today's shout out is a no doubter...

it is one thirtyish and i am thus unable to go to sleep so what do i do??? i blog... that is right... i am back on the wagon hardcore...

well today was a long day and it would have been a much longer day had it not been for the recipient of today's shout out... it has been a couple posts since i have given one, but today's shout outee is very deserving for many reasons...

shall i begin: i have known this person for a very long time and we have certainly had our ups and downs, but our love has lasted through the bull snot of life... there have been many competitions between us and despite the heated rivalries that have been formed we now have the ability to get past the winning losing thing and just appreciate each other... i was able to see a transformation in this person's life over this past year as he gave his life to the Lord after much prayer by me and other members of my family... despite the fact that this person was once smaller than me and now has grown up much larger, i will always be very protective of this person... this fact is true even though i used to pick on this person unmercifully and even have a catch with them... not like catch with them with a ball... (although we did do that and still do) i literally used to have a catch with "this person"... yes i threw this person and later attempted to catch them again... not always successfully i might add... whoops... rabbitt trail there... ahem... this person will always be someone close to me who i love and appreciate despite the fact that i could strangle them somedays... i am sure that sentiment is mutual... and finally my shout out goes out to this person because when it seemed like the rest of grand manan was a ghost town or raptured or was playing a really big game of hide and seek, he took his only day off in about a million days and helped me move all of my belongings from north head to seal cove... and incase you have not figured out who my shout out goes to today...

here is your final hint...



Love ya Bro!!!

hold still...

well, i hope that this is it for a good little while... i would say that i am as big a fan of moving as i am interviews... not on my top 120 things to do list... but i guess i cannot complain since in the last week the Lord has provided me with another job and a place to live... so hopefully i will be landed now for a little bit and achieve some stability in my life... i am truly thankful for the blessings the Lord provides... as for now, i will be packing and unpacking... if you wanna help, give me a call... that's all...

not a member of the interview fan club...

this will be brief because i hate to torture those whom find so much in my words to jump on, but i will share because others have pressured me to do so...

so as you can tell from my title, i am not the biggest fan of interviews... i had one today and once again i say, i hate them... the thing that gets me is this... i used to be good at them... what happened? did not getting a couple of jobs that i interviewed for really shatter my confidence that badly? i don't know...

i just wish that there was a way for people to see in a visual way someone's passions, gifts, talents and the like... the interview setting seems so fake and even though people say "just be yourself" there is pressure to be better than that... i hate that... myself is so frigging good at what he does, and yet i feel like that does not match up once i sit down and talk to people in this setting... my pic above demonstrates how i feel once things get going... i am the branch...

so anywho, this is my post... funny? not for me... interesting? not so much... real? that it is...

have a wonderful day all... love you all...

scottie

Reflections...

today i am in a reflective mood so there will be no shout outs, unless they go to Jesus and if that is a problem, your issue is not with me... k... so i just finished a week of one on one mentoring, T.A.ing, and tutoring and it has done some things in my mind... beside the thought of our children's education being in trouble with my helping them, i have discovered that i love mentoring... i think i knew this, but being around groups of people (friend, church, classrooms, youth groups, etc...) i have forgotten the value of the one on one time... in today's culture it is so taboo for an adult to have a mentoring role with a young person because some idiot's have ruined it by perverting in ways that will not be discussed... (but we know) nobody trusts anybody anymore because of these things and i have to believe that satan (piece of crap) loves it this way... well i for one will not stand for this... as of late, God has given me a passion for the one on one mentoring role and i think perhaps i may try to find other avenues to persue this passion...

i think we as adults have so much to offer teens and children today, but we do not because we are too affraid, too busy, too uncomfortable or any other lame excuse... what are we affraid of??? making a difference??? i was blessed as a teenager to have many mentors who i knew cared about me and i could chat with them at any time and sometimes i am sure that i did even though it was inconveinent for the adult... yet they still listened...

now i know that i said i was not going to give shout outs in this post, but i have officially changed my mind and hey, it is my blog right? so i guess i can do that... my shout out first off goes to Jesus for loving, providing and mentoring me by His example... also for sending these mentors in my life who at one point or another have been an awesome example in my life: frank and gloria trail, scott and sharon lewis, danny and wendy linton, eliot shepherd, julie shepherd, teena ingersoll, sherri urquhart, rhonda hettrick, troy russell...*** thanks all and i love you... you will never know... i trust that i can only try to make the difference that you have made in me...


