It's my Turn..

Well, It's my turn now for an annoying questionaire thingy... Since I haven'treally thought of anything else to blog about... So here goes and I hope it doesn'tget too boring...


Piercings: 2 (left ear)
tattoos: no, not yet???
height: 5'9"
shoe size:10
hair color: brown
length: shaved
siblings:Kathy - 35

LAST....
movie you rented: Kung Pow - freakin' hilarious!!!
movie you bought: Constantine (returned it when I noticed wasn't wide screen)
song you listened to: What about Now (Country Song)
song that was stuck in your head: I'm not as good as I once was -Toby Keith
CD you listened to: Declaration - Steven Curtis Chapman
Person you've called: a customer
Person that's called you: same customer
TV show you've watched: Overhaulin
person you were thinking of: Wifey

DO....
you have a bf or gf: yes, my wife
you have a crush on someone: huh???
you wish you could live somewhere else: Sometimes here... ====>
you think about suicide: Nope
you believe in on-line dating: I guess if it works for you.
others find you attractive: Hmmm... don't really notice.
you want more piercings: I promised my oldest daughter I'd get my ear pierced when she decides to pierce hers...
you drink:Occasionally
you do drugs:Nope
you smoke: Only when I'm on fire
you like cleaning: No way!!!
you like roller coasters: LOVE them
you write in cursive or print: Mostly Print
you carry a donor card: Nope, Will let my wife decide that If I pass

FOR OR AGAINST....
using someone: against
suicide: Against
killing people: There are times when it may be necessary, but for the most part Against
teenage smoking: Against
driving drunk: Absolutely Against

FAVORITE....
food: Sushi
song: too many to list
thing to do:Watch Football
thing to talk about: My family
sport: I thought I already covered this one... Football College and Pro
drinks: Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sam Adams Light, Coke, Chocolate Milk
clothes: Jeans, T-Shirt, Boots
movies: Man with no name trilogy (Clint Eastwood)
holiday: Christmas
new nerdy saying: What's up,Yo? (not that new... guess I don't change that often)

HAVE YOU...
ever cried over a guy/girl: Yep.
ever lied to someone: Sadly, yes.
ever been in a fist fight: yes, a few... and avoided a few more
ever been arrested: no, unless tickets count

NUMBER...
of times I have had my heart broken? Once
of hearts I have broken? Hopefully none, but maybe a couple.
of people I would classify as true, could trust with my life type friends? I'd say 4 (Family not included)
of people I consider my enemies? None
of times my name has appeared in the newspaper? Don't know a numberbut a few times for things with school, or wedding announcements etc.
of scars on my body? Impossible to answer... I was an active kid.
of things in my past that I regret: A few...

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE...
funny: yes
friendly: I'd like to think so
amusing: From time to time
loveable: Yeah, once you get into the inner circle
pessimistic: Rarely
optimistic: Generally
caring: yes
sweet: on occasion
dorky: More and more every day!!!
Spell your first name backwards: kcirtaP
The story behind your user name: Child hood nickname, sung like the old Bat Man TV show theme...
Where do you live? Baton Rouge, LA
4 words that sum you up: deep, loving, complicated, devoted

DESCRIBE YOUR -
Wallet: single fold, black leather and rather empty...
Hairbrush: HA!!! Hairbrush... me???
Toothbrush: Electric vibrate type
Jewelry worn daily:right now none... at times 2 earings and a wedding ring
Pillow cover: What ever color sheets my wife picked... I'm sure the color name ismore like rose or muave instead of a regular color name
Blanket: White Down filled Comforter
Sunglasses: Black with Black lenses
Shoes: Black Wing Tips
Handbag:Uh... not applicable
Favorite shirt: Button down, white with blue criss cross pattern... my wife picked it out
Hair: Shaved, except for my chin
Make up: uh... no!!!

