It's been a while...

Hi Guys, It has been a while since we updated but not too much has happened. We decided to keep the blog going indefinitely. It’s a good way to keep anyone who is interest updated and we get to pass along interesting things as well.

Paige job is going well. I miss her. We spent the last few months together 24/7 and its hard not to do that. She might be the only person I could spend that much time with and not want to strangle. We’ll have been married for 10 years next May and I love her more than ever.

We are still looking for a hutch thingy fro the kitchen and have been training the dogs with the invisible fence. It’s going to be hard to let them get shocked but I guess its part of the learning process. We found a framed print we had been looking for, for some time. It’s called “Master Bedroom” and is on a Lab sleeping on the bed. It looks like our room if the boys have their way. We purchased a new programmable thermostat to replace the old new one. The Heating/Cooling guys said they used to use programmable ones but they were too hard to explain how to use. We had one at the Boise house and like to be able to set it for day and night. It should save a bit of money in the long run. We also bought electric blankets for the beds. We keep the thermostat pretty low at night and its nice to have a little heat. I’m sitting in bed with the laptop typing this and the dogs are snoring so loud it is hard to concentrate. We have been feeding them pineapple as a treat. We are trying to teach them the word pineapple so they go crazy when you say it but no luck so far. It’s pretty funny but it might be funnier in person.

Wow it looks pretty cold in Boise, a High of 42 and a LOW of 17. Arrgh! That’s not Fall. It’s really nice here, Highs in the 70’s and a Low of 45.

The Sunday before last we went to lunch after church with the Jernigan’s. They were the first people we met at Calvary Chapel of the Triad, the ones that offered us the loan of their truck. It was a really nice time. We had great conversation and their kids were great too. They surprised us with a house warming gift of a cross that has the bible verse 2 Corinthians 5:7 … For we walk by faith, not by sight. It is really nice and will be a great addition to our collection.

Well I guess that’s it for now. Make sure you check out the story about Clay Dyer below. God Bless!

No Arms, No Legs? No Problem.

I woke up Sunday morning and was checking the weather and saw a bit of a fishing show with a really impressive guy. I dug up some information to share with you and I’ll pick up after it.

No Arms, No Legs? No Problem for Tournament Fisherman By John Phillips

- Clay Dyer's motto for life is, "If I can, you can."

Dyer, 24, of Hamilton, Ala. stands less than 40 inches tall and weighs 86 pounds. But put him on a boat on a lake, and he proves that physical deficiencies are no obstacles when it comes to catching fish.

When he was only 5 years old, Dyer realized the difference between himself and other children. Dyer was born with no full-sized arms - only a partial arm on his right shoulder - and no legs.

Most people will consider Dyer handicapped, but he doesn't see himself that way.
"I knew I had a heart, a soul and a mind, which is what really makes a human being," Dyer says. "Anything else you have is a bonus."

That kind of attitude and a determined work ethic has helped Dyer develop amazing skill with a bass rod and the lures in his tackle box.

Fishing for 19 years, Dyer has tournament fished since age 15 and fished full-time since 1995. The highly competitive Dyer has fished in more than 200 bass tournaments and won 25.
"I knew when I started bass fishing tournaments that I probably wouldn't win in the beginning," Dyer said. "I realized that I had a lot to learn, and I was willing to invest the time required to master my profession."

Dyer had to learn how to fish competitively, a difficult task at best. Also to compete, he had to create a completely new style of bass fishing that would enable him to fish independently and efficiently and maximize the energy of his small frame.

Dyer holds his rod between his shoulder and his chin and supports the rod with his arm. People who have seen Dyer cast with pinpoint accuracy say that his cast looks much like a golf swing. But he can cast overhanded and side-armed as well as flip and pitch. Dyer can cast a 1/4-ounce jig into a Styrofoam coffee cup from 30 to 50 feet. But there's more to being a competitive angler than just casting accuracy.

As Dyer said, "When I first started fishing, the competition blew me away, particularly on the B.A.S.S. Federation Circuit. But, instead of getting down mentally, I tried to learn something new at every tournament I attended.

"At first, the other fishermen were a little stand offish. They couldn't understand how someone who looked like me could fish, much less compete in a professional tournament. They couldn't figure out how a 40-inch-tall guy with only one 16-inch-long arm could flip and pitch under docks and piers and overhanging bushes or how he could drive a bass boat at 70 mph safely. Most of the fishermen in my early days of competing were uncertain about my abilities - until they went on the water with me, saw me drive my boat and fish."

