Freedom Justice Love

Orphaned Children...

2010-08-03T09:52:00.010-05:00

For the first time recently, I truly saw myself in the context of being an orphan who has been adopted by God...

I remember one particular day while we were in Uganda and we visited a school where many orphaned children were. When we arrived at the school, the children came running up to us with excitement, surrounding us within just a few short moments. They came up with greetings, smiling and asking for water, begging to be picked up, touched, and loved. They put up their dirt covered hands in surrender and looked right in to our eyes with theirs saying “will you take care of me?...Will you love me?...Will you be my friend…my companion?”. They looked in awe at our hands and arms, reaching out to touch and feel the texture of our skin. They hung on every word that we said, even if they didn’t understand it, and just simply enjoyed being in our presence. Out of compassion, we spent time with them, and we loved on them. We even offered them snacks and cuddly little stuffed animals, things that seemed so small to us, yet were so important and big to them. And then….at the end of the day…we put the babies down, packed up our belongings and we left. We walked away leaving them in the hands of their creator…our Father.

The other day as I worshipped God, I began to thank Him for all that He has done and I looked to Him for life. I put my dirt covered hands up in surrender and asked Him for attention, to allow me to feel His presence, to sustain me, and to take care of me. I longed for His touch and was amazed when He reached His arms out to embrace me. In that moment I truly recognized that before I was a child of God…I was fatherless. I was born alone, to fend for myself…searching for someone to take care of me, to be my friend…my companion…to love me. Then, when I first truly met my God, I ran to Him, just as these children did to us. As He reached out to me, I looked at Him in awe, I was amazed at the ways He was different from anyone I had ever met and I KNEW that He could take care of me…..and so I asked Him.

The BIG difference between my encounter with these children, and my encounter with God is this……

He did not walk away and leave me for someone else to take care of. Out of compassion…He picked me up and took me home with Him!

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love Hepredestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6

We are so thankful and blessed that God has called us to do the same. To pick up two children and take them home with us….to do everything that we can in this life to make sure that the 147 million orphaned children in this world are adopted by the family of God…AND…that the people that we encounter every day…the ones that are still orphaned and have not accepted their adoption as children of God…will enter in to our family and know the love of God our Father!

BECAUSE GOD TOLD US TO!

2010-03-09T13:52:00.002-06:00

The drive:

Psalm 82:3–4

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people”.

This is the premise on which we want to base our lives on. This is our true religion!

God has called us to enter into relationship with the people around us, and all over the world. He has called us to love them…to serve them…to give of our hearts and God given abundance to them…to show them God’s love…and to adopt their orphans as our own. Our current focus?…Uganda.

You may ask…Are we doing this because we have been told we can’t have “biological” children?

The answer to this is no. We have not been told that, nor do we think that. In fact, we know and have unwavering faith that we will have “biological” children. So this decision to adopt did not come out of discouragement, nor is it second best. Being a “father to the fatherless” is part of God’s calling and purpose for our lives.

Some adoption statistics:

In the world: there are 143,000,000 orphans. Of those, 50,000,000 are “adoptable”. Of those, 250,000 are adopted annually.

60% of female orphans are lured into some form of sex trade.

70% of male orphans become hardened criminals.

Uganda has 2.5 million orphans, the highest number in the world per capita. 1.2 million of which are orphaned by HIV/AIDS!

We are all called to manifest the spirit of adoption in some way!

So please join us in prayer and support as we continue to live out God’s purpose in our lives through adoption.

There are still a lot of details to work out, but we can't wait to meet our children and hold them in our arms... God is so Good!

Here is a link to a video that reflects our heart!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmwUR2sHV4Q&feature=related

Hurry Up and Wait

2008-09-23T14:19:00.003-05:00

Okay...so...a lot of people have been asking what is going on with Tim. I decided that this was the second occasion in about 2 years on which I should post on our blog. That way everyone will know what is going on:)

So......Here's the story...

About two weeks ago, just prior to leaving for Baton Rouge, Tim started having some problems with his vision. A couple times a day he would start having double vision...like one of his eyes was drifting off to the side. This problem continued to progress throughout the week. By the time he arrived home on Friday he was seeing double constantly.

We immediately went that afternoon to see the eye doctor. This doctor basically said...it doesn't look good. So..he referred us immediately to an ophthalmologist. This doctor proceeded to do a few simple eye tests and concluded the same thing...It doesn't look good. He then proceeded to give us options of possible causes. These included the autoimmune disorders Multiple Sclerosis, and Myuesthenia Gravis. So....he referred us to a neurologist.

Then on to the neurologist by Tuesday...His assessments continued to include MS, and Myesthenia Gravis. However, he did give a third option.....a virus that is causing inflammation of the nerves that control his eye muscles. So...he had an MRI on Friday amd returned to the doctor today to hear the results. We expected to hear either: yes it is MS...or no it is not MS. Here is what we got:

"Tim, you have nonspecific changes in your brain that can be consistent with MS. But....they are much smaller than the lesions commonly found in MS....So, you may or may not have MS. These spots are often found in people that have problems with migraines and can also be benign.(meaning...not harmful)"

Next step...spinal tap to theoretically rule out or confirm MS and a bunch of bloodwork to check for other possible causes.

My theory...this really sucks! But...God is still God! As soon as we found out that this could be something bad...we began praying and believing for healing. Our friends and family have rallied around us in amazing prayer and faith. So.. we don't know what tomorrow holds. We do know that Christ is the center of our lives, and even in this His glory will be shown! It is our prayer that this will be used in a way that shows people how cool God really is!!!

Because....He IS pretty stinkin cool! Who knows...maybe the lesions were small because God immediately began shrinking them as we prayed and that is why they were small on the MRI...or maybe he does have MS. We will still stand firm on the promises that he has for our lives and continue striving towards His really cool plan and purpose for our lives. We will not lose vision!!!

We will keep everyone posted on what we know:)

Thanks again for all your prayers,
Genessa

What I do when no one is looking

2008-08-21T22:33:00.003-05:00

Deer camera test. And proof I wore my helmet.

The Mighty Mulberry

2008-05-19T21:07:00.003-05:00

We are planning a canoe trip to the mulberry for memorial day. Here are the details.

If you are my friend and you are reading this you are invited.

We will camp at my families cabin Sunday night and canoe the mulberry Monday.

You can check water levels and rent canoes from www.turnerbend.com

The mulberry is not a lazy river type of river, it is not recommended for beginners.

We will likely canoe from wolf pen to turner bend 15.7 miles.

Water level is decent but I am hoping for more rain.

Canoing can be an intense form of marital counseling.

There is no cell phone reception at the cabin.

Let me know if you are in.

Local Celebrities and funny things were said.