*** - this list is only my list of youth leaders while i was in school... many more from other points in my life could and may be added at a later day... ***

for those who are having a bad day... STOP IT!!!

uh, what can you say?
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

baglady
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

speed bump
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

insert thought here...
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

yeah, enough said... i complain, you complain, we all complain... complaining stinks... amen, amen... go eat lunch...

today's shout out goes out to people who take funny pictures and put them on the internet... oh, i could look and laugh for hours... if i see another cat in a fishbowl or a person being kicked in the groin i just might explode... it is too much really... phew... catching breath now...

hey i wonder how someone becomes a funny picture taker for the internet??? could i do that for a job??? what would it pay??? hmmmm.... i guess i better buy a camera... now i will be rich and famous with my beloved disposable camera... way to go picture taking types... you inspire me and for that you get today's "shout out"...

may or may not be mine...

fastgrowing
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

with fathers day coming up real soon i thought that it was getting on to that time when i should post a picture that may or may not be of my kids... okay, just kidding... definately not my kid... vaughn knows that it is playoff time in the nba and nhl and you do not shave your playoff beard...

but seriously sports fans it is an overcast day hear on good ole GM and the men's baseball league is a full week into it's season... (the masses rejoice) on that note the devil rays (worst name ever) are looking to have a much improved season than their first one last year... who knows what this summer will bring???

now speaking of the devil rays that reminds me of dan boyd... dan boyd reminds me of chris stephens website... what is the connection you may ask and i know that you all are... shout outs, that is the connection... as a new segment on my world famous blog i will incorporate shout outs to people all over the world and then explain why i am shouting at them...

so my first shout out goes to... my mom...

my mom visited geoff and i this weekend past and brought one of my nefews and one of my nieces... they are cute and i loved playing with them, but i have to say that the number one reason i am giving my mom a shout out is because she gave birth the the 2 bestest boys in the whole wide world... yay for my mom... that right scott ingalls, my mom deserves a shout out...

My new favorite song...

You Never Let Go
by Matt Redman

verse
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I am caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back, I know You are near

pre chorus
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear, whom then shall I fear

chorus
Oh no, You never let go. Through the calm and through the storm.
Oh no, You never let go. In every high and ever low.
Oh no, You never let go. Lord You never let go of me.

verse
And I can see the light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
There will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

pre chorus
chorus

bridge
And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes
Still I will praise You
Still I will praise You

To Be A Kid Again...

it is a rainy, gross day and yet the peace that God gives is still evident to me... what a neat place to be... (did i just say neat?) anywho as i walked into the school i saw a class of younger kids running to the gym for their phys ed class... the looks on their faces was priceless... innocence... what was on their mind??? get to the gym, get to the gym, get to the gym... the excitement was written all over them...

yet as i say this unrestricted, overwhelming, uncontrolled joy i got to thinking about what happens as they got older... even as teens they will face choices that i may have not even faced yet and the heartbreak that could be theirs to deal with scares me... then i thought about these little ones and what they may face as adults someday... to be honest it broke my heart thinking about it...

then i was challenged... for whatever reason, God has called me to stay on Grand Manan and invest myself into the young people here... the crazy thing to me is that there is influence that God has given me too... this i may never understand, but i am thankful... i want to pray like nehemiah as i think of this... God, increase my favor with man in this place... as i think of a potential youth/rec center, as i think of hurting teens, as i think of little children who don't even know what is headed their way i am challenged... with great blessing comes great responsibility...

i have said this before, but it was in regards to finances and the gulf coast... now i am definately not in a place of financial greatness, but God has blessed me in other areas of life... in the past i have had amazing youth leaders that believed in me and did not give up on me, even when i was a jerk... now today, i have a group of amazing friends who support me in the good and bad and in my good and bad... so the challenge for me is this: will i walk in faith, whatever that means, doing what God wants me to do on this island... as He increases my favor, my influence with people, will i be obedient???

will we as God's people stop buying the lies and walk confidently and boldly as God directs... as i think back to these little ones scrambling to gym class without a care in the world, God asked me, "Are you ready to make an impact?"

