All of the people you see in this photo are walking in honor of the memory of my friend who passed away last week because of ALS. His memorial service was Friday morning. The ALS walk was on Saturday. His family organized the team a couple of months ago and by the day of the walk our team alone was 700 strong! The youth ministry at the church had a special student week-end and one of their activities was to participate in this walk. There were 385 junior high and high school students participating. There were probably around 3,000 - 4,000 participants. Last year the event raised $30,000. This year the event exceeded its goal of $175,000. The event was held at the local minor league baseball park. As you can see, there is nothing like the energy and enthusiasm of youth. Again, everyone in this shot represents our team.
Yep, all of the red and light blue shirts belong to the team representing my dear friend. The scripture chosen by the family was printed on the back of our shirts. There just weren't enough shirts for all 700 of us, so the students put the paper signs on the back of their red event shirts. My lovely bride and I had a great time. It was a wonderful day, honoring a wonderful life, and supporting a wonderful cause. I would encourage you to find something truly worthwhile to support and become a part of it. You will receive far more than you give.
Remember this guy from a previous Wordless Wednesday? Well, here is the rest of the story. This horse figure sits in front of a local flower shop. He gets repainted on a regular basis, at least monthly. In honor of the local girls soccer club, the horse was painted to match one of their uniform combinations. So what does that have to do with me you ask.
Our oldest grand daughter plays in the under 12 league. This is her first season to play in her own age group in two years. She has been playing in an older league the past two seasons, meaning that she was the smallest player on the field most of the time. This year is a different story.
Last Saturday they played another local team from the same club. We won 3-0 and Scooter scored the first goal of the match. It was a beautiful shot into the upper corner of the goal. She got the centering pass from a team mate while at full speed, touched the ball once to get it under control and then BAM!!!! into the net. She shoots, she SCORES! It was also her first goal of the young season. She was grinning from ear to ear for the next five minutes. Life is good.
Today at 3:00 AM my very good friend lost his battle with ALS. I am going to miss him dearly. However, I was able to put together a few thoughts and share them with him and his family yesterday evening. My Dearest Friend; During the course of this life God brings many people across our path. Many of them stay in our lives only a short time while others are there for a lifetime. Some of those who are in our lives for an extended period seem to have very little impact on us, while others, who are a part of our existence for a very short time, have a profound influence on us. When I think of our relationship, one scripture comes to mind, Philippians 1:3,"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."Your are one of those people that God has brought into my life that has had a profound influence on me. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for living a life that honors our Savior and is a testimony to all who know you and your family. Thank you for showing us that the husband can be the spiritual lead, even in the face of adversity. This past year you have taught me that trusting God for everything is essential to dispelling fear. You have done this be living fearlessly trusting God. 1 John 5:4-5 says,"For what ever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."If I have overcome this world by trusting Christ as my Lord and Savior, then I truly have nothing to fear.. Thank you for showing us how to live fearlessly trusting God. Psalm 34:19 tells us, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."Deliverance may not come in the form of healing, but in the calm assurance that God is in control that nothing can separate us from His love. Your faithful attendance in Bible study these past few months is a testimony to everyone. Thank you for showing us that we can remain faithful and serve hour Lord by living a life that fearlessly trusts Him. There is no verse in all of scripture that is more appropriate at this time than the one your family has claimed, Psalm 73:26, "My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart, He is mine forever."Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for your testimony and thank you for living a life that fearlessly trusts in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As I post this, my very dear friend is sitting at the feet of Jesus in a place that has been prepared for him by our Savior. John 14:2 says,"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." My friend is not in heaven because he was a good man, a good friend, a good father, or a good husband. He is there because at some point in his life he acknowledged his sin, was willing to repent, accepted Christ as his Savior, and invited Him into his heart. This morning when my friend stepped out into eternity, he stepped into the waiting arms of Jesus Christ. One day I will see him again. Thank you Lord for salvation and the promise of eternal life.
I am an Oklahoma Sooner, living in Arkansas Razorback country. This banner was in the same mall where I found Clifford, the big red dog. I do love this part of the world and I will show you why in a couple of weeks. However, I cannot bring myself to be an avid Razorback fan. I root for them when they play and I like it when they win, but honestly, it's not that big of a deal to me. I don't go to the games, even though we live only 20 miles from the university. I don't clear my schedule to watch them on television and I don't have my ears glued to the radio when television coverage is not available. I can take them or leave them. Still, the banner makes a nice Ruby Tuesday entry, don't you think?
Let's face it, everyone likes getting awards, and there a million of them floating around the blogosphere. The truth is, I hardly ever get one. I'm not complaining mind you, just stating a fact. The purpose of this blog was never to garner awards and praises from the readers. As I have always stated, this is where I can dote on the grandcrew, vent about the world around me, and share my faith. I also wander aimlessly through cyberspace checking out other blogs and commenting. Well, one of those blogs, MamaArcher decided that I was worthy of an award. Thank you. It is a joy to come by your blog and see what God is doing in the life of your family. OK, so who do I pass this award along to? I am going to give it to Vince over at Big Leather Couch, Travis, at Trav's Thoughts, and of course Sandee at Comedy Plus. They do excellent work, and my day generally isn't complete until I have visited their sites.