2008-04-30T22:24:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday my dad and Sabrina both had choir concerts that they were in (separately). This Sunday night I was playing with our camera and happened to catch a news story inadvertently. Sort of a poor mans tivo. Here is the video.

Also tonight at couples group we played the newly wed game. Genessa and I tied with Ray and Monica for first place. During the game, many things were said that we re funny. However, my wife has asked that I not share something she said that was funny, so I am not sharing any of it(to protect the marriages of the people involved). Just know that it was funny stuff.

Tim

End of a boycott

2008-04-11T15:05:00.003-05:00

I have decided it is time to end one of my boycotts. After 3 years of
no subway I decided it was time to forgive them. So for the last two
nights we have had subway for dinner.

I would like to thank all of my friends who have faithfully joined me
in this boycott. I know that we have made a difference in subways
bottom line. I seriously doubt that they will pull another stunt
like that again. (They lied and said I could buy 5 sandwiches and get the 6th free, when I tried to redeem the card they would not take it.)

I am still boycotting the Braums in Bentonville.

Junk in the Trunk

2008-03-31T21:52:00.027-05:00

Genessa bought a cool trunk at an estate auction this weekend. I really like it. It has really cool embossed tin on the outside. After doing some research, it is dated between 1891-1920 probably closer to 1891 which is when the lock was patented that is on it. Here are a bunch of pictures

(I am showing these pictures to someone who is going to help date the trunk that is why there are so many.)

Books to read from Two weeks ago Part 3

2008-03-25T12:57:00.002-05:00

Blue Like Jazz by Dan Miller.

I have also been wanting to read this one for a while. I am not really sure after having read it that I can tell you what it is about. But I can tell you that it is a good book. I think the subtitle includes the phrase personal reflections… that is kind of what I got from it. It has made me think of how I treat people and how people view me as a Christian. Christians are more known for things they are against than for their loving and caring gestures. I think that is sad. The book likely raised more questions than answers but since that is how I often find my mind working, I think that is ok with me.

Books to read from last week Part 2

2008-03-19T07:55:00.002-05:00

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

I have been wanting to read this book for a while. It is basically what the rich teach their kids that the poor and middle class do not. That said it is not a parenting book, it is a personal finance book. In the book he encourages people to buy assets. He says that the poor only have expenses (bills), the middle class buys liabilities that they think are assets (cars) , and the rich buy assets (things that make more money than they cost). Although I don't agree that people should go into debt to buy assets, but I do agree that people need to buy assets.

Books to read from last week Part 1

2008-03-11T08:54:00.002-05:00

I haven't told people about the books that I have read in a while and last week I got in quite a few in my commute to work. So I wrote up a few reviews and recommendations.

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I think I have read this book 3 times. I am a hardcore Dave Ramsey fan. This book I originally bought just over two years ago. It inspired us to become debt free and has changed our lives more than any book (not written by a deity). It lays out a simple(not easy) plan to get out of debt, save money for latter and encourages people to give like never before once they have control of their finances. Go get it if you haven’t read it or I will give you a copy that’s how much I believe in it.

Lost and Found...

2008-02-27T17:22:00.010-06:00

Found... One set of SUPER AWESOME completed curtains. It is my hope that the rightful owner claim them as soon as possible. May it be noted that the finder's/installation fee is to be set at one dinner invitation ;

p.s. the curtains I am referring to are on the couch and not on the window behind it.

Sold the Bus

2008-02-26T21:10:00.002-06:00

So I had been dreading selling my bus for all these months. It took me about an hour or so to gather and write up all the specs for the transaxle and motor. After I put it online, I went outside to charge the battery to start the motor. About 20 minutes later I got a call from someone who said he would buy it for my asking price of $2000.

God is good.

Now all I have left to sell is the camping interior.

4 posts in one (abbreviated for your reading pleasure)

2008-02-25T07:58:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple of things that I have been thinking about.

We have been trying to sell our house for 5 months now. I am assuming that it is not going to happen. We are a little sad to let the house in Bentonville slip away, but overall we are just ready to not be selling our house. One more month or so to go on our contracts.

Genessa has been working very hard for the last 7 months working to settle with our insurance company. Last week she was finally able to settle. This was like her having a third job (job 1- nurse, job 2- take care of Tim) and I am very grateful to her for taking care of this. What a wife.

Through this settlement, God was able to use something that the enemy planned for harm and use it for good. Our plan is to finish our goal of being debt free (except the house(working on that to)). Just for the record, the settlement was not worth the accident and resulting changes. If you had asked me pre-accident I would have said heck yes, but not after going through it.

One last thing. I need to part out my bus that I bought back from the insurance company. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't bought it back. It was kind of like buying myself a job that I can't even stand to look at.

FCC Auction

2008-01-22T08:02:00.000-06:00

Most people know that coming in Feb 2009 if you use an antenna to watch tv (as we do), you will have to have a newer tv to get free television channels. A lot of people aren't happy about this. Although I am not excited about paying for a new tv, I am excited about the opportunity that this brings to all of us.

This has made a very large section of the wireless spectrum available and the government is going to auction it. It is expected to get 10-15 billion at auction.

What this means is that someone is going to buy it and use it to provide new wireless services. The people who are looking at buying it are mostly cell phone providers but the one that I am mostly excited about is google. They will likely use it to provide wide spread wireless access that will have a huge range compared to what is available now.

I heard roomers that the government is going to make restrictions that will keep portions of the band available to anyone who needs one. This means that in the future when someone develops a new wireless device they won't have to be a giant company, they can use part of the 700mhz band.

Can't wait to see what happens. The auction is suppose to begin before the end of the month.

YOu can win a bonus point if you can tell me who the person is in the picture.

Things that wake me up

2008-01-21T07:51:00.000-06:00

I am often awaken (not sure that is the right word) by grand thoughts, problems, and things we will not understand until we get to heaven. This morning was no exception. Here is what I woke pondering.

I wear a blue shirt and my belly button lint is blue.

I wear a red shirt and it is red.

Yet when I wear a white shirt, it is grey.

I got dibs on asking Jesus when I get there.

Tim

I am free

2007-12-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

I went to the ear doctor today (turns out my ear doctor(Dr. Manning) is Becca Mayo's brother(for those of you who know her)) and he took a big hunk of "packing" out of my ear. He said that I am not %100 healed, but that it looks very good. He finsihed by saying that I have no restricktions. So now I can lift whatever I want and do what ever I want.

5 months ago I decided I was going to start swimming, shortly after that, I ruptured my ear drum, no swiming.

Then I decided I was going to start running, shortly after that, I broke my leg, no running.

Once that healed I was going to start lifting weights and running again, then I had surgery on my ear, no straining at all.

