Friday Update

Friday, September 29, 2006

We officially have heat and air conditioning! The guys who installed it have been here since Tuesday, and have been a joy. One, Joe is the “down to business” one, and then there is Darryl, the funny one. Lots of jokes and riddles, such as…If it takes four men, four days to dig four holes, how long does it take one man to dig half a hole? (Keep reading for the answer) The Pastor/Electrician the heating company recommended moved the stove outlet and started two more outlets in the kitchen yesterday. He is due back today to finish. His work van has a picture of a lightbulb that says “Jesus is the light of the world” on the side - you probably wouldn’t find that in Boise or California We found a take out only restaurant called CookOut that has scripture verses on all their bags and cups, we just think that is cool. Chick-fil-A plays nothing but Christian music in their restaurants, and that’s cool too. The founder also requires that all the restaurants be closed on Sunday to give his employees a chance to worship. The way we found the heating/cooling company was the Jesus fish on their ad in the Yellow pages, and one time when I was on hold the message says something about “putting God first in everything they do”, we definitely came the right part of the country.

We almost skipped church last night, and decided to go anyway, and of course the teaching was exactly what we needed - God is good. Moving on to the boyz, since all we have is the new car, they are home bound (not allowed in the car) so a trip to the vet/groomer is out of the question, so we found a mobile-vet and she is coming on Tuesday. She will test for heartworm and trim both of their nails. Got the wallpaper border down in the kitchen and hallway, and will prime and paint, want to get the Guest room in order too, Mom and Alan are coming in November. We want to get a weight bench for Mike and an elliptical machine for me, and then we will know what size bed we can get. Found a sporting goods store that has great prices, and plan to go today after the electrician is done. The blinds I ordered from Wallpaper Warehouse are due today, so Mike’s got the screwdriver all charged up, it’ll be nice to have blinds. The house is really coming along, starting to feel more and more like home, and we still love North Carolina!!!! Oh Yeah almost forgot the answer to the riddle…You can’t dig half a hole! -P

We had a pretty big storm roll through last night, penny-sized hail and buckets of rain. Click on the picture ... you can see the hail falling.

Here are the verses on the CookOut stuff:

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

Bumber Stickers, Jokes & Garden Tips

When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"

CHRISTIAN BUMPER STICKERS

Be ye fishers of men. You catch them - He'll clean them.

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Don't put a question mark where God put a period.

Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts!"

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

He who angers you, controls you!

If God is your Copilot - swap seats!

Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.

Don't give God instructions - just report for duty!

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

We don't change the message, the message changes us.

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

“It’s HOT Down Here!”

An Illinois man left the snow-filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day. When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email.

Unfortunately, when typing her address, he missed one letter, and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

"Dearest Wife, Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.
P.S. Sure is hot down here!”

The Deal

A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him to his study and said to him, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your bible a little and get your hair cut and we'll talk about it."

After about a month the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss use of the car. They again went to the father's study where his father said, "Son, I've been real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied your bible diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut!"

The young man waited a moment and replied, "You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. You know, Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair...."

To which his father replied...."Yes, and they WALKED everywhere they went!"

Planting a Garden

When you plant this garden, may God richly bless you in your sincere endeavor.

Plant three rows of squash:

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash criticism
3. Squash indifference

Plant seven rows of peas:

1. Prayer
2. Promptness
3. Perseverance
4. Politeness
5. Preparedness
6. Purity
7. Patience

Plant seven heads of lettuce:

1. Let us be unselfish and loyal
2. Let us be faithful to duty
3. Let us search the scriptures
4. Let us not be weary in well doing
5. Let us be obedient in all things
6. Let us be truthful
7. Let us love one another

No garden is complete without turnips:

1. Turn up for church
2. Turn up for meetings, in prayer, and Bible study
3. Turn up with a smile, even when things are difficult
4. Turn up with determination to do your best in God's service.

After planting, May you Grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18.) And may you reap rich results.

Jokes, Signs & Hymns ... Oh my.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Arrrgh! We missed PIRATE DAY! There should have been more notice.

The HVAC guys are here to do their AC/Heating thing and we are going to work in the house. We'll update when we have something interesting to say. In the mean time enjoy some...

More funny stuff.

Jokes -

Points

A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates. St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 1000 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 1000 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."

"That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points!"

"Three points?" he says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service."

"Terrific!" says St. Peter, "that's certainly worth a point."

"One point? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."

"Fantastic, that's good for two more points," he says.