WHO or WHAT -
In my mouth: my tongue
In my head: "This is taking too long."
Wishing: Classic Triumph Chopper/Bobber Motorcycle 1960-1975
Talking to: Myself, wondering why I decided to do this
Eating: nothing
Person you wish you could see right now: Baby#3 - Due in November
Is next to you: Laptop, Files, 2 empty tupperware dishes (don't tell my wife)
Something you're looking forward to in this up coming month: A good Paycheck
Something that you are deathly afraid of? A roach crawling on me in my sleep
Do you like candles: Vanilla!!!
Do you like hot wax: Nope
Do you like incense: Nah.
Do you believe in love: You bet!!
Do you believe in soul mates: Absolutely
Do you believe in love at first sight: Love is more than surface... so no
Do you believe in forgiveness: Absolutely
What do you want done with your body when you die: Doesn't really matter to me, so whatever brings comfort to those still here
Who is your worst enemy? Gotta be ME
If you could have any animal for a pet: Tiger (provided he'd be super sweet and wouldn't eat me or my family =) )
What is the latest you've ever stayed up: Approximately 56 hours
Ever been to England? nope
Can you eat with chopsticks: yep, sushi remember...
What are some of your favorite pig out foods? Chips and Salsa, Popcorn, Ice Cream


So there you have it... my first posted questionaire... please don't be bored and expect greatness in the future...

A Can of Worms...

Uh Oh!!! It's begun. We have opened the can of worms that will probably never end. What can is that you say? The can of Home Improvement. Yep you got it, we actually opened "that one". It started with my wife getting me to pull the carpet and padding up in the front bathroom, as well as the linoleum. We started this project because the caulking around the linoleum and the tub was messed up and it seemed that water had leaked underneath and had cause mold and mildew to grow. It was time to rip it out and tile, and if we were gonna do that, we just needed to tile the area in front of the sinks as well...

So anyway, I get in there and the carpet/padding wasn't a problem. I then popped the tack strips out without much difficulty... This should have been a sign that something awful was coming... The linoleum from... well, you know where. I started pulling it up and encountered a pungent odor to say the least, as well as an even older, stinkier layer of linoleum. I ended up being able to pull both layers of flooring and scraped up what was left. Now there's just a little of the adhesive and paper backing left... I must not have realized how bad the smell had gotten, though I was feeling a bit sick to my stomach. My wife opened the door to bring me some sweet tea (that's how we do tea in the south) and nearly threw up and had to immediately turn around and leave. After that episode... we sanitized the bathroom and I'll begin laying tile today with the help of a friend...

Yeah I know, doesn't sound like much. It's only 51 tiles in one bathroom... Yeah, but next is our bathroom, then my wife would like to redo the floors in the living room. She'd like to acid stain the concrete slab.... WOW!!! That means moving all the furniture, pulling all the carpet (it's nasty and needs to go anyway) and tack strips, then etching the slab with lines to make it look like marble slabs, then cleaning up the slab of all the dripped paint etc. from construction (May take muratic acid) then staining and sealing the floor... Not too bad right? Well the living room is about 30x22... not a small room... After that will be our bedroom, maybe a different stain or hard wood, and then of course nothing willmatch the paint so we'll have to repaint alot of the rooms, probab le our room, and both bathrooms... Any way, the deed is done. The can is opened and there's "no turning back, no turning back." (Old Baptist Hymn)

A Little Nostalgia

Hi there everybody. I found myself looking at some old pictures this morning and found a few of them that I'd like to share with you. You may be surprised by a few of them, but that's the fun isn't it. To my hunny.... I hope you like them, they are posted without your permission... Hehe.

First a couple of really old ones... (To us at least) This on is Christmas hug. Note the genuinely excited smile of my wife... LOL Not sure why she has that expression, but I do seem to be happy. Note my flat tummy and the flowing locks!!! WOOT! Quite a change from me today... on both accounts. She looks a lot happier in this one. That's her dad's chin in the back ground. Speaking of her dad, the next picture is of Jess and I playing a benefit with her dad. For those of you that don't know, Jess' dad was an entertainer for 25 years; a large portion of which he did an Elvis style show called the Don Hinton Show. On occasion he has dusted off his Elvis suits and performed for a fund raising event. This pic shows one of the times both Jess and I performed with him. Note my shorter hair in this one... I look like I'm deep in thought... LOL

Now moving along and speaking of Elvis... Let's go back a bit more... Here's a pic of my wife clowning around in her wedding dress before we were married doing an Elvish... hehe or should that be Elvisish pose ???? She was 19 in this picture... (SHHHH!!!! Don't tell anybody, but she's gonna be 30 this year... SHHHHHH!!!)

Now one more that I just though was sweet... me kissing her pregnant belly that's holding our first of three children... WOW what a life I've lived. It sure has been great!!! And it just keeps getting better!!!