Now "I am free to run, I am free to dance" (I don't like that song, but I like the message)

I will wrap up with some updated pictures of my deer. Note the six foot long sausage I made. Good times.
This pile is about half of what my deer made.
IN the oven with my meat thermometer.

Thanksgiving Hunt

2007-11-25T21:17:00.001-06:00

About a month ago when Genessa was in Baton Rouge, I got bored and decided to take the hunters education course online.

This last week I got my first deer the night before Thanksgiving out at our land. It was a big doe. Here is a low quality pic. It was fun.

I have surgery tomorrow at 9:00am in Springdale on my ear so be praying for us.

Thanks,
Tim

You heard me

2007-11-16T10:40:00.000-06:00

4 months ago, I was wake boarding and loving it. Until I wiped out and hit my ear on the water and ruptured my ear drum. That by the way didn't hurt to much, except when I put alcohol in to dry out the water (never do this). I ended up blowing out about 25% of my ear drum and loosing about %40 of my hearing in that ear.

I went back to the doctor yesterday to see if my ear had healed and the good news is that some of my hearing is back. The bad news is that I still have a hole in my ear drum and I will have to have surgery to repair it. With the surgery it is possible but not guaranteed that I will regain some more of my hearing.

All that said I am having surgery sometime on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Tim

Black Friday

2007-11-09T15:32:00.001-06:00

If you are like Genessa and I, you don't pay full price for anything and you only buy big big bargains. Coming up is Black Friday and some of the ads are creeping up on the internet. I prefer scanned in ads and here is a site I found after a quick search.

http://bfads.net/adscans

I would still like to see Wal-Marts ad. I am in the market for a supper cheap flat panel. But I bet I will have to wait another year before they will be in the range of what I am willing to pay.

Tim

Much needed update

2007-10-29T09:15:00.000-05:00

I will try and keep my descriptions short.

We are buying a 100 year old house just off the Bentonville square(MLS #515229). That is if we can sell our house in Springdale (MLS # 521473).

We have settled with the insurance company for the bus, it is now mine again and I need to sell it.

We still have to settle for Genessa and my medical bills, some $10,000.

I am walking more now that I am a week and a half off of the crutches. I currently have what is called pitting edema. I don’t know what that really means but it is fun to play with. My leg swells a lot when I walk especially on Sundays (my biggest walking day).

I don’t like making the bed.

I love my wife.

You can watch more shows than ever for free online. Including some discovery channel shows and starting this season "the office" and "my name is earl".

My favorite “NEW” show is "Pushing Daisy’s". Which is a sure sign that it will last only one season. It is a love story at its heart but it has some weird elements that will keep people from watching it. You can check it out at www.abc.com

I will wrap up with some pictures of my shrunken leg and other random pics

Our dog Cho Cho in a box. And our other dog Sam 's tail on my leg.
Shrunk left leg.(I don't want to hear any jokes about how they both look the same to me, you heard me)
House in bentonville
Violet, placemat.

Freedom.....

2007-09-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

I went to the doctor today to get my full leg cast removed and to get a new below the knee cast. After the DR looked at the x-rays, he said that it is looking good and that I can go to a boot instead of the new cast.

My leg feels really weird and it is weak, but I glad that I don't have a cast anymore. I still can only put 50% of my weight on it and I am still in crutches for 4 more weeks, but it is a giant leap.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Sorry I don't have time to put the gross looking pictures of my new scrony leg on here but I will get them up.

Tim

God is good... All the time

2007-09-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

I don't know why but I have this since today that God is good. and I always reply when I hear that (at least in my head) "All the time". We don't always know why things happen like they do, but I believe God has our best intentions in mind even in the things that seam to only be bad.

I want to tell everyone thanks that has offered my wife and I assistance after our wreck. Our fridge has been full since we got home. I have great friends and family.

The staff at our church has really stepped up to pick up the slack in my absence. We are moving into our new building and I had in my mind I was going to head up all the little construction projects, God had a different plan. Everyone has had to do there job, extra moving jobs, and picking up parts of my job. They are great, everyone at Keypoint church should know that you have a great staff, probobly the best in the world (I am sure of it).

Even my neighbors have been great friends and blessings, doing things from mowing my lawn, taking care of things on my bus, to bringing over movies. Thanks guys.

My friends have brought tons of food and offered to do basically anything. I think the only thing that i have taken advantage of (in a negative way) is asking for macaroni and Cheese. Not to mention all the people who have picked me up and taken me places. Good to know I have people looking out for me.

My family has been at my side since what seamed like only 10 minutes after that guy ran into me. It was comforting to see my dad come into the emergency room and just be there with me. Everyone has made sure I have what I need and taken me to the places I have needed to go. My grandparents on both sides have offered enormous support to Genessa and I, we could not be blessed with a better family.

And lastly to my loving wife I offer my thanks a gratitude. Only she knows how tough it is to live with me when I am functioning at %100, much less at my current level. She is the hardest working person I know, taking care of me while she had her own injuries. She is always giving of what she has and rarely thinks of her self. I love her with all I have. She makes sure I have food to eat, clothes to wear and gives me my sponge baths. She must love me as much as I love her.

We are blessed people to have such a support system from church, family, friends. I don't understand why things happen all the time but I do know that:

God is good... All the time.

Tim

Good news

2007-08-16T21:01:00.001-05:00

Thanks goes out to my neighbor Stephen who picked up some 2000 wood screws out of the back of my bus and disconnected the emergency brake. Which was jambing the transmission into gear. Without the emergency brake, He was able to get the transmission into neutral, which enabled us to start the engine in the bus. This let us know that the motor and transmission were left unharmed.

This is good news. Thanks Stephen

Sorry no new pictures

Tim

More Pictures

2007-08-15T21:45:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of the bus in the back yard. If you look at the steering column that is where the rest of the front of the bus was before the jaws of life. You can see on that big bubble thing on the left inside that there is a dent in it. That is what broke my leg. Sorry for the blood stains. And while you are there, check out the spot God saved for Genessa in the passenger seat. Just enough room, God is Good. I even put in a shot of Violet and I in our respective Wheelchairs.

Glad to be here.
Tim

Wendy's last ride

2007-08-15T18:04:00.000-05:00

Unfortunatily Monday Genessa, Wendy and I went out for a Monday afternoon stroll when a unlicensed and uninsured motorist pulled out in front of us causing a collision.

The basics were We were going to turn onto rolling hills drive in front of Fiesta square, so we were in the turn lane. When this person decided to turn left out of the small back exit of fiesta square that you are not suppost to turn left out of. I saw him as the front of his s-10 truck poked out from inbetween two cars I at that point slammed on my brakes and he procedded to not see me and speed up to use the turn lane as a merge lane. At which point he ran into us.

luckily Genessa was not hurt badly, she has something like a sprained ankle and will have to walk on crutches for a week or so.