Are we???

pick your battles i suppose...

for those of you who were blessed by seeing my kids, i will have to email the pics to you... God has taught me a lot about myself and my responses to things lately...

once again, i can be having a good day and the enemy (not a person) sets those little snares again... but i have a choice in this battle... i do not have to be defeated and let crap keep me down for God has promised me things and that is what i will cling to...

i think there are some though too that we just do not have to fight... this is a good example... some would say that i am being a wus and allowing people to push me around, but i don't think so... i feel that i need to pick my battles and this one may not be worth fighting... why antagoize?? it will be worth sitting back and allowing God to lead in this situation down the road and actually He is today because He gives peace... there once was a day when this type of thing would consume me for days and just mess me up because it would frustrate me so, but not today... "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom..." i am not bound by bitterness...

this is definately not a scottie promotional thing either... this freedom from all these snares is there for all those who are in Christ Jesus and that ain't just me... rest in God and let Him give you peace; even in your most frustrating times... He will...

and thanks lisa... they are beautiful boys aren't they... i love my boys...

first off i have to apologize for the sloppiness of the way these pics are posted... i am still experimenting on how to do this... but i had to show off my babies... finally... please pray because i miss them dearly...

so i found my wallet on sunday and saturday night we had an amazing service... started at about 7 and ended at about 11:30ish... the Holy Spirit fell and it was amazing to witness God doing business with His children in all kind of different ways and areas in their lives... very humbling experience as a worship leader... i love the intensity of the room when God begins to work and move and how in the midst of this extreme intensity, there is such a sense of peace... words cannot explain... i believe we are not finally hitting the tip of the ice burg now...

and to close of this post i just wanted to say "Cassidy rocks!!!"
wow, that did make it more exciting...
along with my kids pics...
peace...

Leightony Snickets Series of Unfortunated Events...

to start on a postive note, tim and i coach the high school girls volleyball team and it has been a blast... i am not really much of a volleyball player or a coach of the sport yet somehow tim roped me into helping him a while back... what a fun thing to do... the girls that we have been able to get to know through this are amazing and i have had so much fun coaching them... so this season was kind of a lengthy one with one whole regular season game and then on thursday we had our opening playoff tournament to determine the seedings in our conference... to make a long story a little less long, we won our bracket and played harvey in the finals of this tourney... we won the first game, lost a close one the second and lost an even closer one in the third game... we came in second place in our conference... how awesome was that!!! the girls have worked so hard and we have kept the game very simple while we have worked on the basics and they have improved so much... so now we move on to the next round of the playoffs... more news at 11 or so...

on to the next point which could be taken seriously, but i kind of want to laugh so don't take it seriously... last week (saturday) i was on my way to the church to lead worship in our churches contemporary service and while i was driving my grandma's car half of what was holding her gas tank up came undone... now i would never claim to be a mechanic, but i know that is not good at all...

now on to this week... being that i don't have a ride as of yet (my own broken down vehicle) and my grandma's broke under me i had to walk to the church today... as i was walking down the island there were a couple of people who stopped and helped me along the way... i did manage to walk quite a distance, but the rides were appreciated... as i was dropped off at the one of the local restaurants i got out and began to reach for my wallet so i could have lunch... uh oh... not in my pockets or in my bag... so a this point it is so far not at the store i last used it at or in one of the two vehicles that i travelled in... one more to check out...

sometimes i have these things happen to me and i just laugh as if to say what's next, but then other days i just want to swear... it seems that this has been the pattern in my life ever since emily requested that i pack up my stuff and move out of our marriage (2years, 4 mos)... one thing that i have been learning a lot lately is about the authority that God gives His children and that we do not have to live intimidated, defeated lives... today serves as a good reminder though that satan "still" does not care about all that and will do whatever he can to distract from what God would have us do in our daily walk in that authority...

this could be another distraction from the enemy as i prepare to lead worship tonight or it could just be my clumsiness, but i guess the choice is mine to decide how i am going to let this affect me... will i allow it to consume my mind and keep me from experiencing intimacy with my Savior tonight as we worship together or will i worship God despite this annoying little event that seems so big as it is added to the pile of events that i have faced... fortunately, my personality has some stubborness in it... the wallet will be found... the jeep will run again someday... the job will happen... the housing will come into fruition and my boys WILL know and spend time with their father...

although somedays i laugh and wonder where is God in all of this i know that His word says that He will never leave or forsake me... i am not forgotten...

