noah. Unfortunately Kim had to fly out today for work. She'll miss their homecoming tomorrow but so far...all in all...Cohen's off to a great start. Thanks for all your prayers and text msgs. We're proud grandparents again!! Praise God for Cohen Thomas Ellis. We think he's just about the best thing going...along with his brother of course.

Here's a couple pics I stole from Kim's facebook. :)

de

Great Weekend in H-town.

It was good to be home for several days in a row finally. Even late in the week this week it was difficult to know what day was what, one of those times when you're not sure what day it is because it doesn't feel like it should be...uh...Friday. That's what happens when you're out for awhile, then in for a day, then out, etc. That was our schedule for about 3 weeks. We finally got back to the E-house just in time for summer and mosquitoes....hayaaw. I never know how to spell those sounds that you make...like at the end of the Mini sirloin burgers song....you "mini sirlion burger...hyahh! It's my favorite jingle these days. Finally ate some MSB yesterday on the way to H-town. They were ok. Probably wont' be eating them again any time soon. They did have a good flavor. The only reason we ate them yesterday was because I had a coupon for buy 1 get 1 or was it buy 3 get 3. Buy an order get an order. Little meat, bread, cheese, grilled onion, they were ok.

Spent Saturday working on our slate flooring. We've got it in the entry, kitchen, by the patio door and back door. It took a pretty good beating during ike and the construction to follow. We had cleaned it pretty well but there was still some leftover, sheetrock spots, paint spots, etc. Saturday we cleaned the beejeebers out of it, sweep, sweep again, scrub by hand on your hands and knees. Turned out clean for sure but needing a good sealer coat or 3 or 4. Did that last night for the most part.

That was after a really enjoyable Sunday morning service. Singing was good, preaching...well...so, so I guess. One of our Life group members came and asked for prayers...an answer to our groups prayers for sure...another (Tasha) came to give herself to Christ in baptism. That makes any Lords day a great one.

After that the bride and I headed to H-town, past Jack for MSB, and to MD Anderson to visit Kim's best childhood and teenage friend, Ann from OK. Ann has a totally rare kind of cancer and started chemo this past week. Put her in on your prayers some time. Her mom died of cancer at about our age. Make this difficult to deal with....but she's dealing pretty well. Had to totally gown, glove, mask, hairnet, shoecover up to go in to see her...couldn't touch her either. They are pretty much killing her bone marrow and letting it come back clean I would assume. It was great to see her but quite emotional for my bride and Ann.

Then it was back for Life group and one of the worlds best cinammon rolls, and home to seal the floor. All in all it was a really productive and good weekend. Now if I can be that productive this week. What day is it anyway?

de

Behind on the blog, I know!

Had several comment lately that I had let my blog kinda go. I have no real excuse except to say that we've at been home very little over the past 3 weeks. We went to Pepperdine for week, then back home, to Oklahoma for some family time, my dad's 80th birthday, and you know we had to stop by and see little Noah and his family. Then we took a week in Galveston. It wasn't the very best timing, having been out for the better part of two weeks prior but that's when Kim had the time so we went. Then we came back, me for an LTC Board meeting, and to take Kami back to the airport, then back home to preach for our Elder Ordination service this past Sunday. As elders, we're excited to have some additional shepherds to help keep watch over the flock at Lakewood. Harold Allen, Bo Cox, and Bill Hanna were installed and prayed for on Sunday.

Then to add to that the church surprised us with a 20th year thing at the potluck lunch on Sunday. It was a complete surprise and I guess easier to get together since we were out much of the time before then. There was a huge cake, some cards, a book signed by several in the congregation, and a gift for me and one for Kim and a few jokes by Mike Miller. It was really special to be recognized in such a way. I posted some pics on my facebook page for those who are interested. I promised to post some pics from our trip north but just haven't done it yet. Well, I've got to get caught up now. I try to blog again soon.

Thanks to everyone who said such nice things on Sunday!

Cohen is coming soon!

de

Here's a freebie!

Home Bible Study Requires a Permit in CA

According to a report on FOX News this morning, home Bible study is under fire in California. Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary, who live in San Diego, got some friends together at their house for a Bible study. However, when the county of San Diego found out, the couple was told they needed to either stop the Bible study or purchase a permit because they had too many people in their home.

Back from the Weekend!

Boy it was a busy weekend in the Efam. Friday morning I headed north to Forney where Kami had landed on Thursday. Spent a few hours with my favorite grandson and his parents and headed to DFW to pick up the bride on her way back from Florida. She finished her first full 5 day week in...well I can't remember when she had a full five day week. She was pooped but excited to be going to see Noah. We got up on Saturday, waited for the girls to go to a baby shower for Allison, loaded my girls and Noah in the car and headed for Duncantown.