Next week is going to be a busy week. I'll be out of the office four days on business. Saturday the 27th my wife and I will participate in a walk for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). A friend of ours is in the final days of his battle with this illness. In honor of him, over 700 members of our church, his friends and family will participate in this event. Over $15,000 will have been raised by his team. Through it all, he has been a testimony of faith. The verse that his family have claimed is Psalms 73:26, "My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart, He is mine forever." AMEN!!! Above all else, my friend knows that God has prepared a place for him in heaven and he is ready to go home. He will tell you that he knows that his redeemer lives!! My Redeemer Lives - Nicole C. Mullen
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
The Big Guy turned five yesterday! It was a combination Transformers/Star Wars Birthday. The cake was a Transformers theme, but most of the presents were Star Wars oriented. He loves both so it was all good. He's the youngest of the grandcrew and he has three sisters! I'll do a more focused post on him later. I intend to do a post similar to the one I did on Big Blue for each of the grandcrew, but I need to dig into my photo archives and dig out some other pics. Anyway, Happy Birthday Big Guy.
When all else fails, post something about the grandcrew. I got to looking through some of the photos that I have taken this year and thought I would feature "Big Blue". I call her that because of those huge steel blue eyes. They can stare right through you or melt your heart. It all depends on her mood. Usually they melt your heart. See what I mean. You'll notice another common feature about most of her photos, she's a "bow head". She loves dressing up and wearing bows in her hair. See what I mean. Actually she likes wearing bows in her hair, regardless of the occasion. As indicated by my Wordless Wednesday post, she and her baby brother are "Pals for Life." It is them against the world. Last year she took a pair of scissors and cut a chunk out of her own hair. What child hasn't done that? I noticed that her little brother also appeared to have a "V" notch in his buzz cut. To this day neither will tell anyone how that happened! She will admit to cutting her own hair, but no one is talking about how The Big Guy got that stylish "V" in his head! Big Blue is also a clown. She loves to dress up. I think Halloween may be her favorite time, because she gets to wear a costume. Most of all, Big Blue reminds us that being a kid should be fun! Her days should be filled with joy, void of worries, and pressures. There is plenty of time to grow up. There is very little time reserved for being a kid. See what I mean!
I found this children's amusement ride at a local mall. The mall is old and most of the stores are outdated, vacant, or just mom & pop tenants rather than national chains. The result is that Clifford gets a little lonely. He doesn't have many riders these days, however, he just keeps smiling and waiting for the next young fan. But you gotta admit, he is ruby red! He's also a significant change from last week's Wordless Wednesday post.
Fall is officially here, because high school football season begins tonight. Our local team is on the road so I won't be going to the game. Both political conventions are over and I'm still a little disappointed in the choices I have. That's it for this Friday.
This caboose sits in Frisco Park located in downtown Rogers, Arkansas. My father worked for the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company for over 40 years. With the exception of the two years he spent in the Navy during WWII, it is the only company that he ever worked for. Not many people can say that anymore. Dad worked during those years that many consider the Golden Age of railroading. He saw the steam engine give way to diesel power and many would say that the railroad lost a bit of it's soul when the steam powered locomotives finally disappeared.
The caboose was home to the train crew. It had a couple of beds, a desk, a sink, toilet, a pot belly stove and a fine little perch to sit a watch for any trouble that might develop with the train that rumbled along in front of you.
As a kid, I would go down to the train station in Henryetta, Oklahoma and watch dad work. He was a telegraph operator at the time. He would let me take the train orders out and place them in a device that looked a little like a sling shot. As the train passed by, one of the crew in the caboose would stretch out his arm and snag the message. It was the highlight of my day.
Once in a while I would be invited by the crew to hop into the engine and run out to the local glass plant to switch some cars around. I even got to "drive" that train once! I was probably eight or nine years old. I don't have to tell you how illegal that probably was, and that everyone could have lost their jobs. But it was a small town, and it was in the mid 1950's when things were much simpler.
It is little wonder that I was not impressed with the Lionel train set that my dad bought me one year for Christmas. Why would I want to play with that little thing running around the Christmas tree when I could walk three blocks up the street and play with the real thing?!! I had a great childhood. We weren't rich and we weren't poor. We were just a hardworking middle class family. This old caboose reminds me of some wonderful days spent in a small town, doing stuff that kids today will never get the opportunity to experience. I miss those times and I feel sorry for kids who will never have that much fun. Life was good. It still is, just different.
Note: The St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company never built a line all the way to San Francisco. In fact the track never extended past Floydada, Texas.
I am certainly not the best photographer in the world, but I do enjoy working with a camera and PhotoShop Elements. Most of the photos are taken with a Nikon D80 digital SLR and an 18-135mm lens. Some are taken with a Canon A620 point and shoot digital camera. A few are taken with a Canon S3Is (semi-pro) digital camera. Please note that I have taken all of the photographs on this blog and they are copyrighted. Thank you for viewing and commenting. Your visits are appreciated and you comments are welcome. Stop by anytime.
The event was held at the local minor league baseball park. As you can see, there is nothing like the energy and enthusiasm of youth. Again, everyone in this shot represents our team.
Yep, all of the red and light blue shirts belong to the team representing my dear friend.
The scripture chosen by the family was printed on the back of our shirts. There just weren't enough shirts for all 700 of us, so the students put the paper signs on the back of their red event shirts.
My lovely bride and I had a great time. It was a wonderful day, honoring a wonderful life, and supporting a wonderful cause. I would encourage you to find something truly worthwhile to support and become a part of it. You will receive far more than you give.