Like all the other competitors in a tournament, Dyer wears a life jacket while driving his boat. But when he gets ready to fish, he sheds his life jacket.

When asked what happens if he falls into the water while fishing, Dyer laughed. "I can swim like a fish, and I love to go swimming. Often after a hard day of tournament fishing, swimming helps me stretch and relax my muscles that have been tensed up all day."
Larry Hopson, also of Hamilton, and one of the many anglers who has fished tournaments with Dyer for six years, said he was skeptical of Dyer's abilities at first.

"I was a little apprehensive to fish with him at first and was nervous about his ability to drive a boat at 70 mph," Hopson said. "However, within five minutes of being on the water with him, I was relaxed and comfortable and knew he could handle that boat.

"Fishing with Clay is an inspiration to me. The only thing you have to do for Clay is help him into the boat and put his life jacket on him. He handles anything else. You may have to open up a soft drink or a bottle of water every once in awhile for him, but that's all."

When people ask Hopson how Dyer fishes, he tells them, "The best way to learn how Clay fishes is to go with him and watch. I've seen him take lures off, put lures on, tie knots, thread worms on hooks, tie on spinner baits and crankbaits and jerk 3- and 4-pound bass into the boat or even crawl into a brushpile headfirst to get a hooked bass out of thick cover.

"I've watched Clay run his trolling motor and cast with pinpoint accuracy. And even though I've fished with him hundreds of times, I'm still not sure how he does what he does. He's an amazing man with an amazing talent."

Dyer's true strength is his attitude and spirit.

"My competing as a tournament angler isn't really a big deal," Dyer said. "I just take what I have and try to do the very best I can with it. By adopting this attitude, I've discovered that I can do things that I've never thought possible.

"I love a challenge and competition. And I've always enjoyed proving that I can do what anyone else can do. When someone tells me I can't, I'll do whatever I have to do to prove that I can.
"I played baseball all through junior-high school. I was either the catcher or the first baseman, so I didn't have to move a lot. When my turn came to bat, I had a designated runner. I knew I would never be a professional baseball player.

"However, I believed that I could be a professional fisherman if I worked at it. I realized that becoming a professional fisherman would be a challenge. But I also felt that God wanted me to be successful at fishing and to demonstrate that if Clay Dyer could do it, anybody who had a goal in life could achieve that goal."

When asked about his future, Dyer said, "I feel like I'm doing what God wants me to do. However, as much as I love competitive fishing, if God tells me to put fishing aside and do something else, I will. As long as my health stays good and I can cast a rod, I plan to keep on fishing.

"My dad says I'll be fishing until I'm six feet under."

I was really inspired by Clay. Here was this guy with no arms or legs scrambling around a boat trying to pull a fish in with his shoulder and chin and the minute he lands the fish he immediately says thank you Lord. I have all my limbs and so many other things I take for granted and here is this guy that so many would think has nothing to be thankful for but he is truly thankful. I’m thankful that the Lord uses people like Clay to teach people like me. Thank you Lord!


Clay’s Website: http://www.smgoutdoors.com/claydyer.html

Another article about Clay: http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=4659

The link below is a video feature that ESPN did on him. It’s pretty cool.
http://www.smgoutdoors.com/f/Clay_Dyer.wmv

Jesus had to be Glorified! by Gretta Curtis

Jesus had to be Glorified, says British Airways Employee Nadia Eweida, British Airways' employee fighting to openly wear a Christian cross necklace at work, said that "Jesus had to be glorified" through her life.

Nadia Eweida, British Airways' employee fighting to openly wear a Christian cross necklace at work, said that "Jesus had to be glorified" through her life.

Eweida, 55, a check-in worker at Heathrow airport, has been on unpaid leave after refusing to remove or cover up her cross.

She said today: "I cannot hide it. Jesus has to be glorified in my life. I am not politically motivated or minded. I just follow the biblical truth."

Ms Eweida, from west London, was speaking to Sky News from New York having been taken over to the USA by a television news company.

She said she was still waiting to hear the result of her appeal to BA to be allowed to openly wear the cross.

Ms Eweida added: "I have been overwhelmed by the support I have had in America and from my MP and barrister.

"I am just a normal employee trying to earn a living and look after my mother at the same time."

The suspended worker was reported as saying: “British Airways permits Muslims to wear a headscarf, Sikhs to wear a turban and other faiths religious apparel. Only Christians are forbidden to express their faith.”

British Airways has commented that its company policy states that employees must wear jewellery under their uniforms, and it explicitly states that this includes religious symbols.
Liberal Democrat lawmaker Vincent Cable, who represents Twickenham in west London, said it was “absolutely mind-boggling that Britain's flag-carrying airline could treat its employees in such a disgraceful and petty manner.”

