Tagged

Leave it to the preacher to come up with a way to get me to finally update my blog. Since I am "it" I'm supposed to answer some questions.

1. Seven things to do before I die:

Sky dive
Scuba dive
Visit Europe
Visit Asia (Japan and China)
Act in a community theater or professional theater play
Become a grandfather
Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary

2. Seven things I cannot do:

Cook
Clean house
Fix things
Play a musical instrument
Drive 55
Wiggle my ears
Dance

3. Seven things that attract me to my wife:

Her looks
Her cooking (see #2 above)
Her servant heart
Her Godly spirit
Her support of me
Her patience with me
Did I mention her looks? (She is a babe, you know!)

4. Seven things I say most often:

Dude . . .
Do you see what I'm saying?
Unbelieveable!! (When watching a Cowboys game.)
I got 'cha.
Urghhh! (When frustrated)
Go people! (When driving)
Awwww, man!

5. Seven books, series, or authors I love:

Steven King
The Dark Tower
Star Trek
Star Wars
Left Behind
Max Lucado
Wild at Heart

6. Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would watch over and over again if I had the time):

Back to the Future
Star Wars
Star Trek (especially Wrath of Kahn)
Lord of the Rings
The Terminator (and T2)
Armageddon
The Rock

7. Seven people I'm tagging:

TBA
Alan McDaniel

Supreme Court Carousel

Back on July 13th I made this post:

"I'm not a big "politics" guy, but a news story caught my eye today and got me thinking.This story on Fox News made me curious about the future of the Supreme Court. I know that the original woman is cruising, and it looks like Rehnquist has serious health issues. Will he leave or die before the end of Bush's term as President? If so, then George W. could end up appointing 2 Supreme Court justices. To me that is big! That's like almost 1/4 of the folks on the court. And since the President is a conservative Christian I would assume he would appoint the same type of person to the Court. And this could then affect the decisions of the Court for at least a couple of generations. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out."

Since then, Rehnquist has died (as I predicted), the guy nominated to replace Sandra Day O'Conner ended up replacing Rehnquist, and now today we find out that the lady who was nominated to replace the replacement of O'Conner has decided that she needs replacing as a nominee. And so she's out of there. I just KNEW this was going to end up being a big deal! I may only have a political thought every 2-4 years, but when I do it's right on the money.

To me this is just so big because the Supreme Court has become this place that affects values and morals for our nation(i.e. abortion, "Under God", etc.).

So, again, what will Bush do? Will he try and get a conservative Christian in there? Will it be a woman? As I said back in July "It will be interesting to see how all this plays out".

Cold As Ice

Today I went on my normal Tue morning bike ride. Except things were not quite so normal. It was 38 degrees outside. Brrr! So I put on my long-sleeve thermal bike jersey, my thermal long bike pants, and my face mask thing(called a baclava), and a light jacket that I wore over the jersey.

It was still cold with all of that on. But I finished my ride anyway. Weather conquered.

Bad Blogger

Let me go ahead and get out of the way all of the lame excuses as to why I haven't posted to my blog in over a month:

1. NFL season started. A lot of my internet time since Labor Day has been spent reading about my beloved Cowboys and the other NFL action each week.
2. Fantasy Football league started. See # 1 above. To run a great team such as mine requires less blog time and more research time. I guess it's paying off so far as I am 5-2 as of today and in first place in my league.
3. I got a bike. Any internet time not spent on #'s 1 & 2 above have been spent on bike related sites. I've also spent many hours riding said bike. And enjoying every minute of it. I'm hooked big time! I am a bike junky. I look forward to each ride with much anticipation.
4. The new fall TV season started. With my handy dandy TIVO I have been able to fill many evening hours watching such shows as Lost, Surface, Invasion, Threshold, Night Stalker, Prison Break, The Biggest Loser, Everybody Hates Chris, etc., etc. As you can guess, this leaves no evening hours to update the old blog.
5. Final tax deadline. I got really busy at work the first two weeks of October as the push for the October 15 deadline reached a fever pitch. Then that third week in October was filled with client visits. This left no free time during the day to make blog posts.

So, now then, hopefully I will be back to updating my blog more frequently. We'll see.

Cool Art

Can you do an entire floor? OK ... Now do it in 3-D!

I got a bike!