This Story Made Me Cry...

Survivor Story: 6-Year-Old Leads Five Toddlers, Baby To Safety

WLEX-TV

In the chaos that was Causeway Boulevard in New Orleans last Thursday, one group of survivors stood out: a 6-year-old boy walking down the road, holding a 5-month-old, surrounded by five toddlers who followed him around as if he were their leader.

They were holding hands. Three of the children were about two years old, and one was wearing only diapers. A three-year-old girl, who wore colorful barrettes on the ends of her braids, had her 14-month-old brother in tow. The 6-year-old spoke for all of them, and he told rescuers his name was Deamonte Love.

Thousands of human stories have flown past relief workers in the last week, but few have touched them as much as the seven children who were found wandering together Thursday at an evacuation point in downtown New Orleans. In the Baton Rouge headquarters of the rescue operation, paramedics tried to coax their names out of them; nurses who examined them stayed up that night, brooding.

Transporting the children alone was "the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, knowing that their parents are either dead" or that they had been abandoned, said Pat Coveney, a Houston emergency medical technician who put them into the back of his ambulance and drove them out of New Orleans.

"It goes back to the same thing," he said. "How did a 6-year-old end up being in charge of six babies?"

So far, parents displaced by flooding have reported 220 children missing, but that number is expected to rise, said Mike Kenner of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which will help reunite families. With crowds churning at evacuation points, many children were parted from their parents accidentally; one woman handed her baby up onto a bus, turned around to pick up her suitcase and turned back to find that the bus had left.

At the rescue headquarters, a cool tile-floored building swarming with firefighters and paramedics, the children ate cafeteria food and fell into a deep sleep. Deamonte volunteered his vital statistics. He said his father was tall and his mother was short. He gave his address, his phone number and the name of his elementary school.

He said the 5-month-old was his brother, Darynael, and that two others were his cousins, Tyreek and Zoria. The other three lived in his apartment building.

The children were clean and healthy -- downright plump in the case of the infant, said Joyce Miller, a nurse who examined them. It was clear, she said, that "time had been taken with those kids." The baby was "fat and happy."

"This baby child was terrified," he said. "After she relaxed, it was gobble, gobble, gobble."

As grim dispatches came in from the field, one woman in the office burst into tears at the thought that the children had been abandoned in New Orleans, said Sharon Howard, assistant secretary of the office of public health.

Late the same night, they got an encouraging report: A woman in a shelter in Thibodeaux was searching for seven children. People in the building started clapping at the news. But when they got the mother on the phone, it became clear that she was looking for a different group of seven children, Howard said.

"What that made me understand was that this was happening across the state," she said. "That kind of frightened me."

The children were transferred to a shelter operated by the Department of Social Services, rooms full of toys and cribs where mentors from the Big Buddy Program were on hand day and night. For the next two days, the staff did detective work.

Deamonte began to give more details to Derrick Robertson, a 27-year-old Big Buddy mentor: How he saw his mother cry when he was loaded onto the helicopter. How he promised her he'd take care of his little brother.

Late Saturday night, they found Deamonte's mother, who was in a shelter in San Antonio along with the four mothers of the other five children. Catrina Williams, 26, saw her children's pictures on a web site set up over the weekend by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. By Sunday, a private plane from Angel Flight was waiting to take the children to Texas.

In a phone interview, Williams said she is the kind of mother who doesn't let her children out of her sight. What happened the Thursday after the hurricane, she said, was that her family, trapped in an apartment building on the 3200 block of Third Street in New Orleans, began to feel desperate.

The water wasn't going down and they had been living without light, food or air conditioning for four days. The baby needed milk and the milk was gone. So she decided they would evacuate by helicopter. When a helicopter arrived to pick them up they were told to send the children first and that the helicopter would be back in 25 minutes. She and her neighbors had to make a quick decision.

It was a wrenching moment. Williams' father, Adrian Love, told her to send the children ahead.

"I told them to go ahead and give them up, because me, I would give my life for my kids. They should feel the same way," said Love, 48. "They were shedding tears. I said, Let the babies go.' "

His daughter and her friends followed his advice.

"We did what we had to do for our kids, because we love them," Williams said.

The helicopter didn't come back. While the children were transported to Baton Rouge, their parents wound up in Texas, and although Williams was reassured that they would be reunited, days passed without any contact. On Sunday, she was elated.

