Our New President!

Congratulations President Barack Obama;

You have inspired many people in the United States to new heights of hope. It is a huge responsibility to fulfill their beliefs in you. You have stated you are a Christian; I believe you are. As long you as you keep God as your number one advisor, you shall have my respect as my new President. You, your family and your administration will be in my prayers. I will also pray for the Congress you will be working with and the Court Systems that will influence your term of office.

Don't disappoint me!

Bravo Obama, Bravo!

President Elect Barack Obama stunned the, "sinful side of the American Community" yesterday by announcing that Pastor Rick Warren will lead the invocation during the Presidential Inauguration! Of course, all the gay-rights, abortion rights, and other "mainstream American cultural groups" are throwing a hissy-fit. (I hope I spelled hissy right!)


I just hope Obama does not back down to the negative pressure to drop Warren and choose someone else.

Good choice Obama, now stick to your choice!

Congratulations and Prayers for the New President Elect

Congratulations to Sen. Barack Obama & Sen. Joe Biden on their victory in the 2008 Presidential Elections. It is truly an historical event.

My prayers go out to Sen. Obama. The problems this nation are facing are daunting and I sincerely hope his promises of "Change" are changes for the better. I pray that his "faith" outweighs his commitment to the "party" and that he includes God in all of his decisions. I hope Obama does a great job as President, proving once and for all that a minority can hold the office of and perform the duties of President of the United States successfully.

My prayers go out to the family of Sen. Obama. It is very hard to be the wife or the child of the President of the United States. I pray that they work hard to keep God in their lives so that the pressures of office do not tear his family apart. I also pray for their safety. Their are many "crazy" people out their who will now set their focus on bringing harm to Obama and his family. I pray that God's power will keep them safe.

My prayers go out to Sen. McCain as well. I pray that his message of bi-partisanship continues as he now has to work with a Senate controlled by the opposite party. I pray that he genuinely works with President Obama to bring real and significant change to America.

God has a reason for Obama becoming President of the United States. God will use Obama and the Democratic Congress for His purposes, even if we have no clue what they are. Unlike many Americans, I am not afraid or scared. My faith that God is in control prevents that. It is that lack of faith that makes people afraid or scared.

I may or may not have voted for Barack Obama, but I will support him as my President, according to God's will. I hope all Americans will do the same.

Obama v. McCain -- Presidential Debate

With the fate of the 2008 Presidential Election at stake; Barack Obama and John McCain will square off in the 2nd and final debate between the two leading Presidential nominees. According to most of the major news agencies, this will not be a "nice-nice" debate as the last debate was. Both candidates are becoming increasingly aggressive in their campaigns against each other.

According to CNN polls, Obama has a slight edge over McCain in several of the "swing states", which gives Obama a clear Electoral College lead. For a quick look at the current projected Electoral College votes; see CNN's Electoral College Calculator.

As I said before, I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I vote for the person I think is the best candidate for the job. After reading my past few blogs, I think you know my opinion of the "bail out" bill passed by Congress; both Obama and McCain voted for the bill. This disappointed me greatly about both candidates. McCain especially disappointed me. McCain has been campaigning with the message that he would veto any law that came across his desk that had "PORK" attached to it. This bail-out bill passed by Congress had so much pork attached to it, it smelled like a bacon factory, and McCain voted for it.

At least my U.S. Congressman, Louie Gohmert voted against the bill both times.

So watch the debate tonight, pay attention to what these guys are saying, and pray hard that we choose the best person for the job, not the best party for the job.

The Vice-President Candidates Have Been Chosen

The race for the White House finally has two teams!

Democrat, Barack Obama has chosen Delaware Senator, Joseph "Joe" Biden to be his Vice-Presidential candidate. Obama is hoping his lack of foreign policy experience will be balanced out by Sen. Biden who is currently the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees.


Republican, John McCain has chosen Alaska Govenor, Sarah Palin to be his Vice-Presidential candidate. McCain is hoping that Palin will swing women voters and conservative evangelical voters towards his candidacy. Palin is strong Pro-Life and a member of the National Rifle Association. She is also a mother of five.

We the People will find out just how wise their choices were as the Presidential Election of 2008 hits full stride after the Republican Convention. It is now up to the people to decide our government's direction for the next four years. As the old knight from Indiana Jones says, "Choose Wisely!" For more information about both candidates and their platforms click on the campaign buttons below.

It's been a busy week!

This past week has been a little hectic and I'm sure it's not over yet.


The week started with a good worship service at church. The lesson and the song worship fit together nicely making for a wonderful worship experience with God.

Monday I had to meet with a couple of County Clerks to explain the in's and out's of our Healthy Marriage Program. It made for a 10 Hour work day with lots driving.


Tuesday, after a 4 Hour staff meeting at work, it was off to pick up school schedules and "Meet the Teacher" for my son Caleb. Jamie had already met Rachel's teachers and picked up her schedule earlier that day. The "Meet the Teacher" event at Caleb's school, Pine Tree Jr. High, started as a total nightmare. The school tried to funnel over 400 people down two different narrow hallways to pick up the 7th Grade and 8th Grade schedules. I'm not sure how 7th Grade did, but the 8th Grade hallway was shoulder to shoulder for almost an hour, as parents, the students and other family members attempted to get into the cafeteria to pick up their child's schedule for the year. Poor Rachel was hot and irritated, Caleb was having trouble breathing the sweaty, hot air, and I was a little "put off" at the poor planning of the situation. After much shuffling, we got Caleb's schedule and we headed off down various hallways to find his classes and meet the teachers. His teaches seemed very nice, but of course they all had their own list of school supplies they wanted our son to bring to school. Finally, we escaped the crowds and headed home.