Yesterday I went and bought a bike! It is a Trek 4300 mountain bike. Then me, Michele, and MearBear went out riding the trails. I was on the bike, Michele was using rollerblades, and Meredith was trying out her brand new rollerskates. The Holler's were rolling! First we went to a trail by Trail Lake Rd., close to the old location of Altamesa. But it was too hilly and rough for the girls. I also got my first flat tire on that trail. Since we were close to the bike shop, we ran in for a quick flat repair, hit the road again, and then headed over to Trinity Park. Much better! Very flat concrete path, lots of shade, and nice and breezy. Also with lots of benches for resting and nice views of the Trinity and downtown. What a great day! (We were so focused on getting it done that we forgot to bring the camera. We'll post pictures of a future trip.)

I also rode the CandleRidge trail solo this morning.

This post sponsered by Bicylces, Inc. I highly recommend them for your bicycle needs. Great selection, great customer service, and great repair dept. They are located off of Granbury Road and I-20 next to JoAnns & Panchos.

Sidewalk chalk

Abraham's Faith

Rom 4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,


With respect to the promise of God, Abraham did not waver in unbelief. He did not vacillate between faith and doubt as many believers frequently do. When from the human viewpoint things are going well, it is easy to trust God. But when things seem impossible, it is even easier to distrust Him.

It would seem from the Genesis narratives that Paul was mistaken about Abraham's unwavering faith. When "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great,'...Abram said, 'O Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?...Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir'" (Gen 15:1-3). Abraham openly admitted before God that he could not understand how the divine promise of an heir, much less of a multitude of nations, could be fulfilled. The only heir he could see was his chief servant, Eliezer, who would have received Abraham's inheritance had no son been born to him by Sarah.

But struggling faith is not doubt, just as temptation to sin is not itself sin. The very fact that Abraham was trying to understand how God's promise could be fulfilled indicates he was looking for a way of fulfillment, although he could not yet see a way. Weaker faith might have simply succumbed to doubt. Sincere struggling with spiritual problems comes from strong, godly faith. Such faith refuses to doubt and trusts in God's promises, even when no way of fulfillment is humanly imaginable. God's testing of His children's faith is designed to strengthen their trust, and they should thank Him for it, hard as it seems to be at the time (see James 1:2-4).

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

When Abraham was tested by God, he grew strong in faith.
(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)


This really touched my heart this morning as it relates to our waiting to see if God will bless us with another child. Sometimes I feel like Abraham, not understanding how it could happen, and I begin to wonder if I am doubting. This study this morning gave me some peace-knowing that trying to understand God's plan for us is not doubt, but simply our faith struggling, exercising our spiritual muscles. And we hope that God is glorified. We want God to have glory no matter when or if he blesses us with another child. He is God, wonderful and awesome, no matter what his plan is for our family. He deserves to be glorified and we are striving to do that daily.

I love it when I study God's words and he reveals things to me that I needed at that time. May anyone who reads this have that same blessing from the Word in your own personal study.

Cool Art

How many horses in this picture? Should find 7

Faith

Faith is never the basis or the reason for justification, but only the channel through which God works His redeeming grace. Faith is simply a convicted heart reaching out to receive God's free and unmerited gift of salvation.

The story is told of a poor farmer who had saved his money for years in order to buy an ox to pull his plow. When he thought he had enough saved, he traveled a great distance to the nearest town to shop for an ox. He soon discovered, however, that the paper money he had been saving had been replaced by a new currency and that the date for exchange from the old to the new had long since passed. Because he was illiterate, the man asked a neighbor school boy to write a letter to the president of their country, explaining his dire situation and asking for an exemption. The president was touched by the letter and wrote back to the farmer: "The law must be followed, because the deadline for exchanging bills has already passed. The government can no longer change your bills for the new ones. Even the president is not exempt from this rule. However," the president continued, "because I believe that you really worked hard to save this money, I am changing your money for new money from my own personal funds so that you will be able to buy your ox."

Before God, every person's good works are as worthless as that farmer's outdated money. But God Himself, in the Person of His Son, has paid the debt. And when a confessed sinner casts himself on God's mercy and accepts in faith the Lord's atoning work in his behalf, he can stand forgiven and divinely righteous before Him.