I took a little more of the force, Both my legs were pinned between the front of the car and what is bassicaly the bottom of my seat. I also hit my face on something, eaither the dash, steering wheel, windshield or all of the above. In addition the steering wheel was pushing on my stomach making it hard to breath if I sat up.

It was at this point that I was glad to notice that the person who hit me was backing his car up to relieve some of the pressure from my legs. It was at this point that I was angered beyond belief to notice that he was actually backing up to leave. Here is where I yelled at him not to leave and where Genessa got his licnse plate number.

When the rescue squade arived, they were able to free my legs with the "jaws of life"(as seen at the spring 07 demolition derby) and exstricate me from the vehicle. Genessa and I both rode in the ambulance to Washington regional hospital. Here is where genessa realized her ankle might be hurt a bit more than she thought. (I am glad she didn't get hurt any worse, I love my wife)

all that said I ended up with 12 stitches in my face, a broken left leg, a broken big toenail, lots of cuts, three jamed apendages and a whole bunch of friends and family gathered around to support my wife and I. Thank you to all you who have showed up, brought food, prayed, picked something up for us, or will do these things in the near future.

After two days in the hospital we are home. And I am likely bored

Enough writting lets get to what everyone wants to see, the pictures. If you don't like blood, don't look below here.

Come back for some more pictures of the bus.

House cleaner wanted

2007-07-31T20:00:00.001-05:00

We are looking for someone to clean our house every couple of weeks. We live in Springdale so it would be best if it were someone who is already cleaning houses in the area. Or just someone who wants to make a couple extra bucks. Let us know if you know someone who is doing house cleaning.

Our house is 1250 sq ft.

Thanks
Tim

Catamaran for sale

2007-07-10T18:16:00.000-05:00

I am selling my 1979 Hobie 16 Catamaran and needed a place to post some pictures. For more information about the boat visit http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=7134

The first picture is of the soft spot repair, hard to see much detail.

Tim

Bus Transaxle project

2007-07-09T22:47:00.001-05:00

I am in the process of replacing the transaxle on my bus. For those of you who do not know, a transaxle is a combination of an axle and a transmission. to do this, you must remove the engine and the trans axle leaving basically nothing in the back of the bus. I went and got a rebuilt trans on Friday and put it in with my friend Adam and Matt's help Sunday night. I spent most of Monday hooking stuff up and taking the motor apart to clean it. I will try and post more pics as they come available, and as I clean my hands enough to use the camera.

Bus with no Axle

Cleaning the Motor

old yellow paint flacking off

Old dirty Transaxle

New Transaxle

Missing Everything

Baking plates, Brakes, intake manifold, starter, muffler, carb, engine tin, axle bumpstop, hubcap and trashcan lid

I love my wife

2007-06-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

I don't think I know anyone who works harder than my wife. Not only is she the Charge nurse at her work, she organizes our lives, motivates me, encourages me, cleans up after one of the messiest people in the world, cooks wonderful meals, keeps me from getting fat, makes our home livable. And those are just some of the things she does I don't have the space here to tell you how HOT she is.

Even with all of that on her plate, she has taken on another project. She along with Kara and Lacy are selling handmade sewing projects like aprons, napkins, and bags at the Bentonville Farmers Market. She also has an online store at peaceofthread.etsy.com. I even added a little widget to my blog to highlight some of her items.

I couldn't be prouder.

Tim

Tieing a fly

2007-06-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

I have had a request for a video of my new hobby, tie flying, interesting that I would type it that way because I always impose it when I speak it. It is really called Fly tieing.

Here it is.

Boring

2007-06-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

Someone has recently described my blog as boring Specifically siting that my blog contained to many facts. I do realize that I do not post at the same frequency of others, but I wouldn't describe my blog as boring.

One more fact, I think this may be first time that anyone has ever described me(or in this case my blog) as "boring".

For those who think my posts are boring I would like to refer you to this posts:

http://seeyabye.blogspot.com/2007/02/proof-i-am-adhd_14.html

http://seeyabye.blogspot.com/2007/01/cow-farts.html

http://seeyabye.blogspot.com/2006/08/hows-your-finger.html

http://seeyabye.blogspot.com/2006/07/net-neutrality-just-in-case-some-of.html

http://seeyabye.blogspot.com/2006/07/annual-car-cleaning.html

The last year in books

2007-05-30T09:20:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of the 23 books that I can remember reading in the last 12 months. It is worth noting that I have started other books and not finished them. So these are the best of about 60 books.

If I could only recommend one on business leadership, right now I would recommend Martha rules(especially for women to read). Only one on Jesus/leadership I would recommend Lead like Jesus. Only one on finance- Total Money makeover. One on marrage, Love and Respect(Although it doesn't make for good small group material). What have you been reading?

Martha's Rules: A Handbook for Success from One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs [unabridged]

The Millionaire Mind [abridged]

Getting Things Done [abridged]

The Millionaire Next Door [abridged]

The Hobbit [unabridged]

Thinking For A Change [abridged]

Lead Like Jesus [unabridged]

Secrets of a Passionate Marriage [unabridged]

Permission Marketing [abridged]

How To Become A Great Boss [unabridged]

Developing the Leader Within You [unabridged]

Who Moved My Cheese? [unabridged]

The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership [abridged]

Developing The Leaders Around You : How to Help Others Reach Their Full Potential [abridged]

Trump:Think Like a Billionaire : Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life [unabridged]

Unleashing the Ideavirus [abridged]

The Total Money Makeover [abridged]

Every Man's Marriage (Every Woman's Desire) [abridged]

Raving Fans [abridged]

It only takes everything you've got

Do you have the time for success

God's Gravity

Love and Respect

Bee leave it or not

2007-05-18T15:04:00.000-05:00

Here is an article I got in an email newsletter that I get. Apparently the cellphones may not be what is causing the bees to die.

In a related matter, if you live in NW Arkansas you have got to try Grandma's Honey It is made in Famington and has not been processed. I have not had a lot of really good honeys, but this is the best I have had. It is available at Walmart.

CATASTROPHIC BEE COLONY COLLAPSE IS NOT AFFECTING ORGANIC HIVES
As previously reported in Organic Bytes (Issue #104), beekeepers in 24 states are experiencing record losses of honeybees. Some states have reported up to 70% disappearances of commercial bee populations. Researchers are struggling to find the causes of this mysterious collapse. A crucial element of this story, missing from reports in the mainstream media, is the fact that organic beekeepers across North America are not experiencing colony collapses. The millions of dying bees are hyper-bred varieties whose hives are regularly fumigated with toxic pesticides by conventional beekeepers attempting to ward off mites. In contrast, organic beekeepers avoid pesticides and toxic chemicals and strive to use techniques that closely emulate the ecology of bees in the wild. Researchers are beginning to link the mass deaths of non-organic bees to pesticide exposure, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and the common practice of moving conventional bee hives over long distances.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/bees.cfm

Who let the dogs out

2007-05-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

Genessa and I have been struggling with what to do with our Lab Sam. He has recently increased his climbing skill from getting over chain link fences to climbing over our Privacy fence.