Wednesday, I had another meeting with a county clerk. This one was cranky and had a know-it-all attitude. After putting another 96 miles on my car, I made it home to find out Jamie had purchased all of Caleb's school supplies. The small fortune of supplies reminded me of the size and weight of Caleb's backpack last year and I felt for him as he prepares to lug around a 45 pound backpack again this year on his barely 80 pound body frame. Why do teachers need students to have a 1 1/2 or 2 inch notebook for every class? When I was in school we survived with just one notebook for all subjects. After watching Caleb sort through all his supplies I had to pack a suitcase to head out to Austin, TX for another training.

Thursday started with some good news. There was a pay check sitting at my work station. I thought I wasn't going to get paid until Sept. 5, but I had miscalculated the times. Cool, I have money to deposit into the bank. After stuffing the check into my suitcase, my supervisor and I headed for Rusk, TX to meet with another County Clerk before heading to Austin. The trip to Austin seemed to take a long time because it rained heavily the entire time. We still managed to make Austin before nightfall, and we decided to go watch "The Largest Urban Bat Colony in the United States" head out for their nightly feeding. (Here are a couple of links to read about the Bats. http://austin.about.com/cs/bats/p/bats.htm and http://www.austincityguide.com/content/congress-bridge-bats-austin.asp) Because of the overcast skies the bats were a little "disoriented" about exactly when sunset was, so they came out later than normal. It was impressive to see millions of bats flying out from under a bridge. I tried to take pictures and short videos from my cell-phone but the view was obscured by the growing darkness and the skyline of Austin in the background.

Friday was spent mostly in training to prepare us for the upcoming changes in Texas laws regarding marriage licences and how our program can help couples take advanages of healthy marriage education to receive waivers on marriage licences fees and to help County Clerks with any questions they may have about the changes. At least the meeting ended a little early and my supervisor and I managed to make it home to Longview with just a little bit a daylight left.

This morning I woke up the news of an Obama-Biden Democratic ticket for President and Vice-President. Interesting choice Obama, interesting. For more information check out Obama's official campaign website. I wonder who McCain will pick? Now am blogging, waiting to get a shower and go deposit my paycheck, before heading out to Howe, TX to pick up my kids; who have been staying at Jamie's sister's home while I was in Austin and Jamie was attending the Women of Faith conference in Dallas. This will be another 5 hour road trip (there and back) but it will be worth it to have the kids home.

Next week, plans on being just as busy as we have meetings at work and as we prepare for the new marriage license laws to take effect in Texas. The kids also start school on Monday. Caleb will be in 8th grade and Rachel will be in 6th.

Two Little Indians -- Who Will Be the Next President?

The race for the White House has just become a lot clearer.

The Democratic Party finally has their nominee for President. Barack Obama has officially wrapped up the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. His number one competitor for the position, Hillary Clinton is ending her bid for the Presidency and throwing her support to Obama.

The Republican Party candidate, John McCain, has already challenged Sen. Obama to a series of "town hall debates."

Now comes the hard part for each candidate, who will be their Vice-President nominees. Will Obama pick Hillary Clinton as his running-mate, after such a bitter campaign? Will McCain choose one of his former rivals, such as Huckabee or Romney? Hopefully, we will know soon. In the meantime brace yourself for many an annoying commercial.

Americans...stay informed of the issues, research both candidates well. Make an informed choice when voting in November. Most of all, pray that God will work His will through whomever we elect. Happy voting.

Two Blogs for the Price of One

How often do you hear the ads on television say buy one get one free?, or two for the price of one? Well, today is your lucky (or unlucky) day to get two blogs for the price of one.

Blog 1 -- Am I a good teacher or just a great presenter of information?

Many times I have wondered if I am a good teacher or not. I have always claimed, "I am not a great teacher, just a good one." Is that really true? After doing much soul searching and honest looking at my teaching methods and style, I have come to the conclusion that I am a better than average teacher who just happens to be a great presenter of information.

A good (or great teacher) takes the time to make sure their students truly comprehend what is expected of them and that they are able to perform that task well. Surprisingly I have found that I do not always do that. I present the information to my students in such a way that is easy to understand and easy to duplicate. If they have questions I will answer them. My weakness lies in the fact I rarely follow up to see if my students have actually grasp the "concept" of what they are being taught. I tend to throw information out there and leave them to struggle to find meaning behind what they have been given.

I have found that the best subject I teach is Math! (What a surprise considering I barely passed High School Algebra and Geometry.) My knowledge of Social Studies, History and Government far outweighs my knowledge of Math, but I have found I don't really teach those subjects; I just present them with my knowledge and move along. I have found that when I teach Math, I actually slow down and make sure they grasp the concept of what they are doing and why. I provide more examples and follow up on how they are doing in Math, more than I do any other subject I teach. You would think with my big History brain, that my students would think that was best subject. After surveying my students, they feel they learn more in Math than anything else. Maybe it's because I once struggled as they are struggling now, and I empathize with them more?

Simple knowledge of a subject does not a great teacher make. It's the ability to truly teach a concept to full understanding that does. It's a lesson this teacher still needs to learn himself.

Blog 2 -- Will the Democrats make up their mind already?

It seems after the recent victory of Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, that the Democrats are still having a hard time deciding who their presidential nominee will be. Barack Obama still leads in pledged delegates, but Hillary leads in the super delegate count. Sen. Clinton seems to win the bigger states (great for Electoral College votes), but Obama seems to win among the average Joe's. (which could also come into play in some of the smaller, yet still important, Electoral States). I just wish they would make up their minds already. They had better stop the in-fighting soon or the public may just get so fed up with them, they would rather vote for John McCain. After all he's about a Democrat as a Republican can get isn't he?