(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

Sidewalk chalk

A few days off

This past Wed-Fri I took off from work. I wanted to take some time off to have a little break before we get busy at work again. We were going to go to Six Flags on Wedesday, but it was just too hot. So we went to the Cowgirl musuem instead. These pictures are from there.

On Thursday I played XBox games all afternoon while M & M went and visited Michele's grandmother. Then on Friday MearBear and I went to see the movie Valiant while Michele took the day to herself, which included shopping for fall clothes.

God's great truth

God's justice and grace are on a perfect and infinitely grander scale than human wisdom can perceive or comprehend. Because of His justice, no sin will ever go unpunished; yet because of His grace, no sin is beyond forgiveness.

(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

Cool Art

Stare at this picture and see the Senoras and Senors

We miss you, Elvis

Today is the 28th anniversary of the day Elvis Presley died. I can still remember how devastated I was when I heard that the King was gone. But his memory lives on in his music, his legend, and the many Elvis impersonators and tribute artists, including yours truly.

So to you, Elvis, we say:

"Thank you, thank you very much!"

Seeking God

I recently started a personal study of Romans. In Rom 3:11 Paul states that no one seeks God. In response to that, is the following quote from John MacArthur's commentary. Oh that I could be like this:

The person who truly seeks for God is like David, who declared, "I have set the Lord continually before me" (Ps 16:8). Such a person seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). God becomes the focus of everything, the source of everything, the beginning and end of everything. To truly seek for God is to respect and adore His sovereign majesty and to feed on the truth of His Word. It is to obey His commandments, to speak to Him in prayer, to live consciously in His presence with a desire to please Him. No one can do such things naturally, but only by the Spirit of God working through him. The natural inclination of men is to "seek after their own interests" (Phil 2:21).(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

God, may we all truly seek you fully today and everyday.

Cool Art

Houses or People? You Decide!

Elvis Update

It looks like I've got another fun Elvis gig lined up. In January '06 I will be doing Elvis with a live band for 500+ CPAs and lawyers.

So what do you think might be the best Elvis songs for this group of folks? Feel free to change up the lyrics to fit the audience.

For example, during "Hound Dog" instead of singing "You ain't nothing but a Hound Dog, crying all the time" I could sing a verse that says "You ain't nothing but a lawyer, objecting all the time".

Cool Art

How Many Tall Ships are There?

Third time's the charm

We're going to Longview this weekend to visit my parents.

That may not sound like such a big deal, but given recent history it will be a big deal if we have a complete visit for the weekend. Let me explain.

Our last trip there did not end well. We were there for Memorial Day weekend, but on Sunday of that weekend Mom's blood pressure dropped so low that she passed out. We had to call 911 and she was taken to the hospital where they were able to stabilize her. But she had to spend the night in the hospital, so all Sunday and Monday we really didn't get to see her. Plus the tense situation of seeing emergency personnel working on her was tough on us.

Then two weekends ago we had planned to go see them, but we got a phone call from them on Friday morning. Mom was not feeling well due to some problems with her medications and they advised us that it would be better for us not to come that weekend, so we did not go.

So here's hoping we have a successful visit with my parents this weekend. If you're reading this, please say a prayer for us to that end. Thanks.

Pitbull vs. Porcupine

Judge ye not?

By now you may have heard about Rafael Palmeiro being suspended for testing positive for steroids. In reading this story, I couldn't help but think about Danny's series on being judgemental. Palmeiro told Congress in March that he had never used steroids. Yesterday he said that he has "never intentionally used steroids." So how do we judge this man? Is he a liar? Or is he telling the truth? If he's telling the truth, then how did the steroids get in his system? Is it right to call him a liar when we don't really know him or really know for sure if he in fact did use steroids? What about that word "intentionally"? Does that change our thoughts of the situation? Can you "accidentally" use steroids?

Very interesting questions-especially in light of not wanting to be judgemental of some one.

Random thoughts

Entertainment can take away from time with God

Contributions are tax deductible but interest on credit cards is not
(It's almost as if God had a hand in the Tax Code)

Spilled paint does not come out of carpet

Every time I ask God for patience, I end up driving behind someone going slow when I'm running late for work

TIVO is the best invention ever(next to air conditioning)

Training Camp

Those magical words that bring joy to a young man's heart. (And us middle aged guys too.) The end of the dryest desert part of the year: off-season. The beginning of a new NFL season. The time of renewed optimisim. The failures of the prior season are all forgotten. The hope of what the new season will bring is hanging in the air.