“Nadia is a devout Christian who was displaying her faith, but in a modest and totally un-provocative manner,” he said.

“It is absolutely right that other religious minorities be allowed exemption from the dress code, but why can't a Christian be treated in the same way?”

A Quick One pt.2

Saturday, Oct 21st, 2006

I started job hunting back the first week of Oct, applied for a job at the Wake Forest Deacon Pro shop in the mall, a Salvage building supply, a consignment furniture store and some misc. retail shops. Sent a resume to a Christian Counseling center looking for a substance abuse counselor, and applied to our church because they were looking for a part time secretary. The Deacon shop called me to interview first, and of course the full time position called for Sundays and nights, so I told the woman that I might be interested in the part time position instead of full time so I wouldn’t have to miss church. She didn’t seem to understand and I didn’t hear back from her. The day after that interview the furniture place called, the owner asked what brought me to NC and when I told her GOD, she said she got goosebumps. We had a pretty lengthy conversation on the phone and I went in Friday for a “working interview”. The store is closed on Sundays (smile) and closes at 6pm (church starts at 7 - smile) The positions are part time with full time pay, they figure if they pay their employees well enough they don’t have to work full time and can have time to be with their families and/or ministries. Awesome. Even though it’s part time they offer benefits and paid vacation, the owner said something about the benefits being expensive, so they give you a reimbursement check every month to help off-set the cost. WOW. I go back on Monday and am sure will get more info. Since I’m making so much money (twice what I made in Boise) Mike is going to be the house husband until just the right thing comes along. He had said he would go back to security, and the company he worked for in Boise, has an office here in Greensboro, but we know it would be night (like graveyard) and/or weekends (at least at first), and I really don’t want him doing that. Thankfully we don’t need two incomes because we own the house, and have very little monthly expenses-God is good!

We went to the local mall to see a free concert today. Aaron Shust played, he said he wasn’t used to playing at malls, but we all think it went very well. He made sure everyone there listening, and everyone passing by knew why we were all there-to praise God. We sang along “our Savior lives, our Savior loves, our Savior’s there for me” he played for about an hour, then was heading to Charlotte for a concert tonight. It was really cool. After church on Sunday we are going out to lunch with the very first people we met at Calvary. (The ones who said we could borrow their truck, and stay at their house) Then I think we will drive up to Mt Airy or somewhere to see the fall leaves in full. If we get home by 5pm, we will go join a small group at church, we’ve been meaning to for a couple weeks now.

http://www.aaronshust.com/index.html

Will Rogers Wisdom

Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage this country has ever known. Enjoy the following quotes:

Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

There are two theories to arguing with a woman... neither works.

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.

There are three kinds of men: ones that learn by reading, few who learn by observation, and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

Lettin' the cat outta' the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back.

And finally: After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him... The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

A Quick One pt.1

Hey Guys, not a lot of time to update but some news. Paige found an incredible job. It's a consignment furniture place called Consignment Furniture Emporium, Inc. http://www.cfe1.com/. It's part-time (which is what we wanted) but pays full-time + pay. The owners are Christian as well. Paige will write in the blog and give you more info soon.We bought one of our final furniture pieces the other day.

We had been looking for a Dressing Table because our bathroom is small (and only one) so Paige can do her makeup and hair in the Master bedroom. We were going to wait because now that Paige works at a furniture place we could be pretty choosy but it was on $50 and we couldn't pass it up.

Later this afternoon we are going to see Christian artist Aaron Shust who is giving a free concert at Hanes Mall here in Winston-Salem. http://www.aaronshust.com/index.html If you listen to Christian radio you've probably heard some of his songs (Matchless and My Savior, My God). It's pretty obvious what he's talking about in his songs, and I appreciate that. It drives me crazy when you don't know what a "Christian Bands" lyrics are talking about. I don't mean loud I mean wishy-washy or watered-down. I betcha Aaron Shust will lay out the Gospel pretty clearly in the Mall today!!!

Here are a couple pictures of my buddy Walt and his buddy Ken Bishop at a Greenbay Packer game. Ken is a DJ for a Christian Radio Station http://www.89q.org/waycup/index.html and is helping Walt get back into radio. I worked with Walt and he came to the small group at least once. He now lives in Wisconsin. Please keep Walt in prayer. Thanks.

Fall in NC - Just Pics

Here are a few pictures of our house in fall. I took them a few minutes ago. More Later. -m

*click* them to make them bigger.