There we spent Saturday and most of Sunday seeing family, my parents, my sisters, and their kids and related others, too many to mention. Everyone was together at worship Sunday morning for my dad's 80th birthday, day. Actually its, today but mum decided Sunday would be the day to have the party. We all went back to the house for lunch, some time together there, and then back to the church building at four for an awesome reception for my dad, put together by my sisters and mum. They have Sunday evening services at 5 so it made it convenient for folks to come by and wish his happy birthday and a ton of people did. It was a lot of fun.

Aaron, Kami, & Noah then headed back south to Forney, closely followed by Kim and myself to spend the night Sunday night and then drove back to H-town, with Kami, on Monday. Lord willing we'll spend a few days in Galveston later this week, just winding down some. Maybe I can post some pics of our trip, our grandson or my dad's party. Thanks for wishing him well. We are blessed to have him still with us and celebrated it so.

de

Lots On the Brain Lately

My brain is running on overload lately. Some of it is not really all that important as life goes, the Rockets playing Jekll and Hyde, hopefully is not Hyde again Thursday. Which Astros team to expect the next day. Will anyone really ever beat the Celtics. Does God really prefer Boston all that much. As I said, not really of that much importance.

Our church building is getting ever so close to being finished after hurricane Ike, just about in time for hurricane season to start again. Whoohoo, we all can't wait for another season. Lord willing, I'll never see another one like it, ever. Yes, its been a long haul. Yes, we have some incredibly talented and persistent folks who keep at it to get it all done. I still have trouble getting motivated to really get my yard back in shape after all that. I'll just keep plugging along on it.

Headed to my original hometown Duncan, Ok, this weekend to help my dad celebrate his 80th birthday. What a blessing that is for all of us to have him still with us. There were a couple of occasions recently during our elder selection process that I was ever so grateful to have him on the other end of the phone to talk to and bounce some things off of him regarding the process. He spent years and years as an elder and I valued beyond words his counsel. Happy Birthday dad. I love you.

Oh yeah, we have new elders. We have some who were given the high approval they felt they needed from the congregation and some who were just short of that. I think daily about both groups and their future impact on the family here at Lakewood. Lord willing we'll make an annnoucement soon as to who they are. Oh yeah, gonna have a new grandson in 37 days. Oh yeah, this past Sunday was the day my family planted ourselves officially at this congregation 20 years ago. Wow, some days it seems as it were yesterday, well, you know the other side too. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. It's a lot on the brain lately.

cya,
de

Back in H-town!

The bride and I flew back into Houston on Saturday evening past and were glad to be back. Unfortunately for her she got to go back to the airport after worship on Sunday and won't see our front door for another 10 days or so. But we really enjoyed our 6 days just me and her and California and Pepperdine. Honestly we didn't prefer LA freeways, their drivers, Lakerfan, wildfires, tarballs on my feet, but there was much to enjoy. It sure was good to be home, back preaching at Lakewood, and enjoying those amazing Rockets yesterday. It just goes to show, you never know. As Forrest Gump's mom said, "you just have to do the best with what cha got." Amen.

I especially enjoyed this column from the LA Times. Here's a couple of quotes.

"I know you're expecting a full column effort, but the Lakers' opponent was only the devastated Houston Rockets, so why should I have to work hard to write about them?

Why should I put passion into describing a game that the Lakers didn't show passion in playing?"

"The Lakers lost as if they didn't care that the series was now two games apiece. The Lakers lost as if they know they can turn it on this week and still survive.

Good point. I'll write better columns then. This one, like them, I'm sitting out."

No blood, no one being thrown out, no flagrant fouls, just a gutsy effort from the Rockets. Boy, that was fun to watch. I'm guessing the next one will be a bit more competetive. Glad I'll be watching from friendly H-town instead LA.

de

Interesting Week So Far

It's been an interesting and enjoyable week so far in LA LA land. We spent Tuesday prior to the opening of the Pepperdine Lectures driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was sunny but pretty cool as we drove northward. We stopped periodically where there was beach access to put our feet in the water. Nice sun, pretty beaches, but cooold water. We did get our feet in the water but it was just too cold to enjoy any swimming. We stopped near a town called Carpenteria, a quaint small town on the coast. We walked a long nature trail down to the cliffs to see the ocean and down a longer path to see the seals. The bride stopped counting at about 200 seals who were for the most part laying out, enjoying the bright sun. Just off the coast you can see the Channel islands which apparently are home to 1000's of the same kind of seals. We headed on north to the Santa Barbara area where we could see a massive smoke cloud coming from the mountains. It's a big city and we again headed for the coast and enjoyed the beautiful view and large eucalyptus trees. Posted below are a couple of pics. Just north of SB in the Mts it was burning hot, smoke rising upward and coming towards the coast, fortunately the smoke was rising high up into the sky. It was all over the news with many homes threatened and not much to do but let it burn.