"TWO POINTS!!" the man cries, "At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!"

"994 points! Come on in!"

Golf

Moses, Jesus, and another guy were out playing golf one day. Moses pulled up to the tee and drove a long one. It landed in the fairway but rolled directly toward a water trap. Quickly Moses raised his club, the water parted and it rolled to the other side safe and sound.
Next, Jesus strolls up to the tee and hits a nice long one directly toward the same water trap. It landed directly in the center of the pond and kind of hovered over the water. Jesus casually walked out on the pond and chipped it up onto the green.
The third guy get up and sort of randomly whacks the ball. It heads out over the fence and into oncoming traffic on a nearby street. It bounces off a truck and hits a nearby tree. From there it bounces onto the roof of a nearby shack and rolls down into the gutter, down the down spout, out onto the fairway and right toward the aforementioned pond. On the way to the pond, it hits a little stone and bounces out over the water and onto a lily pad where it rested quietly. Suddenly, a very large bullfrog jumped up on the lily pad and snatched the ball into his mouth. Just then,an eagle swooped down and grabbed the frog and flew away. As they passed over the green, the frog squealed with fright and dropped the ball which bounced right into the hole for a beautiful hole in one.
Moses then turned to Jesus and said, "I hate playing with your Dad."

Science and God

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.
The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this? Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"
But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"

Honest Hymns –

I Surrender Some
There Shall Be Sprinkles of Blessings
Fill My Spoon, Lord
Oh, How I Like Jesus
He's Quite a Bit to Me
I Love to Talk About Telling the Story
Take My Life and Let Me Be
It is My Secret What God Can Do
There is Scattered Cloudiness in My Soul Today
Onward, Christian Reserves
Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following
Just As I Pretend to Be
When the Saints Go Sneaking In

Odd Signs -
These are from signs posted in various locations:

In a department store:
Bargain Basement Upstairs

In an office:
Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday please bring it back or further steps will be taken.

In another office: After the tea break staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.

On a church door:
This is the gate of Heaven. Enter ye all by this door. (This door is kept locked because of the draft. Please use side entrance.)

Outside a second hand shop:
We exchange anything - bicycles, washing machines etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain.

Quicksand Warning:
Quicksand. Any person passing this point will be drowned. By order of the District Council.

Notice in a dry cleaner's window:
Anyone leaving their garments here for more than 30 days will be disposed of.

In a health food shop window:
Closed due to illness.

Spotted in a safari park:
Elephants Please Stay In Your Car

Seen during a conference:
For anyone who has children and doesn't know it, there is a day care on the first floor.

Notice in a field:
The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.

Message on a leaflet:
If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.

On a repair shop door:
We can repair anything (Please knock hard on the door - the bell doesn't work)

In a Tokyo hotel:
Is forbitten to steal hotel towels please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read notis.

Immediate Recall

The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to the serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed, "Sub-sequential Internal Non-morality," or more commonly known as SIN as it is primarily expressed.

Some other symptoms:

a. Loss of direction
b. Foul vocal emissions
c. Amnesia of origin
d. Lack of peace and joy
e. Selfish, or violent behavior
f. Depression or confusion in the mental component
g. Fearfulness
h. Idolatry
i. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, Who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, Is providing factory authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this SIN defect. The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required. The number to call for repair in all areas is:P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component. No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:

a. Love
b. Joy
c. Peace
d. Patience
e. Kindness
f. Goodness
g. Faithfulness
h. Gentleness
i. Self-control

Please see the operating manual, HOLY BIBLE, for further details on the use of these fixes.
As an added upgrade, the Manufacturer has made available to all repaired units a facility enabling direct monitoring and assistance from a resident Maintenance Technician, the Holy Ghost. Repaired units need only make Him welcome and He will take up permanent residence on the premises!

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids the Manufacturer's warranty, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on JESUS.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention.

Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice.

If you want to know more about Getting to Know God. Click the Link below.

http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/

Cable TV and HVAC

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

So we got Cable TV which is one of the reasons we haven’t updated. Boy, it’s nice to have TV again. We got the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) so we can set it up to record whatever we want. Cable has really come a long way and is better than we expected. Our Pastor David McGee has a show on local TV. We get to watch him on Saturday night as well.