And when I say climb, I mean climb he walks up to the fence puts his front feet on one of the wood supports and then raises his back feet up and climbs the fence much like I would if I were trapped in the back yard.

When he climbs the fence, one of two things happen. He hangs out in the front yard waiting for us to come home or one of my kind neighbors puts him back in the back yard. I know that they must love doing this I know I would.

All that said I spent most of yesterday installing an underground electric fence. I figured that working with an electric fence and digging would be much funner in the rain so yesterday was perfect.

Sam will wear a coller that will beep when he starts approaching the wire and if he doesn't turn back he will get a small (whats a nice word for shock?) "correction".

I am still not finished with the fence, and once I am, we will still have a couple of weeks of traing to do in order to show Sam how the fence works. I hope he will catch on quick. He learned to climb the fence very fast so I bet not climbing the fence will be learned as quick.

Tim

Picture Journal

2007-03-02T10:22:00.000-06:00

Although I intend on posting at length of the great time we had in Colorado, experience tells me this brief reference is all I will do. So it was great. Here are some pictures of what we have been doing the last few weeks.
This is Genessa Grinding on a "box"
This is my cousin Tyler watching my wife flip upside down in the snow during a sledding accident. Notice the green sled flying through the air. (Genessa is the one whose feet you see)
We decided to move our bed to this wall. If our bed room were bigger, you would be able to see everything in the pic. But this was the best I could do.
Since we moved the bed, I decided I could use the carpet that you don't see under the bed. So I cut it out.
My bus has needed a layer of carpet in it to make it quieter and a little more plushHere is our bus with it's new carpet job. BTW I think we have settled on "Wendy" For the name for our bus.

Proof I am ADHD

2007-02-14T12:32:00.000-06:00

This was my attempt to make a video serenade for my wife. Needless to say I never finished, but I thought this video illustrates what a wonderful person she is because it shows a little bit of what it is like to be around ADHD Tim.

I call it "I can't help falling in live with you"

Cow Farts

2007-01-27T08:30:00.000-06:00

I found this info on Mark Batterson's blog, it was good stuff so I thought I would pass it on.

You can read the article he got it from here.

According to a United Nations Report, cow "emissions" are the greatest threat to the environment.

The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, says that the world's 1.5 billion cattle are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. That is more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

Cow farts account for 9% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Their "wind" and manure account for more than 33% of methane. And their farts produce 100 other polluting gases including ammonia, one of the major causes of acid rain.

One more random cow fact: a cow drinks 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk!

Looking for a picture to put on this post I found this article that talks about a tax on cow farts. I can't make this stuff up. Cow fart Tax

There are a couple of people that I would like to tax their "emissions"

Shine on,
Tim

Bookmark me!

2007-01-19T11:57:00.000-06:00

Ever wondered where the red sea is that is talked about in the Bible. Or some other random place.

Now all you have to do is go to Biblemap.org. This site combines the Bible and Google maps.

So as you are reading the Bible and a place is referenced, you can click on it and see a satellite image of it.

Sometimes if you zoom in you can even see the airports that they must have used to travel in the biblical times.

Shine on,
Tim

Tighter, Stronger, more tone abs

2007-01-08T10:49:00.000-06:00

Am I the only sucker who would think about paying big bucks to have flat abs, if all i had to do was sit there and let it work.

They say this is not like the old ab belts that you might have seen. This one is the only ab belt cleared for sale by the FDA.

All you do is put it on, and the three gel pads basically shock you and make your ab muscles contract.

It costs about $120 from the home shopping network.

If someone gets it to try it out, let me know if it works.

What's the 411

2006-12-19T22:08:00.000-06:00

In my constant struggle to "save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off" I went on a search today for the perfect way to look up a phone number. The first thing I thought of was the phone book, but these are hard to find while driving. I also thought of just dialing 411 on my cell phone but that costs almost $2. I narrowed it down to 3 choices and decided to find out which was the best. I tested it by trying to find the number to Old Navy in Fayetteville. Here they are.

1. Call a friend and talk them into looking it up online.
I called my friend Josh and asked him to look up the number. Turns out he was actually home so he looked it up. This took 2 Minutes and 2 seconds. The only cost was having to make small talk. But I ended up with the number to the Rogers store.

2. 1800-free 411
This is like the regular 411 service except you have to listen to an ad before they give you the number. it took 1 minute and 42 seconds. I did have to make a call to Brian to get this number but I didn't count that time.

3. Text message google
This was the coolest and quickest solution. I wrote a text message with the text "old navy fayetteville ar" and texted it to the number "googl" which if you work out the numbers is 46645. A few seconds latter they texted me back the address and phone number. Even with my slow text messaging skills, this only took 1 minute and 35 seconds.

Tim

Garage cleaning and 2nd Seeyabye Contest

2006-11-26T19:14:00.000-06:00

Since I won my last contest I decided to have another contest that I can not participate in.

Genessa and I cleaned our garage this weekend and last weekend. Here are some pictures. See if you can find the Items listed below. The person who first identifies the most items' locations and post a comment regarding the items whereabouts wins.

What do you win? A big Blue inflatable ball.

Here are the items:
15' long Concrete Vibrator
Crow-bar
Unicycle
Giant Checker board set. (the kind that is basically a rug)
Chainsaw
Pencil Sharpener
Dutch ovens
Blender
Scotts #2 Hand Spreader
Fly Swatter
Flashlight

Bonus: Any Item listed in my car cleaning blog (worth two points per listing) Hint: See my July Archives
Lets see some contests on your blogs.

Shine on,
Tim and Genessa

Free stuff

2006-11-25T11:38:00.000-06:00

A lot of people say I don't post enough. so I decided to post with some stuff I am trying to give away. If you have an interest call me at 530-6440. But hurry, I am trying to get rid of them today.

SORRY CHEST OF DRAWERS ALREADY TAKEN

Sorry Sewing Machine Gone
1 sewing machine with some kind of monogram attachments. This came out of one of those desk sewing machines. WORKS

Both are free pick up today in east Springdale.

What will they say about me

2006-11-04T11:36:00.000-06:00

I met a guy last Wednesday while our College group was volunteering at LifeSource in Fayetteville. While we were arranging tables for a garage sale, we were talking about people we both knew and places we had both been.

