Nature Calls

I know everyone likes to see pictures but every time I take one, Martha posts it on her blog! The baskets, the flowers, the bird eggs, the rabbits! They're all mine. I just love nature. Sometimes nature calls so I took a picture of this:

Martha wouldn't post it for some reason. Just like her little game, can you guess what it is?

Amazing Experience!

It was nice to go to IHC this week! As I was getting around this morning I was praying that the Lord would shake us and wake us up as we prepare to take the challenges that were offered at IHC. A little after 5:30 a.m. I had such an awesome experience settle down around me that I will never forget. It even registered 5.2 on the Richter scale! If you don't believe me, check out the news for yourself!

The story may be reported a little differently in the media. They will say the awesome experience is what woke me up. They will say that I didn't get up until 7:00 a.m. and the prayers were not prayed until 7:30 a.m. They will also say that I did not attend enough IHC services to know what the challenges were. I haven't actually been contacted by the media yet, but when I am, my blogger friends will be the first to know! I know that you will carry the truth and stand behind me in this remarkable time!

Pyramid

A Realtor friend of mine called the other day to see if I would go to a "special" networking meeting with her and her husband. Dinner would be on them! I could "invite anybody I wanted...just come and network with other business people". I thought it was more than what they let on, but I went anyway. Sure enough, I was greeted by a flamboyant sales person that was more than happy to see me! The power point presentation was ready and I knew I was in for a long lunch! The presentation looked something like this:

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The speaker had only been in the program 7 months and was already making $10,000 per month. Now, I know real estate hasn't exactly been great in the last 3 years, but it made me wonder what my friends saw in me that made them think I would be a candidate for this thing they were in. Did they think I could use the money? Did they think I had money to burn? Do they think I'm the type of guy that will get hundreds of people under me? No! they just needed one more person to pay $30 a month to help them reach the next level! I'm a nice guy and left the meeting saying "I would think about it". I also left with an application in my hand and plenty of phone numbers to call if I had any questions! As a salesman myself I do have plenty of questions, but they begin with "do you want to buy.........?" or "can I interest you in..........?" or "this is a great deal, when can I write an offer for you?

I think I will prepare my own power point presentation that says "send me $30 a month and my company will automatically place $15 into your checking account!" What a great concept! Send me your name, address, and checking account information and watch my account grow!

Spring Time?

This morning I got up, put on my tee-shirt and jeans, then went out to mow the lawn for the first time this year. At first I was a little shocked at how cold it was. I obviously didn't know the temperature had dropped, but nevertheless I continued on without a coat thinking the sun would come out and warm everything up just like it had all week. About half way through the job I was still freezing my tail off, but by this time I had set the precedent for all my neighbors. I wasn't about to march in and cover up now! Then, as I was finishing up, the snow began to fall. I finished the job and finally came in and checked the weather. That's when I realized it was only in the 30's and remained there all day! After 3 cups of coffee and 9 hours later I'm just now thawing out! I can't wait for global warming to hit Greenfield!

No Pain No Gain

Last Night our church teamed up with the Shelbyville church for a lock-in at the Boys and Girls Club here in Greenfield. We had a good time, but unfortunately after a night of basketball tournaments and strenuous activities, my body is trying to tell me something. Apparently my skin is too small, because my muscles are aching and I'm in pain!! I have been jogging about 18 miles a week, but that did nothing to prep me for what I have gone through today! It hurt just getting out of bed! It hurts to do anything! I must be getting old! All this pain and I was just the decoy! I can't play very well, so basically I ran around all night trying to act like I could. I think I have that look that says "if you throw the ball to me, I WILL screw up" or "if I get the ball, don't bother blocking me". Oh well, it was good exercise so I skipped my usual jog today.

As far as the jogging goes...I usually go about 5-6 miles an hour for 30 minutes every day. I would like to get to 7-8 miles an hour, but that will be a while before that happens. I can run 10 miles an hour for approximately 1 minute, but that doesn't get me very far, because then I have to slow-walk to catch my breath. My brother, Mark, has been walking, dieting and losing lots of weight, so that has inspired me to do more to stay healthy. I hope he keeps up the good work, but I can't let him weigh less than me!

Flying Low

The other mode of transportation that most of us can identify with is the automobile. I would assume that most people have tried to out-run a police officer at some point in their life. My experience happened about 20 years ago going 100+ miles per hour down Interstate 70. I'm happy to say I didn't get caught, but I did have to find a bathroom real fast to make sure everything was under control. I had one other experience, but it wasn't quite as fun. I managed to loose him by turning off the road and then watched him go by with his lights on.

Martha just reminded me of the time I was being stopped, but since I was so close to home, I just kept going. I eventually pulled into my driveway with the cop on my tail. So I raised the garage door and proceeded to pull forward as if to pull in. That's when I thought I better stop and face the consequences of my actions. The police officer approached my car laughing! He thought it was hilarious and let me off the hook. He eventually became a neighbor of mine about 5 years later.

I have been pulled over by the law more times than I can remember and have been through the whole mandatory driver training classes. But now I have been clean for 10 years! I am a safe and responsible driver with a wife and 3 kids!

Things I have been pulled over for include: rolling through a stop sign; tag light out; not using a turn signal; suspicion of a stolen vehicle; suspicion of drunk driving; expired license plate; leaky load; bald tires; crossing the centerline (with a state police in the on-coming lane); and of course, speeding. Those radar detectors don't work!

I figure I'm pretty safe telling about all this on April Fools Day!