neither are you... does this hit close to home?
tell me your story...

waiting...

so here it is... simply put, God sent me an e-mail... there was a lady who has visited the island at some point last year and a couple of weeks ago she sent an email to a lady on the island specifically telling her about my situation and that the Lord wanted me to stop and wait... (also known as don't move) let the Holy Spirit guide me here and listen for Him...

i asked God for bright red letters in the sky (kind of humourously) and He sent me an email...

so here i am waiting... an email has been sent to a president of a large ministry which works with youth and setting up youth centers and i am now waiting to hear back, trying to live a day at a time as the spirit leads... i love the freedom in this role so i can minister to the teens on the island, but finances always seems to be in the back of my mind... i want my sons to be a part of my life here as well and that does not seem to be a reality without the dough...

i must say though that i have a lot less noise in my brain knowing where the Lord wants me to be... i can now try to settle and establish myself in this community better... here we go...

subtle and silly...

mental note... next post is about psalm 127:1... in that post i will share about how God spoke to me about direction...

on to tonights thoughts... if you don't like serious posts i don't apologize... this is what God is bringing me through so this is what i share...

lately i have been experiencing and believing in the authority that God has equipped me with for a while now... so now that i choose to accept this gift and walk in it the opportunities to share with people have been plentiful... i feel so useful for the first time in a while... it is cool... yet the battle rages on... but this week it is different... usually i get pretty bombarded with a lot of heavy stuff and it is intense... in the past 24 hours i have had two insignificant things happen that really opened up some emotions of being upset and offended... for those who have been under the teaching of john bevere's "bait of satan" you know how nasty offence can be and how big the wedges it can cause... the things that set me off were so silly though... first, i was with some friends and another friend called and they spoke with 2 others and not me and that go me so upset... the thing is that i spoke with this person over msn so i should not have been upset in the first place and if i didn't it is still nothing to get upset over... so subtle... the second instance was while i was picking songs to lead worship another person whom i was speaking with suggested picking songs that were familiar... that got under my skin so badly it is ridiculous... i know what they meant, but i took it as "you have done a bad job picking songs in the past, so please do better"... so subtle...

even today i am just feeling overwhelmed a bit which is odd... instead of being totally crushed with another nasty blow, i just feel held down a bit... it is almost like the enemy knows the ground that i am taking back in my life and is subtly annoying me to hold me down a bit... so annoying... frig...

but the joy is this... the saints are surrounding me and God has not stopped being there... sounds so cliche, but is so true... when i am weak, He is strong and that is all i have to rely on...

not a real earth shaking post, but it is honest and that is what i wanted to be tonight... the enemy is sneaky and will do the little things that will eventually try to destroy us... great news is that he has no authority for those who are in Christ so i will not be destroyed... heck, i may even pull through... Praise God...

not what i planned on typing at all...

once again i have been told that i have been lazy with my posting here and once again the masses are right...

extreme discipleship was here last weekend and i have to say that it was an amazing weekend... many of our youth and youth leaders have really been under attack since the return of the alabama trip and this weekend was really needed... the last 2 weeks at youth group we have had to call the ambulance and have teens carted out on a stretcher... to put it mildly our kids are moving and satan is not happy...

i guess i would like to ask for those out there who know me and are not from GM to lift up our island teens in prayer... i have seen what the enemy is trying to do to thwart God's movement on this island and he is pulling no punches... physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually our kids are getting the brunt of some intense spiritual warfare like i have never seen before...

pray that our teens and leaders would accept and live in the victory that God has given us and know that God has not given them a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and a sound mind... (peace) pray that they would know and live out boldly because that same spirit that was in Jesus is in them and they do not have to be defeated in this battle... yet it is a battle and it is getting intense...

i am so proud of these kids for their stand that they are taking, but they need so much more than what they have to offer... we all do... we did do some battle this weekend and i believe that a lot of people did take back some ground that the enemy has stolen, but there is so much more...

i love the kids here and i have learned that this is where the Lord wants me to be so i may continue to equip these teens to fight this battle for their minds, bodies, hearts and souls... i will tell the amazing story of what happened to get me to this realization later on when some of the details play themselves out a bit, but i am asking you who reads this right now... intercede and fast (if you are lead) for the young people of grand manan... they are fighting a battle and need the strength to come out of this victorious... God will and is providing, but we seriously love and appreciate your prayers for our kids...

