A Blessed Christmas To All...

Merry Christmas to all I love and care for. You all mean more to me than you could ever know or understand.

Please pray for me and my family this Christmas time. It is a time of many challenges for all of us and stress is palatable around here.

Again, love to all. He is still alive...

"Glory to God in the Highest and Peace on Earth to all Men...

I've been disturbed for years at the trend of people worshipping angels. TV shows, books, news articles...all talking about angels and what they do for us and what they are - blah, blah, blah...

I know that angels are real and all about us. The Bible says that, not me. I believe, no, I KNOW that angels watch over Christi and our kids. Too many times I've seen them about to fall or something else that would have hurt them and for some reason, they don't. A lot of times it defies gravity, logic, and everything else.

That is one of the reasons why I was so struck by this photo and article. Here's the link: http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/629997.html

I started reading it, admittedly, because of the photo and kept reading because the young lady involved has Hydrocephalus just like Christi except much worse.

So, have you ever had an angel experience? Has God sent you an angel? Have you seen one? I know it can seem out there, but although it isn't common, it does happen. Oh yeah, it's even biblical.

Take that Blago, Illinois taxes, and, ahem, bad weather...

It's official. I'm a Florida resident. I can feel my blood thinning now. I don't know if I can get used to this good weather all the time. Imagine those beautiful, mild summer days in Illinois and having them around all the time. yeah. It really is THAT good.

So, what's next? A conceal and carry permit, of course. Then....a TAN! Woo-hoo...

Which Rat Do You See???

Ok, find the rat in this picture....

Palm Reading...CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

All hail the Christmas Palm!

I was feeling a little melancholy for my 12' tree so I decided to get a replacement for my apartment....

More Beach pics...and a prayer request.

Took these pics while I talked to my buddy Aaron. He goes in for surgery on his wrist as is a little apprehensive about it as he has never been "out" before. Pray for him to have a quick recovery and not a lot of pain. They are inserting a plate into his wrist to stabilize it so be sure to refer to him as Aaron "Steve Austin" Shellhorn when addressing his Lee Majoristocracy...

Get well, Brother!!

Church shopping 101

I haven't been a church shopper in 16 years. Literally. In January, 16 years ago, Rachel and I attended what has become Southfield Community Church for the first time. After serving for so many years and trying to get into the mind of the person looking for a church home, I have to say that it was nothing like I thought.

Because it is the 2000's, I started with the web and searched for great churches in Jacksonville. I also searched for a fellow Willow Creek Association (WCA) church as our church is part of that organization. A bunch of churches came up so I searched sites to look for churches that would be compatible for us.

Part of this move is trying to find a church home before anything else. I am most concerned with a biblically sound church followed by great groups for my kids to be a part of. I feel that if I help the kids to make connections quickly it will help them through this time. A lot of people are not from here so many kids will be able to relate to our kids.

So, what are the chances that the VERY FIRST church I'd go to I'd like. A bunch. I went to another one later, but I was really impacted by the message and atmosphere. Nothing is perfect, but for the most part, I felt like this could be our church home. The next test: bringing the fam. We will go when we all come down here after Christmas and give me the thumb up or down.

The church, funny enough, is called Southpoint Community Church. Again, what are the chances of that? Their web page is: http://www.southpointcc.com/

Please pray for us that we will find our home down here. Thanks.

A Beautiful Place....

Finally. I finally got to the beach today. It was so pretty. It was around 1:30 pm today and I was close to the coast so I decided to take my lunch and head over. Today, it was 75 and sunny. People are just drawn there. I was walking around and there were just a couple others taking a stroll with the seagulls all around.

I'll let the pics tell the story. Just beautiful...

Sweet Home....Jacksonville????

Well. It's officially official... I landed today from a snowstorm in Chicago to 65 degrees and palm trees swaying in the sun in Jacksonville. The two hour delay at O'hare helped cement my decision as the appropriate one.

I'm attaching a couple pics of my corporate apartment... It is SO nice. Imagine, I FINALLY have a nice bachelor pad and I'm not a bachelor!!!

Oh, well.

I'm so thankful that I'm exhausted. I'm hitting the sack pretty soon as the hour time difference is my biggest hurdle. I'm also disciplining my self to early rising since I'm alone here. I HATE being away from my family and lonliness is the only thing that really cripples me spiritually if I'm not careful.

Thanks for all the kind words from so many of you at church Sunday. I cannot express how I feel about so many of you. I miss you all already...