More pictures and these ones without text are at our webshots page.

Cartoons!

It's feast or famine with posts ... Scroll down for main posts!

Late Update pt. 2

Monday, October 16, 2006

We went to the Raleigh Fair on October 13th to see Chris Tomlin. WOW! We were not disappointed. Church goers who go to churches with contemporary worship services would recognize Chris Tomlin’s discography, if not his name. Some of his songs include: Enough, Indescribable, Holy Is the Lord, How Great is Our God, Your Grace Is Enough & Not to Us, Forever. We have been to a few concerts recently by Christian artists that really never mentioned God or the reason they were doing what they were doing. Chris really went out of his way to point to God. It was an amazing concert. It was so refreshing to hear him say that he wasn’t the attraction, God is. He was there for God. Don’t pass up a chance to see Chris Tomlin if you get the chance.

Here are the lyrics to one of Chris’ newer songs:

Made to Worship

Before the day
Before the light
Before the world revolved around the sun
God on high
Stepped down into time
And wrote the story of His love for everyone

He has filled our hearts with wonder
So that we always remember

You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see who we were meant to be

All we are
And all we have
Is all a gift from God that we receive
Brought to life
We open up our eyes
To see the majesty and glory of the King

He has filled our hearts with wonder
So that we always remember

You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see who we were meant to be

And even the rocks cry out
And even the Heavens shout
At the sound of His holy name
So let every voice sing out
And let every knee bow down
He is worthy of all our praise

You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free, yeah
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see, you and I will see

You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free, yeah
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see who we were meant to be

http://www.christomlin.com/

AMEN! We are actually going to another Christian concert, Aaron Shust, at a mall on next Saturday. It will be our 3rd free or really cheap concert in a month. COOL!

We wrapped up the painting, for now. We really like the colors together; the tan, blue and coral look pretty cool. The last color will be in the bathroom and is a lime green similar to the color of our old bathroom but probably brighter. We are waiting to do the bathroom until we remodel it and we aren’t sure when we will be able to finish it. As Paige said we are still looking for a dressing table, bookshelf and a hutch for the kitchen.

Late Update pt. 1

Saturday, October 07, 2006

*click* the pictures to make them bigger.

Painted the kitchen last week, we are going for a retro 50’s kitchen, and painted it turquoise (think Tiffany Box blue).

We plan to get a chrome bistro table someday, with shiny red
vinyl seats and thought the turquoise would go nicely. Also bought paint for the guest room, it’s a coral-salmon color, but I still have to finish taking the wallpaper border down, and prime the place before the color can go on. (It's finished in the pictures.) Bought a full size mattress, head and foot board and bedding, so we will be ready for our company in November.

We bought quite a bit of furniture new, and then found the flea market and a great Salvation Army thrift store, and have got some wonderful vintage pieces. A swivel-rocker vinyl upholstered chair for $35.00, and two dressers, one for $35 we thought we would have in our room, but then we found an even better one for $40 that Mike put a new coat of lacquer on and turned out great for our room. The head/foot board for the guest room needs a coat of paint, but will be very cute for $35. We are still on the hunt for a vanity table, or little desk, that I can sit and do my hair and make-up in the master. Saw a sewing machine table I liked, but decided the era was off, were going to go back to the flea market today, but it’s raining. So we are having a lazy day, breakfast in bed and watching movies.


We went to Dixie Classic Fair Wednesday night the contemporary Christian band Jars of Clay were playing, and you got in free if you brought 5 cans of food. It was a fun night out, planning on going to the Raleigh Fair (60+ miles east) later this month to see Chris Tomlin play! We never got such great groups play at the Idaho fair. Also found out at church on Thursday night that Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusade is coming to Raleigh next spring!! http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/raleigh/ There are on average, 2300 decisions for Christ every night of the Crusade - that’s awesome!! We will definitely sign up to work, and take the motorhome to stay the whole week. We went and saw him at his church in Riverside, Ca last year. It will be so cool.

Finally got back to Weight Watchers on Wed. and weighed in only 3 lbs more than I left Boise-not too bad! Mike and I have both been sore from working out on our new exercise equipment, but it feels good, and we are being very diligent. The boys had a good visit with the new vet Tuesday. She came to us, and took blood for heartworm tests, both boys were negative, and are now on preventative medicine. Also had her clip their nails, Gar was very good, but you’d think she was taking Loki’s whole leg off, the way he fussed. Glad that’s over for awhile. More pictures after we get the guest room painted, hope you all are enjoying our journals. Would love to hear from you, and see what are you’re favorite bits. -p