This weekend we went to a few huge Flea Markets, (Cooks & Flea Country) 2 of them are only a few miles from our house. We got a small retro white swivel chair and a lime green chest of drawers. We were surprised by people being able to smoke inside the building. I few years ago we would have enjoyed smoking and drinking beer while looking at Flea Market stuff, but now it just made us queasy. We sure don’t miss all of that. Thank You, LORD! At a furniture store in Greensboro we found a bed that sits low to the floor. We wanted a low bed for Loki (he’s old and achy.) and we also like the retro look. In case you haven’t noticed in the pictures we are shootin’ for a retro / modern look which is totally different than what we had before. We got the bed frame for $48. We also got a cool coffee table and two end tables which were not 48 bucks, but it all works out. I’ve been assembling all of our furniture purchases (T.V. stands, bookshelves, tables and beds.) Most of them have way too many parts and too few understandable directions. It’s a headache but worth it and it is starting to look like home. I’ll upload new pictures to the WebShots album.

It’s about 10am EDT and the Heating and Air Conditioning guys are here tearing out the ductwork under the house. This is pretty traumatic for the boyz. The first major boom under the house made the dogs nearly jump out of there skins. It was pretty funny. We are glad to have the HVAC underway. The weather alternates between 85 humid and 72 & perfect. It’s not very humid when its 72. When it is hot and humid it makes it hard to do anything in the house but we have been doing pretty well. It will be nice to be able to control the weather in the house. The electrician was here for a bit yesterday and stuck the new electrical box on the wall. Well, stuck sounds quiet but it included grinding, pounding and drilling. Paige ordered window blinds from here previous job at Wallpaper Warehouse. It will be nice to have window covering on all of our windows instead of just our bedroom. It’s good to be home.

Here is a link directly to the new Living room and Master bedroom pictures on WebShots.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/552766472bZkylJ

Church Marquees & other funny stuff.

Church Marquees:

"Don't give up. Moses was once a basket case."

"Under same management for over 2000 years."

"Tithe if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk!"

"Beat the Christmas rush, come to church this Sunday!"

"Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church."

"Life has many choices, Eternity has two. What's yours?"

"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due."

"Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary."

"It's hard to stumble when you're down on your knees."

"A clear conscience makes a soft pillow."

"The wages of sin is death. Repent before payday."

"Can't sleep? Try counting your blessings."

"Forbidden fruit creates many jams."

"Christians, keep the faith...but not from others!"

"Satan subtracts and divides. God adds and multiplies"

"If you don't want to reap the fruits of sin stay out of the devil's orchard."

"To belittle is to be little."

"Don't let the littleness in others bring out the littleness in you."

"Try Jesus. If you don't like Him, the devil will always take you back."

Jokes:

The Irate Driver

A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection with him. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell.After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Easter?!?

Three blondes died and found themselves standing before St. Peter. He told them that before they could enter the Kingdom, they had to tell him what Easter was. The first blonde said, "Easter is a holiday where they have a big feast and we give thanks and eat turkey."St. Peter said, "Noooooo," and he turned her away.The second blonde said, "Easter is when we celebrate Jesus' birth and exchange gifts."St. Peter said, "Noooooo," and he turned her away.The third blonde said she knew what Easter is, and St. Peter said, "So, tell me."She said, "Easter is a Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. Jesus was having Passover feast with His disciples when he was betrayed by Judas, and the Romans arrested him. The Romans hung Him on the cross and eventually He died. Then they buried Him in a tomb behind a very large boulder..."St. Peter said, "Verrrrrry good!"Then the blonde continued, "Now every year the Jews roll away the boulder and Jesus comes out. If he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of Spring." (Bad ... but funny! Sorry.)

Out of the Mouths of Babes
- The Bible According to KIDS

The cute statements below are said to have been written by actual students and are genuine, authentic and not retouched or corrected:

Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah.

Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles.

Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten amendments.

The fifth commandment is to humor thy father and mother.

The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

Moses died before he ever reached Canada.

Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.

The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.

David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar.

He fought with the Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.

Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.

When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager.

Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

St. John, the blacksmith, dumped water on his head.

Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you.

He also explained, "a man doth not live by sweat alone."

It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.

The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.

The epistles were the wives of the apostles.

One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.

St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.