Sign Post: Side thought
I am a NWA Native, and as a Native Arkansas, I have connections that people who have just moved here don't have. Like I can show you were I went to School at, I can look at a building and say "I remember when...". Priceless stuff, But one of my favorite things to talk about when it comes to my NWA heritage is my grandpa. I call him Papa most people spell it Papaw but I was never good at that stuff.

Papa is a great man, he loves people like no one else.
He just turned 81 and is still volunteering at St. Mary's Hospital as a Chaplin. In his younger days, He was the pastor of First Baptist Church, Rogers, AR and after that he was the very first "Chicken Chaplin" at Hudson Foods (now owned by Tysons) where he was able to work with and care for the working class whom he has a passion for.

Papa once told me this and I tell everyone I can.
"Get all the education you can get, forget half of it, and LOVE PEOPLE".

Sign Post:Back to the story
As we were talking, he asked me my last name and he asked me if I was related to Dean Newberry, I of course said I was. He began to tell me how my Papa is a great man. I asked more about how he had met him and he said this:

"I was taking a class at the U of A and in my marketing class for some project I went to Hudson foods and while I was there I met him."

That was it. He met him for just a couple of minutes and 20 years later he remembers him and says good things about him.

I love my Papa and I hope that I can love people as much as he does. And then someday I will be able to make a positive impact on someone just by meeting them. Can you imagine.

Shine on,
Tim

Need for self disclosure

2006-10-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

So here are the facts.

I added a counter to my blog to see how many people have visited it, well will visit it. And to make myself feel better, I started it at 7000. It just feels better than zero.

I now have the following accounts:

Myspace
xanga
facebook

Although I just use them to add comments, don't try and find me and "poke me" (I think that is face book I was afraid to try it) because I can hardly remember my user names and passwords much less check for messages.

Sorry for the long Blogs I am against long blogs but somehow sometimes you have to share, even though no one will read it because it is too long.

Shine on,
Tim

God Bless America

2006-10-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

I find it difficult to make short posts on these things that I am becoming more and more passionate about. Sorry.

These Ideas are more thoughts from Catalyst as well as from a video by Rob Bell called Rich.

When you hear the phrase God Bless America, what do you think? Do you think yes, please Lord bless us, help us to be able to find food tomorrow, help us not to get sick for the water we drink and help my kids not to be killed on the way to school.

Maybe that was a bit extreme, but hasn't God already blessed America? In the bible when God blessed people it was so that they could bless others and give some of it away. I think we are long overdue to give. Here are some statistics (according to Rob Bell) about how rich we in America are.

"America is 6% of the worlds population and yet we consume more than 40% of the world's resources."

"Only 8% of the people in the world have a car" When was the last time that you knew someone who had no car at all. We have three.

How much change do you have in your pocket, I had $0.52 not counting the bills in my wallet. "1 billion people in the world live on less than $1 a day"

"800 Million people won't eat today" I just had a rice crispy treat and when I run out, I will just go to Walmart and get more.

Here is the thing that I really wanted to talk about. "1 billion people in the world have no access to clean water". We take this for granted, if there were a more severe level of taking something for granted I think water would be in that level.

The thing that I keep thinking about are the people in parts of Africa where water is so scarce and disease specifically AIDS run wild. People have the choice of walking around 10 miles to get clean water or drinking out of a mud puddle, or a river that is also the town sewer. This only further helps the spread of disease.

"Experts say that it would cost 20 Billion dollars to provide food and nutrition to all of the hurting people around the world, This is the same amount that Americans spend on ice cream every year"

So what do you think, Has God Blessed America? And if so, what are we going to do about it?

I have probably raised more questions than answers here. My next post will highlight what we each can do to help.

Shine on,
Tim

Lighthouses in the Light

2006-10-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

As I try and wrap my mind around some of the things that I learned or that impacted me at Catalyst, I always come back to this one idea. It is a quote from Rob Bell, in one of the Catalyst podcasts.

from memory
"If a church were to be instantly removed from their community, would anyone outside of the church morn (or miss) the church"

The idea is that churches are not reaching out enough to their community, and I also take that to mean the world. If we have no impact on the people around us then it suddenly becomes about us and not what we are called to do which is GO.

Donald Miller put it like this. "He said we are like lighthouses in the light." nobody looks for a lighthouse in the light, nor could anyone find one unless they were on some kind of tour of lighthouses. We are called to be lighthouses in the dark were people are hurting and need a savior.

Sure a couple of people will come to a church because they need it, but the rest of the culture thinks that churches hate them and they receive more love from the drug dealers and bars.

I am not saying that we need to be handing out bibles in bars and the like, but we do need to be loving on these people. Without somekind of relationship, our evangalism is useless.

What does all this mean to me? Genessa and I are going to be doing some very specific things with some of our money to make a global impact (be looking for this blog). As leaders at Keypoint we have the opportunity to change the way NWA feels about churches and Jesus. We are going to begin to develop ideas to reach out to the people of NWA.

Yesterday when I was talking with the staff at KPC about Catalyst and this idea. It sounded great. All we had to do was decide that we wanted to do it and the rest would be down hill. Today it sounds hard, real hard, maybe a lonely road, hard to measure success and draining. But it is also what we feel called to do, I don't want to be anywhere other than where God has called me to be.

Shine on,
Tim

Sleepless in Springdale

2006-10-06T21:44:00.000-05:00

So....some of you may also have been wondering how I am getting along in my first time ever sleeping away from my husband. Well, I guess just the fact that I am blogging must say something about the time on my hands.

So, I just have one question .....Ladies, why is it that when our husbands are gone we can't seem to get any sleep? I mean, its just sleeping....right? When he is here it's not like I wake up 8 times and make sure that he is still there. So, why is it any different when he's gone? It's more like I am waking up to make sure that he hasn't magically reappeared while I was sleeping. Just wondering what you think.

One other interesting and pleasant thing I discovered is that I have not talked to my husband on the phone for more than 15 minutes or so at a time since before we were married. So, it was really nice to talk to him on the phone and have him tell me about his entire day. It kind of felt like dating again!

One more point...I noticed that if I lived alone, my house would always be clean and the bed would always be made! However.........I would never have any fun and I would be a REALLY boring person. My husband is my motivator as well as my best friend!

So, what I am trying to say is......3 nights is way too many for the first time and I am ready for him to come home.

Jesus Loves Porn Stars?

2006-10-06T21:34:00.000-05:00

Say what.

Catalyst is over and my notebook is full of wonderfull ideas to impact our church, community and the world for the Kingdom. I plan on posting some of my thoughts and ideas but I first want to gather my thoughts and let them brew like a fine glass of tea.

So for now I will focus on the more controversial issues.