get your sails up, get your sails up... c'mon party people, get your sails up...

you ever think you are doing awesome with your walk with the Lord and then it hits you, or is revealed to you that you may not be doing so well...

yes that is where i am at right now... God has totally empowered me lately since the alabama trip (or at least i am claiming the authority finally) but there has been an internal struggle for me as of late... while i feel that i have a great impact with the ministry here on Grand Manan, i have been wrestling with whether or not i am to take a church as a pastor... that desire has always been there, but i feel that God has wanted me here for a season and now i am facing that choice again...

while we were on our way to and from alabama a church that we stayed in really left it's mark with me and since being home i have found out that they are hiring a full time youth/young adults director... to say the least i am so intrigued that my stomach has been in knots and i struggle to get this posibility out of my mind...

yet here is what is holding me to GM... 1) my kids are in fredericton 2) i love my teens here 3) God has blessed me with an amazing group of friends 4)i love the ministry on the island and where things are going spiritually... yet, financially i have not yet found a fit that has been able to provide me with a full time income that allows me to be a father to my children... so i have been wrestling to say the least...

last night at a service that i went to the preacher spoke about the wind and how scripture often speaks about God being in the wind and how churches often react to the wind of the spirit moving... to make a long sermon not so long i realized that i have been sitting in my boat with my sails down because i am affraid of where that wind may take me... it seems that GM has become a comfort zone to me that i have become emotionally attached to... not a bad thing, but if it gets in the way of what God is doing then we have a problem...

so here is my prayer request... i have some potential options that range between GM and bama... i am going to be faithful to make some phone calls, but i need the
Spirit to lead or more importantly i want my sails up to recieve what the spirit says and then be obedient wherever, or whatever that means...

been a while... i may or may not be sorry...

so i guess i am due to add a new post here so that people do not think i am dead... actually i have been informed in that i am a selfish blogger... one of my teens who has jumped onto this fad has had her blog disappear and by me having one and not using it i guess makes me unthankful... actually she did not say that, but it does kind of make sense somehow...

so let's go way back:
our superbowl party went pretty well... the senior boys basketball team was away that weekend so that took away them, their friends and senior girls and despite all that we still had 85 or so teens there... now try to imagine 85 junior highers in one small building with lots of sugar in their system... oh yes, it was that insane... but it was good and the kids were given an alternative place to be where there were wonderful good influences like me all around... i am making this sound less and less inspiring aren't i???

after that things began to go downhill a bit and i guess i kind of let stuff get to me... there was a one week period where i had my water pipes in my house freeze and break, my transmission in my jeep seized up, i got the flu and was up all night puking and pooping (there is just no way to say that nicely), and i was laid off at the boys and girls club... this took quite the toll on my mind but as a look back it makes sense because i was about to lead a group of 42 individuals from grand manan to the gulf coast for some hurricane relief work... this was my 2nd trip and many peoples first time on a missions trip... satan really did a number on my mind and my confidence... it was hard to believe that i could do this and as a matter of fact there was a lot of time when i believed that i could not... yet this trip seemed to go by with minimal complications and i had to make tough decisions that i have never had to make before... i could feel God empowering me as people would wonder what we were doing next... once again i learned how big God is and how little i am... i could not lead this trip, yet God chose me and somehow we all made it back and have been changed through this experience...

and now i am back on grand manan kind of wondering what is next... to be honest i am hoping for some full time work, but that is up to God... i will search my options and see where He leads... i guess i am not really worried, but at the same time it would be nice to know... being that this is a big turn around time for the wesleyan church my mind has wondered about looking into taking a church somewhere, but i do not feel a peace about that... i am totally in love with my island teens and church right now and for whatever reason feel that i am not allowed to leave yet... so that being said i have to believe that God has something for me here... surviving leadership on this trip has built a new desire in me to speak to people for God... this goes beyond teens i guess... whoever, wherever, whenever... yikes... but once again this is bigger than me, but not the one who wants to speak through me...

so there... hope ya'll are caught up... more news at 11... or whenever the news happens... love ya'll... talk to me...