My beloved Cowboys start training camp tomorrow. They begin their quest to reach Super Bowl XL. (For those of you that are Roman numerical challenged that's 40, NOT extra large!) The offseason has been good to the 'Boys. Many new players have come their way. Good players. Talented players. Others have departed. (Vinny's gone, but not soon enough.) But yet, questions remain. How will the 3-4 defense work out? Will Bledsoe be a winner? Can Julius do it for a full season? Has Jerry Jones lost any more weight?

I've only got one thing left to say: Are you ready for some football?

When the daughter's away, the parents will play

The lack of updates since last week has been due to the living of a very awesome life this past week.

MearBear's birthday kept us busy last Friday and then I took her shopping on Saturday so she could cash in her Limited Too & Claire's gift cards. Sunday was church and then we dropped her off at camp for the week. On the way back from camp I got lost and the Otey's & McDaniel's got lost too as they were following us. Not sure why an engineer and a graphic designer would let a CPA lead the way. :)

Sunday night was dinner & a movie with friends who had likewise dropped their children off at camp. The funniest part was the Meachem's lining up a baby sitter at the last minute and joining us at the movie. Did you know that Jennifer Meachem's laugh is very recognizeable in a darkened theater?

Monday night Michele and I went to see Revenge of the Sith. 2nd time for me, 1st for her. Tue night we watched Sideways. Don't ask. (It was a dumb movie.) Wed I took the day off and pulled the following surprises on Michele: Amon Carter museum, lunch at the Kimball, dinner at Del Frisco's, the musical Godspell at Bass Hall. Thur was vegging out day and then going to ISCC to watch Meredith sing in the talent show. And now it's today.

Bye.

Happy Birthday, Meredith

Today our daughter, Meredith, turns 10 years old. She now moves from the single digit ages to double digits.

We're so proud of the young lady she has become. It's been a joy to watch her grow the last 10 years. Grow in size, grow in spirit, and grow in maturity. It's also gone way too fast! We love you so much, MearBear.

Happy Birthday!

Meredith-July 2005

Meredith-July 1995

Supreme Court

I'm not a big "politics" guy, but a news story caught my eye today and got me thinking.

This story on Fox News made me curious about the future of the Supreme Court. I know that the original woman is cruising, and it looks like Rehnquist has serious health issues. Will he leave or die before the end of Bush's term as President? If so, then George W. could end up appointing 2 Supreme Court justices. To me that is big! That's like almost 1/4 of the folks on the court. And since the President is a conservative Christian I would assume he would appoint the same type of person to the Court. And this could then affect the decisions of the Court for at least a couple of generations.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

So ends this month's political thought by KH.

For all those who are having a bad day . . .

It can always be worse

Meredith's 10th Birthday Party

Movie Weekend

Meredith went to Kid's Road Map this weekend which left Michele and I all alone. This allowed me to catch up on some of the summer movies that I had missed the last couple of weeks. First up was Bewitched on Friday night. OK. I know. It's got witchcraft in it, but it's based on the '70s sitcom. I'm a '70s/'80s guy. I had to see it. Michele and I both liked it. It was not laugh out loud funny very much, but it was good.

Saturday morning was Fantastic Four. Michele passed on that one, which was her loss as she missed an excellent movie. I liked the plot, the action scenes, and of course the special effects were great. A definite DVD purchase this holiday season.

As will be the last movie we saw, which was War of the Worlds on Sat afternoon. Michele said it was "very good" which for her is high praise for a summer blockbuster. And I thought it was awesome! You were pretty much on the edge of your seat from the get go. More great special effects and Cruise does a good job in the acting dept. I would even be up for seeing it again this summer. How 'bout it Jim? I'm free next Tue night . . .

When MearBear goes to camp next weekend I will be taking Michele to see Revenge of the Sith. I saw it on opening day and will be anxious to see what she thinks of it. I'll post her impressions afterwards.

July 7 Sno Cone Club Meeting

Goooo Cone Heads!

Yummy!