"All I know is I just want to see my kids," she said. "Everything else will just fall into place."

At 3 p.m. Sunday, DSS workers said good-by to seven children who now had names: Deamonte Love; Darynael Love; Zoria Love and her brother Tyreek. The girl who cried "Gabby!" was Gabrielle Janae Alexander. The girl they called Peanut was Degahney Carter. And the boy whom they called G was actually Lee -- Leewood Moore Jr.

The children were strapped into car seats and driven to an airport, where they were flown to San Antonio to rejoin their parents. As they loaded into the van, the shelter workers looked in the windows; some wept.

The baby gaped with delight in the front seat. Deamonte was hanging onto Robertson's neck so desperately that Robertson decided, at the last minute, to ride with him as far as Lafayette.

Shelter worker Kori Thomas, held Zoria, 3, who reached out to smooth her eyebrows. Tyreek put a single fat finger on the van window by way of goodbye.

Robertson said he doubted the children would remember much of the helicopter evacuation, the Causeway, the sweltering heat or the smell of the flooded city.

"I think what's going to stick with them is that they survived Hurricane Katrina," he said. "And that they were loved."

To Harley or Not to Harley...

Ok so here's the deal. I've owned two Harley's in the past. My first was a brand new 1998 Sportster Hugger that I bought when I worked at the Harley Shop right out of college. Similar to the one you see here, except mine was black. I loved that bike... it was a dream come true for me. I had sold my little Honda VT500 shadow for the down payment ($1000) and financed the rest. I was a happy camper. At that time in our lives, my wife and I had one car and my bike... Unfortunately, I did not have this bike for very long. I stepped outside my apartment one morning all dressed in my leathers with helmet on... "hmmm... maybe I parked over there..." Nope!!! Stolen. Yeah I was sad, but never really angry. I just couldn't believe it happened to me. The good thing was that it was brand new so my insurance company called the dealership, which I work at, to determine a value for the bike with the accessories I had added to it. I ended up getting more for the bike then I paid and got a little more than my deposit back. I took that deposit and bought my second and last Harley. A 1992 FXRS Conv. I had a big twin. I did pay too much for it. I realize that now, but boy did I LOVE it. It's similar to this pick except mine was blue and didn't have nearly this much chrome, but you get the idea. A lot more power in it's 1340 cc engine vs. the sportsters 883 cc enginge. I vowed to only own a big twin Harley after that. It's just a much more comfortable ride. I ended up selling that bike after having it for about 3 years. My wife and I decided to try and eliminate our debt load and I took the first step in selling my bike. I ended up getting enough out of it to pay off one of our credit cards, plus eliminating the bike payment... In the long run it has been the right decision to have made.

Now I find myself wanting another bike. So, here's the delimma. I don't have any money... LOL Funny huh. So with that in mind, I have been looking at other bikes. I really like a chopper/bobber style bike and have been looking on Ebay at different bikes. Ones that I have liked are ones made using a classic Triumph engine. Check the pic. This is one of the favorites I've seen. Very Old School and Tough!!! It's listed on Ebay for $3500. No bids and currently 6 hours left. It even has a sawed off shotgun as the suicide shift. So, What do I do. I can't really afford a bike, not even this one. I certainly don't want to add any monthly payments. I've considered one of these Triumph choppers or a Harley Sportster again, with the hopes of buying a Big Twin Harley later down the road... I am afraid though that if I don't get another bike soon, I never will, or it will be too late to really enjoy it. My daughters are 6 and 2. My son will be born in November. We plan to have more children. The older they get the less likely it will be that I have "extra money" for a bike purchase... And I don't really even have any money now...

My delimma is should I get a bike sometime soon, or should I wait. If I do get one should I go for the Big Twin Harley my heart desires, or a little sportster or Alternative brand bike? You see my pain don't you... Please chime in on your opinion...

Ah... Donations are also accepted... Feel free to buy any one of these options for me... =)

Man's man I am...

John Wayne You scored 64% Tough, 4% Roguish, 28% Friendly, and 0% Charming!

