At last Spring Break is upon us! The kids' school and my college are off for the next week: Hurrah! Sadly, my poor LadyBug still has to work. She will work at least three days next week. (Sniffle) At least I get to have some time with my kids.
This morning I threw the baseball around with them in the yard. I love doing this with my kids. Later today (Saturday) I am taking my son to Build A Bear Workshop in Shreveport, LA just as a Father/Son thing. He is getting older and this may be the last stuffed animal he will ever make. He wants to make a cheetah.
My kids are also preparing to attend The North Texas LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) events in Dallas this upcoming Friday and Saturday. My son is participating in the Bible Reading, Puppets, Drama and Art events. My daughter is participating in Art, Puppets, and Daily Devotional Challenge. I will let you know how they did when we get the results.
On Tuesday, the kids will be going ahead of us to Dallas, actually to Howe, TX, to stay a few days with their cousins. This will leave me with some alone time with my LadyBug, on Tuesday & Wednesday before we go to our Bed & Breakfast in McKinney on Thursday. We will meet up with the kids Friday morning and head off to LTC in Dallas, where we will stay an evening at the hotel where the event takes place.
So Spring Break is going to be not only relaxing, but very busy as well. At least it's not work.
Our poor pooch, Schnitzel with have to stay with the vet for a few days. My parents will be out of town during Spring Break as well, so they cannot watch him.
On a side note...I watched a movie called Amazing Grace last night. It's a must watch for those who love history with a Christian theme. It's about a fellow named William Wilburforce, who was the leading advocate for the abolition of slavery in England. It's a great movie.
About ME
- Mr. E
- Grand Prairie, Texas, United States
- Mr. E is a Christian, Husband, Father of 2, former Army Officer and Texas Rangers Baseball fan.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Chocoholicfest - 2008
Every year our church's youth group host what is called a Chocoholicfest for the kids who are 7th Grade - 12th Grade. The Chocoholicfest is the culmination of a month long study and discussion about Biblical dating, relationships, marriage and sex. The end of the study "party" features as much chocolate as the members of the church choose to donate. This year there was chocolate cakes, cookies, brownies, chocolate Skittles, M&M's, fudge, pies etc... They even has pizza (pepperoni and cheese, not chocolate), although someone did bring a chocolate brownie pizza, from CiCi's.
They had chocolate themed games to play as well. How fast can you eat a bowl of Coco-Puffs?, How many apples can you "bob" from a bucket full of chocolate milk? There was a chocolate pie eating contest and some kind of weird contest where you had to find as many peanut M&M's as you could that were mixed into some chocolate pudding, using your feet.
After all the feasting on pizza and Chocolate, they had a special guest speaker to come in and talk to the kids about Biblical dating, and relationships. This year's speaker was Jason Illian, a fellow who just happened to be a male "contestant" on the ABC television show the Bachelorette (the third season). Jason actually made it a few rounds into the show until the "Bachelorette" (Jen?) found out about his Christian values and that he was still a version, then she did not offer him a rose.
Jason had many good points to make to the students about how the "world" especially television, movies, and music portray sex and relationships. Then he pointed them to the truth about the matter and told them how God views sex and dating etc... Jason has written a book about God and Dating called...Undressed: The Naked Truth About Dating
Since I was an adult volunteer to help, of course I ate to much chocolate and went to bed with an upset stomach. My son enjoyed the activities and we talked a lot about dating until it was time to go to bed. That part I enjoyed more than any other part of the evening.
They had chocolate themed games to play as well. How fast can you eat a bowl of Coco-Puffs?, How many apples can you "bob" from a bucket full of chocolate milk? There was a chocolate pie eating contest and some kind of weird contest where you had to find as many peanut M&M's as you could that were mixed into some chocolate pudding, using your feet.
After all the feasting on pizza and Chocolate, they had a special guest speaker to come in and talk to the kids about Biblical dating, and relationships. This year's speaker was Jason Illian, a fellow who just happened to be a male "contestant" on the ABC television show the Bachelorette (the third season). Jason actually made it a few rounds into the show until the "Bachelorette" (Jen?) found out about his Christian values and that he was still a version, then she did not offer him a rose.