Self portrait-Sno Cone style

The kids of Sno Cone Club

The Official Sno Cone Club Mascot-Mister Baggins

4th of July Holiday

We enjoyed a great 4 day weekend since I took off from work on the 5th. On Sat & Sun we were at Michele's father's house in Eustace, Texas. He lives in a lakeside community outside of any city limits-so that means one thing to this boy on 4th of July weekend. Fireworks! On Saturday night we went down by the lake and shot off our fireworks as well as watching as others shot off theirs all across the lake. As a bonus God provided his own fireworks courtesy of a lightning storm in the gathering clouds overhead.

On Sunday we went out on the lake in a barge with various aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and then came back home Sunday night.

On Monday the 4th I made last minute plans for us to attend the Fort Worth Cats baseball game and then watch the fireworks afterwards. See the pictures above. It was our first experience at a Cats game. It was a very nice facility and the fireworks were great. We were so close to them they literally filled up the sky.

We all slept very late the next morning on the 5th, which is why I wanted to take the day off. Then we just vegged out, enjoying the freedoms that this great nation of ours has to offer.

Independence Day

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

"We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states . . ."

Selected text from the Declaration of Independence courtesy of this website.

I pledge allegience to Willie and the flag . . .

Limp Willie's New Canopy

Sno Cone Club Reloaded

Michele is prepared to taste Margarita. Notice the salt shaker ready for action.

The silly girls.

The Watermelon men.

Picture's from tonight's Sno Cone Club meeting.

Sno Cone Club - The "Wild Ones"

Michele dubbed Jennifer and I "The Wild Ones" since we have had such flavors as Chocolate, Tiger's Blood, etc.

Pictures from tonight's Sno Cone Club meeting.

The "Wild Ones" react to tasting Canjun Red Hot.

Diving board daughter

Friday, June 24, 4:00 p.m. Meredith just told me that she went off of the diving board at the pool - for the first time ever!

Congratulations sweety! You are a swimming fool!

Friday, June 24, 7:00 p.m. We went to the pool and I got to have fun jumping off of the diving board with MearBear. I remember loving jumping off the diving board when I was a kid and now I'm getting to do it with my daughter. How cool is that??!!

Saturday, June 25, - See pictures above.

Sno Cone Club

Here's the whole family at our first official Sno Cone Club meeting.

Grilling goober

Texas Motor Speedway Pictures

Click here to view some pictures which were taken when I went to Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR truck and IndyCar races Qualifying Day.

And click here to view pictures from the IndyCar practice day and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chex 400 race.

These visits to the track were my first ever trip to a world class race track. It was a lot of fun.

Showered with love

When your birthday and Father's Day fall on the same day as opening night of VBS, you don't know quite what to expect. So I was overwhelmed last weekend with an amazing experience from my loving family.

Fri, June 17

Michele and I went to see Batman Begins, and it was awesome. Even she liked it. Then we went out to eat at Hoffbrau and got $12 off our meal via an e-mail coupon. Then it was back home for homemade cake and homemade ice cream with Meredith joining us for that feast.

Sat, June 18

After the all-day VBS practice, we all went to Rockfish for dinner with $10 off from another e-mail coupon. I received a grilling how-to book from Michele(I've been wanting to learn about grilling), and my wonderful, giving daughter gave me $7, which was all the money she had.

Sun, June 19

The offical birthday and Father's Day. In the morning I was given a Greg Biffle cap for yet another present. As we headed out to church, I saw that Michele had shoe polished my car windows with lots of "Happy Birthday" comments, which I thought was so cool! After church I grilled my first ever steaks. My ladies told me they were the best steaks ever and they did taste pretty good if I say so myself. Michele had planned to have Raymond lead the whole auditorium class in singing "Happy Birthday" to me, but she didn't know that we were going to go to another Bible class instead. But it was the thought that counts!

Probably the best birthday/Father's Day I have ever had.

Thanks Michele and MearBear!

VBS 2005

Another VBS has ended. I enjoyed getting to play a funny guy this time. It's great to make people laugh.

It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work. I heard a lot of folks saying "I'm glad VBS is over".

All I could say is "You can say that again!"

Uzziel no more.

Elvis at the office

Keith as Elvis, Live at the Petroleum Club

M & M

A cute couple

My better half, Michele

Looking purrfect!

A Dad and his daughter

Cyber Keith

Well, I'm here. I'm now on the Internet. I've joined the masses, I've fallen into the blog craze. Arggh! The next think you know I'll be watching reality TV shows! (Nope, sorry. Just can't do that.)