You, my friend, are a man's man, the original true grit, one tough talking, swaggering son of a gun. You're not a bad guy, on the contrary, you're the ultimate good guy, but you're one tough character, rough and tumble, ready for anything. You call the shots and go your own way, and if some screwy dame is willing to accept your terms, that's just fine by you. Otherwise, you'll just hit the open trail and stay true to yourself. You stand up for what you believe and can handle any situation, usually by rushing into the thick of the action. You're not polished and you're not overly warm, but you're a straight shooter and a real stand up guy. Co-stars include Lauren Bacall and Maureen O'Hara, tough broads who can take care of themselves. Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the Classic Dames Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 98% on Tough You scored higher than 5% on Roguish You scored higher than 54% on Friendly You scored higher than 0% on Charming

Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating

What is your resource?

Hello everyone. Here is some information passed on to you all coming from emails and personal interaction with those displaced... First, and email letter from a friend, whose husband went with his church to help evacuees that are currently at Armstrong Airport...

Hi,

I am calling on people to pray—please stop whatever you are doing and pray-I know there is an ENOMOROUS amount of need out there right now and lots of prayer requested in many areas.

Cary was allowed down at the New Orleans International Airport last night with a convoy of about 80 volunteers that went down from our church to help. The city of Baton Rouge is relying on our church heavily to help in many needed areas. Some of the people that were in the dome in New Orleans have been moved to the airport…literally 10’s of thousand of people. Cary said probably about 20,000. He said elderly are sitting in their own waste, children by themselves hiding under blankets with the look of fear on their faces…they are flying people out of there as patients to hospitals all over the country but many people are just still sitting there waiting.

Cary said one minute he was helping in one area and had walked by the “black room”. The “black room” is where they put the critically ill patients that there is no longer anything they can do for them. He walked back by and they said they needed his assistance. One lady was alive one minute and when he came back she had just died. Cary had to bag 5 bodies last night. He said it is a horrific situation down there…he could hardly talk about it. Doctors, nurses, military everywhere but it is still just chaos due to the limited resources and because there is no power still at the hospital. These people need prayer and the volunteers, doctors, nurses, military, govt. leaders need prayer like never before for energy to keep going and for strength from the Almighty.

Where two or three are gathered…please pray specifically today while you are at worship for the countless lives that are still in New Orleans needing rescue and needing medical aid. And pray for a harvest of souls, that people will call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

With God, all things are possible.

Love,

Alisa

With this letter in mind, I want to share with you what is going on in our lives right now... We are members of the SouthEast Vineyard Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a church we have had such an out pouring of love and support from many of the 800 Vineyard Churches throughout our country. A few examples of what's going on... Saturday evening at about midnight, our pastor received a phone call from a couple that had driven all day and arrived from South Carolina. They had come in an old beatup pickup that they loaded down with supplies. The pastor met them at the church and helped them unload the truck into our warehouse space on our property, they then proceeded to leave and drive home. They felt lead to do this, they didn't stay for church, nor would they accept offers for a place to stay and get some sleep. They were simply obeying God...

About 2 hours later, another truck arrived. This time it was a 24 foot Ryder style truck coming from another part of the country. The truck got stuck in our driveway, but after church Sunday morning was freed and then unloaded. It seems that we are becoming a distribution center for supplies and necessities. We are not a huge church, and don't have space for 1000 evacuees or anything like that, but we do have warehouse space. The phones have been ringing off the hook with people saying, we're coming... we've got a semi/moving truck/pickup/ etc of supplies... We are overwhelmed by the response of the Vineyard Community...

Sunday morning, the Pastor made a great point in his sermon. His point, What is your resource? What has God given you that you can give to help these people? We all have resorces. For some it is money, or time, or extra groceries. For others it's prayer, or maybe even tears. For the church, it's a warehouse, and organization to receive and distribute needed materials from all over the country. For us it is an empty room in our home. Currently we have a Pastor from a new Vineyard church plant in Los Angeles, CA staying with us for the week. His name is David Ruis. Anyone that knows Vineyard music probably recognizes the name. I must tell you that this man has a huge heart. He has flown here to give of his time and of himself to do whatever he can to help. Here is one of his stories...

