3M Painters Tape- two thumbs down

The last few days my wife and I have used some of our free time to work on our little ones room. Now this is a big deal. We haven't been able to do this type of stuff since we've moved in. So she has been a little girl in a stark white, hospital looking room. The nasty wallpaper was stripped, the cracks filled, sanded, smoothed and then the walls primed. Then in with the 3M painters tape. We are doing a two color deal in the room and needed a sharp edge on the corners. So we taped them with the "painters" tape. You know the put it on, peel it off without bleeding, the best painting product to ever be invented. Well as you see we waited the prescribed amount of time, gently peeled the tape off along with the paint. Grrrr, I could have just taken the time and "cut" it in without the tape and been better off. Live and learn.

Mowing Report--Day TWO

Keetha, sorry for taking so long to update the mowing report. I had the opportunity to preach this weekend and spent my "posting" time working out the power point for the service. I know that thousands have been waiting & wanting the mowing update. So here it is :) Day two was a hurried mowing adventure with a morning full of grief and sadness. Jaye and I attended the funeral and then joined the family at the funeral dinner. That dinner was a great opportunity to catch up with friends. We sure miss them in our lives on a regular basis. It was great to see them, but our hearts ache for them. So after all that I rushed home, hooked up the trailer and headed back to town to pick up some bedroom furniture. Thanks Gale for the hook up on that! Then racing the rain that the weather folks told us was coming, I fired up the Simplicity and finally got to the yard. I couldn't believe how fast the grass grew. It was like I never even cut it. You'll remember last week I started the season off with a full tank of gas, this week the gauge dropped to half full, or half empty if you're that type of person. So that means I'll be spending about 5 bucks each time I mow. Arghhh. Jaye dug out the electric weedeater and did some trimming, yard is looking good.

From Last Year~ Season 2007

Friday

Today Jaye and I went to the funeral of Ron Bridgman. Ron is the father-n-law of Jaye's former youth pastor, the father-n-law of the Pastor I used to work with in Bryant and the guy that rented me my first apartment. Ron was a good man. Today at his funeral Mark Atkinson, one of his son-n-laws, said a few words about Ron that I really agreed with. He said, "Ron was the man of the house." When I think back over the years and the influence that Ron had "being a man" fits him perfect. Ron was a tough guy, big weight lifter and a prison guard. I've referred to him before as one of my hero's. I had always admired the way he treated his Lady, the way the carried himself and the way this big tough guy was a tender-hearted man. I had the opportunity a few times to sit down with him on the front porch of that apartment and chat. He had some wild stories about the prison. He was one guy that you wouldn't want to mess with and one guy you would want on your side if you were messed with. I think the thing that stands out more than the battle stories or the giant stack of weights on his bench press was the way he prayed. Now there weren't a lot of times I can remember hearing him pray but when I did hear him, he cried as he prayed. When he was finished there wouldn't be anyone thinking, 'oh what a sissy, this guy was crying'. He wasn't ashamed to have cried and at any time every guy around knew he could rip their head off if he wanted to. Now that is a man! I hope when it's my time I will have much of the same things said of me....he loved his wife with all his heart. His grandkids respected and loved him. He was a man of God! Ron will be missed.

Mowing Report--Day ONE

Today was the day, the first mow of the season. My goal: to get the lawn manicured before the cold front moved in and the rain started. I heard on the radio that gas prices were going up. Someone called in and said gas was $4.17 in Muncie. I fell for it and went out to fill up my mower gas cans. 41 bucks :( So back to the yard with a lot less money in my pocket.

A couple of years ago I was fortunate to get a brand new Simplicity Lawn Tractor. It is a mowing machine. Before it, I had a worn out John Deere. It was an abused church mower that wasn't properly maintained. I pretty much had to buy new parts every year just to keep it running. I had the deck welded up several times and something was always falling off each time I mowed with it...it was junk. So since getting the new Simplicity I have truly enjoyed going out for the first mow and having a machine that starts right up. It is a sweet feeling. Today was no different. You may ask why so pumped up about mowing? Well, it's because I'm a guy. I love going out with the grass high and when I'm done it's trim. I love the alone time of me and the noise of the engine, the smell of the cut grass and the opportunity to think without distraction.