A Christian should have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

Morning Update & Misc

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Hey guys, I found a cool website featuring Bible stories made from Lego building blocks. It is a lot cooler than it sounds. Here is the link:

http://www.thebricktestament.com/

It turns out DirecTV can’t install here either. The trees are too big. I’d rather have the trees but would like to have satellite too. Looks like its Time-Warner Cable but a DVR is still available. They are coming out Friday to set us up. There is a cable box on the wall of the house so we know it will work. The electrician is coming on Friday to get started and the heating and cooling people hopefully early next week. They have to replace all of the ductwork as well as add the heat pump. It was pretty hot and humid day before yesterday and yesterday was cool and nice all day. This morning is actually pretty chilly. The last couple of days felt like late October in Boise. We are hoping and believe it will last a couple of months. The Farmer’s predicts a heavier than normal snowfall this winter and especially around Christmas but we like that as long as we have heat. Here is a list of the Average yearly rainfall in inches for a few cities:

Boise, ID 12.11 inches
Long Beach, CA 11.80
Winston-Salem, NC 42.62
Miami, FL 55.91
Okinawa, Japan 93
Mawslynram, India 467 ½

Here are a couple of links where I found the average rainfall if you want to check another city.

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/
http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/normrain.html

I am an Alien.
I am not of this world
nor do I call it Home.
My desires are not for
earthly things that will fade,
corrode or burn.
I set my heart and
mind on things above.
My faith and hope
are in God alone
and I eagerly await
His return for me.
I'm a citizen of heaven.

I am a Christian

by Maya Angelou

When I say.. 'I am a Christian'

I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin'.

I'm whispering 'I was lost,

Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say.. 'I am a Christian'

I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble

and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian'

I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak

And need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian'

I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed

And need God to clean my mess.

When I say..'I am a Christian'

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible

But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian'

I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches

So I call upon His name.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian'

I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner

Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Comix - Reverend Fun & After Eden

This is the 3rd post today ... scroll down. :)

http://www.reverendfun.com/
http://www.answersingenesis.org/aftereden/index.aspx

Click them to make them bigger...

If Noah Had to Build the Ark in 2006

If Noah had to build the ark in 2006, his story may have gone something like this:And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, "In one year, I am going to make it rain, and the rain shall not stop until it submerges the entire earth and all living flesh is destroyed. Because of this, I want you to save the righteous people and two of every living species on earth. Therefore, I am commanding you to build an Ark."In a flash of lightning, God delivered the specifications for an Ark. Daunted by this task, but respectful of God's wishes, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the Ark. "Remember," said the Lord, "you must complete and fill the Ark in one year's time."Exactly one year later, fierce storm clouds covered the earth and all the seas of the earth went into turmoil. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard weeping."Noah!" He shouted. "Where is the Ark?""Lord, please forgive me, " cried Noah. "I did my best, but there were big problems."First I had to get a permit for construction, and your plans did not meet the building codes. I had to hire an engineering firm and redraw the plans."Then I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not the Ark needed a sprinkler system and approved floatation devices."Then my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission."Then I had problems getting enough wood for the Ark because there was a ban on cutting trees to protect the Spotted Owl. I finally convinced the U.S. Forest Service that I really needed the wood to save the owls. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won't let me take the two owls."The carpenters formed a union and went on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or hammer. Now I have 16 carpenters on the Ark but still no owls."When I started rounding up the other animals, an animal rights group sued me. They objected to me taking only two of each kind aboard. This suit is pending."Meanwhile, the EPA notified me that I could not complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. They didn't take very kindly to the idea."Then the Army Corps of Engineers demanded a map of the proposed flood plain. I sent them a globe."Right now, I am trying to resolve a complaint filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that I am practicing discrimination by not taking atheists aboard."The IRS has seized my assets, claiming that I'm building the Ark in preparation to flee the country to avoid paying the state some kind of user tax that I owe them and that I failed to register the Ark as a 'recreational water craft.'"And finally, the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the Ark, saying that since God is flooding the Earth, it's a religious event, and therefore unconstitutional."I really don't think I can finish the Ark for another five or six years."Noah waited.The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine, and the seas began to calm. A rainbow arced across the sky.Noah looked up hopefully. "You mean you're not going to destroy the earth, Lord?""No," He said sadly. "I don't have to. The government already has."