SuperBowl Party '06

seahawks
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

steelers
Originally uploaded by lepracaun.rm.

aaahhh, it's that time of the year again when everybody who hasn't watched football all year becomes an expert... that is fun...

now here on good ole GM timmy and i are planning our CWY and B&G Club superbowl party... last year there was 120 teens, plus leaders, plus 2 bands, plus fans stuffed in our little boys & girls club...

much fun was had and 1400 hot wings were eaten... good night and relationships were built...

this year will hopefully be no different, but i want to ask you all to pray for this event... yes there will be sweet prizes, fun fear factor games, and a buttload of hot wings and the first ever Grand Manan Madden Bowl, but the best part of this night is going to be building relationships with many, many young people...

please pray as we continue to plan for this... i love how God can use a silly football game and crazy fun events for His glory... Are you ready for some football???

all about perspective... chapter 123...

so here we go again... let's start from the top, er bottom i guess... i was driving away from men's basketball tonight and was kind of frustrated because i played like stir fried poo poo... so i was a little distracted... today we had snow, which was new as well... to make a long story short i went around a corner (not very fast) and even though i turned the wheel, my jeep did not turn with the wheels... not a positive thing...

so i slid, and i slid, and then i bounced somewhat violently off of the guardrail... my first thought was "oh no, i can't afford this!!!"

then i pulled over and walked around my jeep to survey the damage... to my surprise, there was no major damage... what??? all that was broken was the plastic that was attached to my bumper... no dents on the wheel well, no damage to the side of my jeep, my tire was not wobbeling... to be honest i was shocked... also at the risk of looking dumb, i forgot to wear my seatbelt and i am fine... maybe i should attribute any ditzyness to this traumatic event?

after i saw the lack of damage and began to drive off two thoughts ran through my head... #1 - my mother was right... jeep cherokee's are tough as nails... or at least tougher than guard rails... and #2 - who the heck was praying for me??? was it you??? please let me know so i can thank you if it was...

once again... all about perspective... bad basketball night... who cares???

Faithfulness + Faithfulness = Less Telemarketers???

so here is my thoughts... pardon me if i get a little vulnerable... i have been struggling as of late and it seems to be a recurring battle... one that i thought i had victory over as a matter of fact...

a very wise person has blessed me with the thought of just being in Christ and to stop trying to be a better Christian... allow myself to be immersed with the presence of the almighty God and let that stir me to be the person that He wants me to be... that is awesome, but... then there is me....

i also had a pretty wise pastor friend teach me that temptation is like those annoying telemarketers that are always trying to sell you that amazing product that you have always wanted and needed, but truthfully will never use... it is so easy to just say no, no, no, no, non, go away, you annoy me, no, then eventually "click", and we hang up...

with respect to my friend of the just be persuasion (i don't think i am disagreeing with you) i had a formula come to mind... faithfulness + faithfulness = less telemarketers... faithfulness to being God's son, soaking up His presence and Word will spur me on to a life (active) of faithfulness... which in turn gives strength to resist the annoying telemarketers of temptation... so i guess there is not less of them and as i think of it, perhaps there is more... formula in progress...

and all of that to say that i need to reunite with my first love and be the son that gives witness to His perfect daddy... hmmmm... let the growing and molding continue i guess... blessings,

scottie

thanks kayla

so this post is for kayla who so lovingly called me on my slackerness of posting... sadly due to lack of time i will do it in point form...

-MY BABY CALLED ME DADDY ON THE 7TH OF JANUARY!!!!! MERRY FREAKIN' CHRISTMAS SCOTTIE!!! BEST GIFT EVER!!!

-geoff (my bro) went with me to see the kids and we had a great time...

-big news to come on the daddy/divorce front... will keep you posted as things progress...

-as well i had my group of best friends get together and buy me a new acoustic guitar for Christmas... amazing bunch of people whom i love very much... i am blessed because of these guys/gals... and the guitar is a small part of it, although it does open up the door for me to begin leading worship again, which i love to do...

-things have not progressed in the new year as i had originally hoped for work, but something will come... if God still wants me on GM He will provide...

-february 5th is the date for my second superbowl party and it is in the stadium of my favorite team, the detroit lions... too bad the lions aren't even close to making it to the superbowl... ~sigh~

-march 4th-12th marks the return to alabama for myself and as of yesterday we have a group of 54ish people going...

so i hope this is sufficient for those of you with the flaming torches ready to burn me for being a blogger slacker... soon to come; pics of the kids... i can't stand it anymore... i have to show them off... love ya'll...