Back and forth or as my grandpa on mom's side used to say, "forth and back. You can't come back unless you have first gone forth." I guess that makes sense, so that is what I did. My report: it's cut, smelling good, looking good and I'm looking forward to the next time.

Do you blog?

We would like to read about you and your life. Add a comment please and tell us where we can find you. I have wondered if any of my extended family or long lost friends have web sites or blogs. Help us keep in touch. Please. Pretty Please?

Averie Mae Bowlin

Averie Mae Bowlin

Born April 10, 2008 @ 6:09 am
Weight 7lbs. 12oz. or 3.52 kilos
Length 19.7 inches or 50 cm.

Our good friends, Josh and Becca Bowlin added to their family this week. They are serving in New Zealand as missionaries to youth. The Wesleyan Churchs first missionary team called to serve teens. We miss them and are very proud of them. What a pretty little girl!

Day 1

On Monday Jaye and I drove over to a friends church along with a couple of folks from my church to begin our 15 week course called Financial Peace University. It is a course based on Biblical values that help people live debt free. Step one, or as they call it baby step one, is to save up an emergency fund of one thousand bucks. That emergency fund is then to grow to 3-6 months savings of what it would cost to live on if there were a BIG emergency. We'll keep you posted on our progress as the class goes on and as to what the other baby steps will be. As of today, our baby step seems more like a giant step because taxes are just around the corner. I have other friends that have offered this program at their churches and they report that they have seen a great reduction in debt of those that have been through it. So let's hope that it works for this poor youth pastor and his babysitting wife. My idea of bettering my financial future is to get this motorcycle to save on gas prices...today in Marion gas is $3.49.

Sunday

This past Sunday was a great day! I had the opportunity to do something really cool. We had a baptismal service and I baptized 7 of our teens from our church. Now that in itself is way cool but even cooler than that was two of those teens were my kids. Jessica and Wesley were both baptized this weekend. Before we began that part of our service I was able to "chat" about what it meant. So often in ministry we don't see milestones reached. We pour into the lives of students and adults and don't always see the immediate benefits of it. Back in the old days of cleaning carpet or painting houses it was easy to see what work you had done, what work was left to do and at some point when your work was finished. Your job came to an end. In ministry that doesn't happen this side of heaven. There are some things you can see such as when a person comes to know Jesus and living a life reflecting Him. One of those mile markers is being baptized. It was really cool to see those teens make that step. Baptism is a great gift, what a blessing. As church folks say...a measure of grace given by our Lord.

Okay, at our church we have a giant bathtub baptismal up front under the cross. And as luck would have it that giant baptismal's heater didn't work. So I filled it up on Thursday hoping that the water might soak up some room temperature heat...as it turns out I think the room sucked the warmth from the water. The water was very, very cold. As in the Wesleyan tradition we ask each baptism candidate a series of questions before they are dunked. We did that on the platform before we waded into the frigid water. Once we were all ready I headed into the water. I thought of the "Northwestern" crab boat on the tv show The Deadliest Catch. They talk about the frigid temperature of the Bering Sea. They make thousands of dollars playing in that water. Not I. So I toughed it out and got in. Each teen that came into the water had the same expression and made that same, 'Boy this is really cold water' sound. It was GREAT.

I did really good keeping my emotions in check. This is a great event for youth pastors. But when my son got in the water, I'll admit I got a little choked up. It was a special moment, then my baby girl got in. I baptized her. It was a great day for the Holland family. Sometimes I have the best job in the world.

Guilty??

Hmmm...who do you think is the guilty party?!?!?

Ahhh!!! The first "line" of the season!!

What a beautiful day :)

Time is Running Out!

The kittens turned 6 weeks old this past Tuesday. Their days at the Holland House are numbered. Would you like one of these lovable, furry babies to join your home??

This is Toot or Puddle...two white ones left with brown ears and tail...
kinda looks like a Siamese. Maybe there was one in the blood line?!?

The white one with a few black/brown spots, "Miley Ray Cyrus" also needs a forever home.

This little black one has a home!!

Here's Popeye...the father. He could use a new home too.
He likes to be outside but knows he can always come in our house.
I'm sure at another house he would love to be outdoors all the time. He's a good garage mouser!!
He also likes to cuddle on your lap and long walks on the beach.

Here's the Mama...Tito. She likes to be social only on her terms. She is quite happy to be left alone. The only one in the house that she'll have anything to do with is ME!!