HomeWORK!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Well, much has happened since our last entry, the floors are completely sanded. The living roomand master bedroom are varnished. In the living room I sanded every bit of old vanish, paint and other blemish off the floor until it was just the bare oak. It was made even more difficult by the sticky residue left by the peel-n-stick tiles (it was so sticky that our shoes would stick and we’d step out of them and then get our feet stuck). It pretty much took 2 days of sanding to finish the living room. In the 2nd bedroom / laundry room didn’t have tile over the wood and I needed to get the area under the washer and dryer finished so there would be a place for them when they were delivered. I wasn’t as worried that it was sanded perfectly so I just gave it a quick hit with the sander, applied Mineral Spirits and varnished. It looked exactly the same as the living room without all of the work. So in the master I washed the sticky off the floor with mineral oil, sanded lightly and varnished. Took a few hours and looks the same as the living room. I imagine that anyone refinishing multiple rooms goes through much of the same process:

1) Let’s make it new and perfect.
2) Man, sanding the floors really makes my back hurt.
3) I kinda like the rustic look, how about you.

They pretty much came out the same everywhere. The floors in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway are all projects for another day. The whole floor project was made even more exciting by all of the deliveries we had, which either needed the floor we were doing for its home or a walkway. We are really glad it’s finished and love the outcome. It was all worth it.

Little by little it’s starting to look and more importantly, feel like home. Its weird living in a new house, you have to get used to all of the strange noises. Gar seems at home wherever he is but Loki is afraid of the house. It might be the semi-slick floors (he was afraid to go in our old garage after the floor was painted, we think he thought it was a liquid.) They both love the yard and we have been tying them up in the back because we still have to train them for the Invisible Fence before they can be left unattached and unattended outside. Oh yes my buddy David laughed at us because we bought an “Invisible Fence”. They also traded our cow for some “Magic Beans”. I know the fence is really there because they hooked a box to the wall of the laundry room with a “blinking light” on it. We have been priming and painting in various rooms of the house. We decided to go with a similar color to the Boise place, it’s a Mocha brown but it is a darker color. The living room is getting finished and I will probably be spending most of my day assembling furniture. Yesterday, I put together a TV stand and I am working on 2 tables for behind the sofa as well as a tall shelf unit. Today DirecTV is coming to, hopefully, install satellite TV. We were trying to get DishNetwork but they couldn’t get the satellite lined up because of all of the trees. We also have an electrician coming today to give us a bid. He’s a Pastor and does electrical work on the side. Once the electrical is completed then the heating and Cooling folk will get at it. We got 3 bids and they were all very close to each other so we just picked one, alright we picked the Christians. Yeah, we discriminate. It’s sure nice to be sleeping in a “real” bed.

Church is terrific and I hope that some of you are listening to the online sermons from Pastor David at the Calvary Chapel of the Triad. http://www.reachthetriad.com/teachingflash.php?Testament=Special&Book=All On Sunday we recently started the Book of Acts. Thursday we’re going through Ruth and we recently went to a couple of nights where Pastor David talked about prophecy and current events. Great stuff.

In Tennessee I got a cool shirt. It looks like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup package but has a different message as you can see. If I wore this in Boise I would get strange looks but here whenever I wear it people talk to me like crazy. 5 or 6 people will mention it and we’ll chat. I can’t imagine how many see it and don’t comment. It’s fun.
More later, m

p.s. watch for pictures of the house at the WebShots page tonight or tomorrow. The Pastor electrician quoted us a much lower price than we hoped. He's going to do it all: Move stove plug, add 3 outlets, upgrade 200 amp service, install HVAC and add RV plug. Woo Hoo! PTL

Home ... As close as we can be on earth.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Well guys, we made it. We closed on the house today about 11am. We went back to the campground, loaded up the dogs, unplugged and moved home. At 1:30pm the Invisible Fence guy came and installed the “fence”. It will take about a week of training before we can just let them out but it will be great when we can. They are doing well but I can imagine that they don’t know what on earth is going on. We peeled up the tile in the living room and most of the master bedroom. The wood floors underneath are in great shape. We are going to pick up the floor sander and edger from the rental place early in the morning. We are planning to have the living room, master bedroom and guest bedroom sanded and sealed by Saturday night and we are going to prep the walls for paint. It’s seems like we’ve been through some of this before. Its better this time because it is for our house and we will be able to enjoy it. We are trying to get most of this done before the furniture comes. Monday night the living room should be pretty nice and we are planning a few lazy days when we finish. It will sure be nice to sit in a real couch and sleeping in a real bed. Weeeeee! We are taking a lot of pictures and we will post them when we get a moment. We are beat.. Good night. - m

Almost home...