Yesterday, he went down to the River Centre/Centroplex in Baton Rouge to volunteer. He signed in and began talking to people. Immediately he began getting words for different people. He had many opportunities to pray for people... One story he told me as we were driving back from down town was about a man that lived in Lower Plaquemines Parish (South of New Orleans). This man was unable to evacuate as the Hurricane Approached. It was him, a 6 month old baby, his older son and Father who is in poor health. The home they were living in was only one story. The hurricane came in and the water began to rise. He realized that they needed to get to higher ground. They grabbed everyone in the house and started across the street to the neighbors house which was 2 stories. As they were crossing the street the water continued to rise. By the time he got in his neighbors house and had pushed the rest of his family ahead of him up the stairs to the second floor, the water was right at chin level. He found that with every step he took to climb higher the water level was climbing just as fast. He finally got to the second floor and his head away from the rising water only to find the water already up to his waist... ON THE SECOND FLOOR MIND YOU!!! They headed towards the attic... They climbed up into the attic and threw stuff out the windows to make room for the combined families. Fortunately the water stopped rising, and never got into the attic. After the storm passed, they found themselves stuck in the attic of a home with 16 feet or so of water surrounding them. The neighbor crawled out the window nto the roof and swam across to a nearby boat he saw that had floated into the area. He was able to hotwire the boat and get it running, into which they all piled in and went searching for a place to get rescued... Obviously they made it out, they were at the Centroplex...

This is one of many stories. Nearly all of the 1.5 million displaced residents of southeast Louisiana have a story to tell. These are the things they have gone through. The range of people is very vast,from the very poor and homeless to the middle class business man. People of all races,creeds, and religions are represented.

Some other interesting things about the shelter... The Red Cross has it's act together. Supply trucks are coming in non-stop. The people are well cared for... An interesting thing for the Christians out there... There is a very small Christian presence at this place. Somehow, The church of scientology, has been able to set up 3 tents in the centre where they are manned 24 hours a day and they give "consultations" and massages while the recruit people for the church. The mormans also have a large presence there... Occasionally announcing over a loud speaker that they were going to have a gathering. I know that many churches are housing refugees, but where is the Church's presence in this place?

Another interesting note... While there, it was heard that Oprah Winfrey was supposed to be coming. Immediately orders were given to sweep the floor and start cleaning. AMAZING!!! Please tell me that we are not cleaning for Oprah. Please tell me that we are not doing something that wasn't supposed to be done already, just because Oprah is coming. Don't get me wrong here... I think the celebrity attention is important. Just as it was for the tsunami, it can generate a huge amount of funds and needed aid to those effected... Just don't do anything extra because of Oprah.

Moving on...

In church yesterday, more than half of those in attendance were not from our church. The majority of the extra folks were from the Kenner Vineyard. That church took it hard and flooded. This church family is without a church or homes. They are struggling to find everyone as evacuees have gone in so many directions. Pray for these people. Pray for our church to be effective in using our resources, and ask yourself what is your resource. What do you have to offer...

I want to leave this post on a good note So I ask the question our Associate Pastor asked Sunday Evening at our communion service. What good is God doing/gonna do out of this? I'll end with another story shared at church on Sunday that gives an answer to this question.

A coilition of pastors has been formed in the area that bridges gaps between all denominations. At the most recent meeting a pastor from a local church spoke about something he experienced. This church has opened it's door to 800 refugees. The first night they arrived they slept on the floor. There was some unrest and a few problems with those there. The second day the Pastor got up and spoke to them saying that, "This is a town, and I am going to be the mayor. We are going to have a few simple rules for our town. The first is that this is a town of Love." He had them hugging each other and a few other things. He gave them a few more rules they would need to follow, and then shared with them a brief scripture and message. In his own words, it really wasn't much, but he felt the Lord tell him to give an invitation. So he had everyone close their eyes and bow their heads. He asked if anyone would like to come to Christ please raise their hands. He peeked at the crowd and saw many many hands. He thought to himself, they must have misunderstood me, so he asked Anyone that would like to receive Jesus as their Savior please come down to the front... 750 out of the 800 people came down to the front.

I get chills again even as I type this. Two scriptures I want to share with you all...

1) For those of you that are having trouble asking Why instead of What...

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.



2) For those of you effected by this seeming tragedy...

Matthew 6:25-34

25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? 28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? 31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' 32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I've Come for Bread and Bullets...

Hello everyone... I do apologize for being away for so long, but I guess a hurricane as powerful as Katrina can do that to you. To answer all the main questions up front, we made it through OK. Our house lost some shingles and has many more shingles that are curled from the wind. Luckily none of my trees fell.... Now that I've calmed your nerves, I'll proceed to my post and explain the title.