Jason had many good points to make to the students about how the "world" especially television, movies, and music portray sex and relationships. Then he pointed them to the truth about the matter and told them how God views sex and dating etc... Jason has written a book about God and Dating called...Undressed: The Naked Truth About Dating
Since I was an adult volunteer to help, of course I ate to much chocolate and went to bed with an upset stomach. My son enjoyed the activities and we talked a lot about dating until it was time to go to bed. That part I enjoyed more than any other part of the evening.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Work Evaluation
Today was my first "Official" evaluation of my work performance with my new job. Everything went pretty much as expected. I am Meeting All Expectations and Exceeding in a few. There are a few areas of Needs Improvement, but those are expected from someone new to Adult Education. My supervisor was please with my "improved work ethic" since returning from the Christmas Break, and hopes that this continues. I got good reviews from the majority of my students who rated me. So all seems to be well in education land!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Tears of the Singer
The following is the Introduction page from a book I am writing called Tears of the Singer.
The book is based on a song by the same name that I wrote while in college. (This was one of my original first 5 posts. I am re-posting it now, just because!.)
Introduction
The air was thick from cigarette smoke drifting up from the area around the stage. The soft strains of music filled the backwoods bar. There was a larger than normal crowd this night. “The Singer” was in town. Other singers had visited before, some famous, some not, but no one drew an audience like “the Singer.”
People came from towns and farms miles away just to listen to the Singer. Not just ordinary people, but people with problems they just couldn’t seem to take anymore. People with worries and concerns that kept them awake at night. People with questions that needed an answer. “Why can't my wife quit drinking so much?” “Why doesn’t my husband look at me the way he used to?” “Why can’t I keep a job?” Worries about how to pay bills that pile higher every day. Worries about family members or life-long friends stricken with illnesses like cancer. There were people with fears of abandonment and death. People so overwhelmed with depression that it seemed to smother them. All of them were here tonight. All of them, looking for the miracle.
The crowd sat silent, mesmerized by the appearance of this singer. They wondered could he help them where it seemed God had failed them. They prayed the prayers of the desperate and asked the questions of the lost. “How can someone so young and disheveled help so many,” they would ask themselves. “Can he help me?” “When will he sing the song?”
Suddenly the sounds they were waiting for flowed from the stage. This was it. The Singer was singing the song. There was nothing outwardly special about the song. It was just a simple melody, sung from the heart. But it beckoned them forward. At first there was a little pushing and shoving, but it calmed down quickly for they knew the Singer had enough for everyone. They stood there speechless. Some cried gently as it came their turn to receive the gift. The gift that would make all their worries, fears and sadness fade away like the mist rising from a lake.
They were waiting for the Tears of the Singer.
The book is based on a song by the same name that I wrote while in college. (This was one of my original first 5 posts. I am re-posting it now, just because!.)
Introduction
The air was thick from cigarette smoke drifting up from the area around the stage. The soft strains of music filled the backwoods bar. There was a larger than normal crowd this night. “The Singer” was in town. Other singers had visited before, some famous, some not, but no one drew an audience like “the Singer.”
People came from towns and farms miles away just to listen to the Singer. Not just ordinary people, but people with problems they just couldn’t seem to take anymore. People with worries and concerns that kept them awake at night. People with questions that needed an answer. “Why can't my wife quit drinking so much?” “Why doesn’t my husband look at me the way he used to?” “Why can’t I keep a job?” Worries about how to pay bills that pile higher every day. Worries about family members or life-long friends stricken with illnesses like cancer. There were people with fears of abandonment and death. People so overwhelmed with depression that it seemed to smother them. All of them were here tonight. All of them, looking for the miracle.
The crowd sat silent, mesmerized by the appearance of this singer. They wondered could he help them where it seemed God had failed them. They prayed the prayers of the desperate and asked the questions of the lost. “How can someone so young and disheveled help so many,” they would ask themselves. “Can he help me?” “When will he sing the song?”
Suddenly the sounds they were waiting for flowed from the stage. This was it. The Singer was singing the song. There was nothing outwardly special about the song. It was just a simple melody, sung from the heart. But it beckoned them forward. At first there was a little pushing and shoving, but it calmed down quickly for they knew the Singer had enough for everyone. They stood there speechless. Some cried gently as it came their turn to receive the gift. The gift that would make all their worries, fears and sadness fade away like the mist rising from a lake.
They were waiting for the Tears of the Singer.
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