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Well tomorrow we close on the house. Because the furnace and other items that need repair the owner gave us a $1500 credit to fix stuff. Today we are getting a couple of other bids on the heating and cooling system. Tuesday we scheduled an installation of the invisible Fence
http://www.invisiblefence.com/ . It will be really nice because we don’t want to ruin the back yard with a fence; part of its charm is its wildness. So for less than the cost of a real one we got an Invisible Fence. They offer a 99.5% containment rate, training with the dog (or boyz) and lifetime equipment warranties. They are going to install it Friday afternoon. We got the refrigerator and stove on Wednesday, we wanted the stainless steel finish but decided to go with something called a “silvermist” finish. It looks like stainless but doesn’t get as fingerprinty (I like fingerprinty, I think it is a fine word). So now we have all of the major appliances and most of the major furniture. Sectional Sofa, Fridge, Stove and mattress will all be delivered on Monday and the Washer and Dryer on Tuesday. We also have DishNetwork scheduled to install on Sunday afternoon. We decided to go with them because they are the only provider that offers SkyAngel http://www.skyangel.com/. SkyAngel can be added to DishNetwork and adds a bunch of Christian television channels for a small price. We will also get 2 DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders; it’s kinda like TiVo) in the deal. It rained nonstop, and I mean really really nonstop for a day and a half. We’re glad we aren’t so close to the lake anymore. I bet it’s really high now. I love the rain but will be glad to get out of the RV! Well I’ve got to get ready to go to the house for the bids. More later, M

p.s. Susan our friend from church changed her webpage check it out at http://shastadaisytoo.blogspot.com/

CCTriad Commercials

Here is a link to some commercials that the Calvary Chapel of the Triad airs on local tv. Our Pastor David McGee is at the end of them. They are pretty hard hitting. Let me know if you have any trouble viewing them. - M

http://www.reachthetriad.com/commercials.php

We're back...

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Gosh, where to start? Not a whole lot has happened since last week, got a bid on the heat/cooling system-not quite what we were thinking-ouch! Went back to the seller to see about a credit, and kinda played phone tag all week. Should hear on Monday, we are supposed to close o Fri the 15th and sure are ready. We went to Tennessee the other day, we thought it was a 3hr drive, turned out to be a 5hr drive, so it made for a very long day trip! But we had fun, took advantage of the shopping, and bought a big area rug and some accessories for the new living room. Will definitely go back to spruce up the other rooms after we know color schemes and such. We have ended up spending way more money than I had originally “planned”…too much eating out and shopping for something to do. We stayed in the motorhome all day because of the rain, and then the next day were a little stir-crazy and just had to get out. Loki decided he needed to get out too…We frequently tie them outside and leave them unattended, checking on them every ½ hour or so, and one time we went to check, Loki’s leash was empty. We set out to search for him, Mike taking the high road, and me taking the low road hugging the lake. I honestly never imagined he would be down there, since he doesn’t even like to go outside when it rains, let alone submerge his whole body in water…but there he was, Swimming towards a bunch of ducks about 100 ft out. I called to him, and he turned towards me, but still didn’t want to come nicely and I had to chase him a ways before I was able to catch him, then we had to deal with wet dog in the confinement of the motorhome for the rest of the day-yuck. Certainly was entertaining, Mike didn’t get to see him swim, but was glad that he hadn’t drown (being old, not used to swimming, and arthritic). Went to the later service at church today, because there was a “meet and greet” after for “newcomers”, got to meet some staff, the Pastor and some other new people. Pastor David and his wife have actually been to Boise a few times. Meeting everyone made use even surer that we were in the right place! Found out that when you talk about Winston-Salem, its ok to just say Winston, and also found out that even the locals think all the freeways are confusing. (and some think the Sweet Tea is too sweet) Looking forward to moving in the house, will pull up the peel and stick tile first, and see about re-doing the hardwoods. Have the couch, and bed being delivered on Monday the 18th, and washer/dryer on the 19th. We still need to find a fridge and stove, will look in the newspaper ads today. Very anxious to get at least the living room painted, and then we will probably tackle the bathroom, it needs totally gutted. Still need to get a bid on an invisible fence and some more bids for the heat/cooling, before we can begin to re-do something big like the kitchen. Well, that’s all for now, will post more pictures as we do some renovations, until then God Bless - P

One of the people we met at the newcomer lunch was Susan. Here is here webpage. I also “borrowed” a section from her page to share with you guys.

http://shastadaisytoo.blogspot.com/ (this is a new URL)

My Commitment As A Christian:

I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me... my banner will be clear! Oh, and while I'm at it I may as well say... I believe His Word to be perfect, without error in the Bible!

Yes! Yes! Yes! More when we know more or have more. - M