The Lectures have been outstanding. There are many of the well known speakers in the brotherhood and the theme is "The Lord of Creation" messages from the book of Colossians. There's Walling, Cope, Atchley, Harris, Keith Lancaster and many more, all very challenging and encouraging to hear. It has been a much needed boost to hear others struggles and encouragement. As at all lectureships the singing is one of the highlights. There's Zoe, Hallal, and all the best singers and leaders in the brotherhood.

Last night we left out a bit early and ventured to downtown to take in the Lakers/Rockets game. Thanks to son J, we had his GPS which led us downtown and even rerouted us around bad traffic so that we got there in plenty of time. The game, well, it was a knock down drag out kind of affair. We really had little expectation that the Rockets would take two in LA but it was enjoyable nonetheless. We both really enjoyed wearing red and representing the Rockets. We were certainly way in the minority in "Rockets" gear. Just walking around brought us a constant chorus of boos and other negative reactions. I personally enjoyed that until it got uglier as we entered the arena. Maybe if we had seats closer to the floor those folks would have been more hospitable. Where our seats were, two rows from the top, well...many of those folks were downright ugly. I think they may have been handicapped because many of them could only lift one finger on their hands. You can guess which one. Not only that but several of them expressed the words that go along with that gesture. And we thought it was just a game! By the time the last 2 minutes of the game came around and the outcome was clear we went ahead and headed out. It just felt safer. No one was happy we were there, except us. Oh yeah, did you know that most everyone in the Staples Center is certain that "Houston Sucks?" That was a constant throughout the game. By the time we were through it was time to get out of there. By the time got back to our motel, it was time to shower and get that 'dirty' feeling off of us.

All in all it was quite a contrast going from the high of the lectures to the low of all those people who were full of profanity and derision. Truth is, we shelter ourselves from what a great deal of the world is ready to give us. I guess for good reason but everyone needs the love of Christ. Given the choice I have to keep my feet and mind centered on why God put me here and here this week in California. Rockets lose, believers win.

cya back in H-town soon,
de


game pic eucalyptus tree

coast pic seals


nature trail flowers

A Week in LA LA Land!

It's been a few years since I took in a sermon seminar or church lectureship anywhere so this year, Kim and I decided to attend the Pepperdine Lectureship. We've thought about going and said we were going to do it, so here we are, spending a week in LA LA land.
Yesterday was pretty much for travel to LAX, find the car, make our way to Westlake Village, CA, about 15 miles from the campus. There's not much lodging in and near the campus and dorm rooms are really not our preference so we opted for a bit of drive to stay at the Residence inn and drive. Breakfast and evening snacks are served everyday so we can forgo trying to figure out much about food. We checked into the hotel, found an Albertsons and bought us a few essentials, water and such, then settled in for the night.

Our first highlight besides getting upgraded for the flight, thanks to the bride, was staying awake to see the Rockets win and win they did. I think we may have disturbed the rooms around us yelling as they closed out the Lakers on their home floor but, really, who cares about that. They
played one heck of a gutsy game and took to the home boys. We had a hard time going to sleep even though it was almost 1 am home time by the time we got into bed. Then its wakey, wakey, Texas time. Oh well, it was a lot of fun. The Lectureship doesn't kick off until this afternoon so we're headed out that way to find our way and then up the Pacific Coast highway for an afternoon drive. The weather looks to be fantastic. My bride has been to CA dozens of times I'd guess but never for pleasure. Its always airports, hotels, work, and back to the airport. We're looking forward to an enjoyable week. I'll try to post a pic or two as we go along. My last time to to the West Coast for any kind of trip was the summer of 1975. (I think) A close friend in HS and i decided to travel west and headed for CA. We did officially make it to the coast but didn't stay long. We were running out of money and he wouldn't sleep in the car! Imagine that. Thanks Steve! What is that 34 years. Hopefully, we'll see more of it this time.

Thanks for checking in on us!
de & ke in the land of fruit and nuts