Thursday Morning approx. 7:30 A.M. The phone rings and it's my Mother-in-Law... She asks me if I'm ready for the hurricane... I'm like what hurricane... there's a hurricane? No I'm not ready.

During the day I start looking at the news and see this "thing" that is coming at us...

Friday Morning approx. 7:30A.M. the phone rings and it's my Mother-In-Law again... Are you ready for the hurricane? No we haven't done anything yet... Short conversation and we hang up. Phone rings again and I think it's Nana (Mother-in-Law) again. Nope... It's my Mom. Are you ready for the hurricane? Geez what is this thing coming... I think to myself. Nope we haven't done anything.

I hang up and turn on the TV and realize that what's coming is something MAJOR!!!

WOW Take a look at that... the perfect storm, a category 5... In church on Sunday the pastor gave us some information on the spiritual meaning of the name Katrina. It means "cleansing" GEEZ!! How prophetic is that. Sunday I had a vision or so I thought. In my vision i saw New Orleans under water, where only rooftops were visible, specifically I saw Bourbon Street with deep water in it... A vision is a new thing to me, I must be honest and say I believed it to be my imagination or a daydream... Anyway the storm came and our power went out at 6A.M. on Monday morning. We decided to pack the family, the dog and a few bags up and drive over to my parents house because they still had power and cartoons most importantly and we had not prepared well enough with radio and such to keep track of what was going on. We left our house at about 11 A.M. and had only really gotten one wave of rain from Kristina but were getting pretty good wind gusts. We stayed glued to the TV and reportsand watched as the devistation unfolded...

These pictures speak more than any of my word could...

And the Pictures that say the most to me.....

This makes me want to cry for him...

Please make no mistake, there are thousands of innocent people dead from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. My heart cries out for these people and their families. I cannot begin to comprehend the realization of not having a home or job to go back to, that I'd be displaced from the place I called home for an indefinent time... This hurricane has been catastrophic and it's effects will be wide spread and felt for many years to come. I do not believe New Orleans will ever be the city it was. Is that a good or bad thing? I don't know. Did God allow or cause this "cleansing" storm to come this way? I don't know. I'll never claim to know. Right now I simply pray for these people, and hope that you do the same...


After the hurrican had passed I was amazed to see all the flooding that had occured in New Orleans, but was somewhat shocked to see that the Franch Quarter, and Central Business District did not have any water in it... TANGENT ALERT--- This makes sense though, because this is the oldest part of the city and where the fort was originally established because it was surrounded by water and had a great range of vision from all directions... A great place for a fort, not a CITY... Then I heard the news talking about how the water was slowly rising in the French Quarter, I couldn't believe it!!! In my minds eye, I could see the spiritual battle between the "cleansing" and Satan as Satan tried to preserve the VooDoo Capital and the French Quarter with all it's sinful nature, as the "cleansing" water slowly consumed these places. In the end, I saw my vision a reality. I believe 5-6 feet of water on Bourbon Street itself. Now what I hear is that New Orleans has begun to smell like the filth of the sin it contains.

The things that baffle me most are the looters... not all the looters mind you... I can understand breaking in somewhere for water, food, diaper... the things that you need to take care of your family. I would do the same thing myself. I am sure of that. What I cannot understand are the people who are grabbing Clothing by the rack, Stacks of shoes, Big TV's, Radios... Look at this picture...
"What size do you wear?"

Moving on...



In the aftermath, we find ourselves in Baton Rouge, having more than doubled in population. There are multiple families living in most houses. All the rental properties are taken. Houses are being purchased for cash. Traffic is a virtual gridlock. I find myself taking every backroad I ever knew as a teen age driver living here. There are long lines to buy gas, when you can find some available. There are countless unfounded rumors, about carjackings, looting, rioting etc. These things don't seem to be happening but the rumors are flying around. The police forces are taxed from keeping order and dealing with the added population and intersections with no lights. The grocery stores are overcrowed and understocked with food and supplies. The future is just uncertain... With all this in mind we come to my title...

I walked into my parents house last night on my way home from work and announced, I've come for Bread and Bullets. I grabbed our loaf of bread we left there when we came over during the power outage, and grabbed ammunition for my 9mm and 38 spl. I actually did leave with bread and bullets.