There is a ministry that I have heard about called xxxChurch.com these guys have a ministry focused on two things, ministering to the porn industry and helping people shake the addiction of porn.

They literally go to porn shows and set up a table and talk with people in the industry. Recently they started passing out Bibles with the logo "Jesus loves porn stars". They are able to go into a mission field that most people wouldn't even think about going into. By the way they all take their wife's with them when they go to the porn shows.

here is a story about a guy they helped get out of the porn industry.

Donny's Week #1

Donny posted this on his blog...Check it out! It's now been almost a week since I've given up porn to surrender my life to God again. And what a week it's been. Several people have been supportive. Others... not so...
+ READ THE FULL STORY...

Another thing that these guys are doing is helping people like you and me from being tempted to visit porn sites. They do this with accountability software. The way it works is you set up someone as your accountability partner and any questionable websites that you view are sent in an email to the person you set up as your accountability partner.

I first heard of this idea at promise keepers. I thought it was a great idea but it cost $20 for every copy so you and your A. Partner would have to shell out $20 each. That is to much, if they wanted to really help people and not make a buck, they would give it away.

Which is what these guys did.

In fact, last year at Catalyst they gave out over 9,000 copies of their accountability software. Sadly, less than 100 people actually installed the software. According to xxxchurch, around 50% of pastors admit to viewing porn in the last year. This is a problem and I think they have a good solution.

I am going to install the software on my computer and encourage each of you to do the same it is free at www.x3watch.com and is available for both mac and pc.

Let me know what you think.

Sorry for the long blog.

I just realized that the blogger spell checker doesn't recognise the word "blog".

I challenge anyone to use the word "porn" more times on your blog than I have here. (11 not counting the picture)

Shine on,

What canal???

2006-10-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, some of you may be wondering what it is like to have a root canal. Actually, most likely you aren't. However, since I have now experienced one I figure that I will share.

So, if you think that getting drugged up, holding your mouth open for two hours while a strange man places a "rubber dam" over your mouth and sticks 6 different sized drills in your mouth to grind away at the only part of your tooth that actually has feeling, Then root canals are for you! By the way, I definitely recommend valium for such an experience! Here is a link that gives an account of the typical root canal. Warning...it has pictures!

http://www.healthyteeth.org/cavities/rc_2.html

I don't know any catchy titles with Atlanta in them

2006-10-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

In just a couple of hours I am leaving to go to Atlanta, GA. Josh and I are going to be going to the Cataylst Conference on Thursday and Friday. I am very excited about the conference this year. It is for leaders of churches. speakers include but not limited to:

It is going to be great.

In addition to the conference, we are going to visit the coca-cola world. Apparently Coke was first served in a soda shop kinda place in Atlanta. there is also a whitte castle in the world of coke, I have always wanted to try white castle.

We are going to go to Mellow Mushroom pizza, which is suppost to be a really good pizza place.

Josh is always raving about Chipotle so I assume we will be making a trip. It is some kind of burrito place kind of like Moe's "welcome to moe's".

This may not be a good time to mention that I am trying to loose a little weight. Or at least try not to gain anymore than I have in my resent sedentary lifestyle.

Here is my call to action. If you know of something worth doing (especially if it doesn't involve eating) let me know. I will try and check my blog here and there. But if it is an uber sweet idea you may need to e-mailme about it.

Shine on,
Tim

A new mall?

2006-09-26T09:20:00.000-05:00

So most you probably know that NWA will soon have a new mall. I got curious about what new stores would be coming to the area. I wasn't impressed, I would say at least 75% of the stores can be found at the NWA mall and some being found at the mall formally know as the Dixieland mall "smaller mall with the big surprises, Dixieland mall". Just so everyone knows the big surprise at the Dixieland mall is that no one goes there. Check out the store list HERE.

The new mall is also an outdoor mall, which is supposed to be cool, but I bet most of this winter it is going to be cold and the summer will likely bring scorching heat which makes me not want to walk around especially carrying bags.

My thought on weather is that right now it would be nice to walk around outdoors and shop but a month ago I would be at the NWA Mall. I would also say a month or two from now It will be too cold most of the time to be walking around outside. Who wants to get there picture taken with Santa wearing your big think coat and gloves.

All that said, I plan on braving the crowd sometime during the first weekend they are open to check it out and see if my thought about the mall are true or not. The mall opens Oct. 4th.

So what do you think.
Any stores that look worthy of a trip?
Indoor or outdoor?
Will you make the trip the first weekend?
Will this be the end of the phrase Mall Walker?
Will the traffic ever be the same?
Will this be the end of the frisco station mall?

So many questions.

Shine on,
Tim

Free Stuff and the First Seeyabye Contest

2006-09-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

I am a sucker for free stuff and here is my latest outlet.

It is a website that you can post things that you want to give away. For example, dogs, underwear, satellite dishes, coffee mugs, box of washers you know just the stuff you have that you don't want, but people like me do.

Once the items are posted people email you and you arrange for them to pick them up or for delivery.

You can also post things that you want. For example, waterbed plug, plus size women's clothing, child jumping seat, you know all the things that you need but are to cheap to buy.

You can manage the list in a couple of different ways:

Email, they email you once a day all the new posts

Manually, you go to the website every ten minutes to see if there is something you want

RSS feed, this is for the nerds. You can use a program like Bloglines to monitor the feed and it lets you know when there is something new.

It is called NWA Freecycle

You may be able to find a local Freecycle if you don't live in the NWA area by going to freecycle.org

Here is my contest, the first person to actually get something for free from this website wins a 24" blue toy ball with air already in it. Just so you know I am playing as well.

Shine on,
Tim

Goals and Such...

2006-09-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

I decided to add to the descussion of goals. some of which can be found on Allen's Blog.

These are in no particular order and may or maynot refelct the views of my spouse.

Read at least one book a month
Be dilligent about paying off debt
Love my wife more and more
Be the best husband there is
Love God and know God more
Encourage people more
Find an interior for our bus
Learn to play the harmonica
learn my scales on the guitar and now harmonica
Spend, no, invest time into my marrage in the spirt of Family U

These are some lifetime goals.

Grow a santaclause beard... Read the debate here
Stay in a hotel with a heart shapped bathtub

Thats about all I can muster up right now, I guess that is why you should write them down. I do have some goals that Genessa and I wrote down, but I don't have that with me.

Shine on,
Tim

You know you can blog when...

2006-09-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

You post your blog from an email just because you can.

This allows you more freedom especially when traviling or at work and you want to look professional.

For those of you blogger.com folks you can figure out how to do it here.

Also, If you know Jeff Brown, he has a new blog check it out here.

Looks good if you ask me.

Shine on,
Tim

To blog or Not to blog

2006-08-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

A couple of people have told us that we have not been posting enough here lately. What is a guy to do. If I post without having the perfect topic you are forced to read what ever comes to mind.

So here it goes. The VW show is in Eureka Springs this weekend. And then we are having a staff retreat for Keypoint Church on beaver lake. I just remembered the reason I got on the computer was to get directions but now I am blogging. We still have yet to name our bus, we kind of tried out the name Wendy the other day. someone suggested that we name it after the previous owner which in this case would be Eli, and I really consider our bus more of a female. We are still open to ideas for names. Anyone ever tried the energy drink Monster I am hooked, I had one on Sunday on the way to church, we get to church at 7:30 which is early for me. late for genessa. It had me feeling like a million bucks.

I have been sick some this week and I felt more like $0.50 not the rapper just the plan old $0.50 that wont buy you a coke nor a candy bar. So I tried to compensate with an energy drink it had me upto maybe $1.25.

I am trying to add more hyperlinks to my blogs so that people will know what I talking about when I reference say the urban dictionary, where you can go to find out if a word you are using is of questionable nature. or where you can find out what emo means.

Thats about all that is on my mind right now.

Online Groceries?

2006-08-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

Amazon has begun to offer online groceries. Right now you can only get non-perishable items but they are desperate for customers so they are offering good deals. I saw that they are offering $10 off of $50 order. Shipping is free, so it is hard to beat. They don't have a huge selection yet but if I can spend just a few less minutes at the grocery store it would be worth it.

I hope to check it out next time we need groceries.

Go there now

Shine on,
Tim

Hows your finger

2006-08-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

Some people have been asking me "hows your finger". If thats not you, you may not want to look at the picture below. If that is you here is what it looked like tonight.

Genessa's wound is healing as well. She didn't want me to put pictures on the internet though.

Shine on,
Tim

Still looking for a name...

2006-08-05T21:51:00.000-05:00

Well we finally found her. The perfect bus for us. Well...almost. She will be after a little tender loving care. Here is a picture of her on her first camping trip. Isn't she a beauty? Of course the trip wasn't exactly all that we had hoped. The bus never wavered once.

However, after one dog bite, one episode of unconsciousness, a gash in the head, a little first aid, and a quick trip to the doctor......our trip was cut a tad short.

But nonetheless we love the new bus! Now we just need to name her. Any suggestions? Of course, the names Ava, Olivia, and Iris have already been reserved by Allen and Keisha. So, let the naming begin!

Shine on.
Tim and Genessa

Bus of the Day

2006-08-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here is my latest mind occupier.

http://fayar.craigslist.org/car/185287297.html

Allen found this one for me

And for the techies in the crowd, a random internet thought.

I was told some time ago that I needed to fire internet explorer and start using something called Godzilla. So that's what I have done then I was told that I need to use more "tabs" and less "windows". Well At this point I have done the first but not the second. So now I have multiplied the number of windows open at a time. Right now I have ten windows and a couple of them have tabs, but I can never remember which one is my email so I have to root around till I find it. I miss IE.

Shine on,
Tim

We're looking for a bus

2006-08-03T08:03:00.003-05:00

I think most of the people who read our blog know that we are looking for a VW bus, but for those of you who didn't, now you know.

Here is our ideal bus. It would be a 67 or older, a camper and it would have the potential to be a nice bus someday when we win the loto, so we can fix it up.

We might be happy with a newer bus that is a camper, but for now, We are looking for a 67 or older.

Here is the latest bus that we are looking at.

http://www.wayoutsalvage.com/sale/

I see great potential. Don't be supprised if we change the bus that we are excited about, I think I went through 3 just yesterday.

Shine on,
Tim and Genessa

2006-07-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

Net Neutrality

Just in case some of you still do not understand "net neutrality" issue that Josh brought up here is another video designed to help the average ninja understand net neutrality.

Tim

Who the heck gets up that early!

2006-07-20T21:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Tim says that I "need" to post on the blog. I guess that if my name is going to be on here I should write something every once in awhile. So, here you go. I am officially "coblogging".

One of the things that largely defines me (and my mood in particular) is the fact that I get up at 4:15am five days a week. This might sound extremely early to those of you that "sleep in" until 6:30am. You may wonder...How exactly is it possible to function at this time in the morning. The truth is, it really isn't. In fact, I am not even sure that my voice actually works at 4:15am, since my husband is incapable of opening his eyes, let alone talking that early. Not even the dogs will get up with me, our schnauzer chocho just lifts his head slightly when I get out of bed and gives me an "are you out of your mind" look.

Moral of the story: Getting out of bed at 4:15 am could be hazardous to your health. It should only be done when absolutely necessary and is not recommended for daily use.

Books I am Reading

2006-07-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

I am developing myself as a well read person. Why you might ask, I would have to say for a number of reasons.

1. The average millionaire reads a book a month. So I have read like 6 or seven books in the last month or so which is a lot more moneys worth.

2. To make myself a better person.

3. Because I have never been able to do it before.

4. Despite hating school, I do like to learn stuff.

My medium of choice

I do not have the patients or attention span to sit down and read a book in the traditional ways. In fact, I will be lucky if I proof read this blog before submitting it.

My solution has been to read audio books. I have subscribed to a audio book club called Simply Audio Books . It is great, it costs $15 a month and it works kind of like netflix. I have a list of books that I want to read and they send it to me in the order (providing the selection is available). When I am done with the books I send them back and they send me the next one. If anyone is interested let me know because I get an upgrade on my account if I can get a referral.

By the way, I still call listening to audio books reading. It makes me feel smarter.

Here is the list.

Raving fans- a book about how having satisfied customers is not enough. The author challenges us to create raving fans who will tell their friends and support what you do.

Every man's marriage- a book about marriage and how to treat your wife. It talks about the desires of a woman and how as a husband we need to try and fulfill these needs.

Making small groups work- I have technically only read half of this book. It talks about how churches use small groups. It is a great book but is kind of long.

Unleashing the ideavirus- book by Seth Godin talking about viral marketing. Good book, gives guidance on how you can create a buzz about your product or service that will be conducive to viral marketing. This gave me the final inspiration to start our video podcast. Coming in Aug/sep.

The proper care and feeding of a husband- ok, I haven't read this one but my wife has. It is a horrible title for a good book. No woman wants to read a book with this title. It talks about how men have needs, needs to feel important and loved. The book talks about how if a woman provides these needs to her husband he will treat her better and as a result be a better husband. Or at least that's what I got out of it, having not read all of it.

Jesus CEO- This is a book about leadership and how Jesus was one of the best leaders. One of the points I can remember is how Jesus picked a really good team, the 12 disciples. And how he was able to communicate vision to the point that after he was gone, the 12 were able to carry on the vision.

Trump: Think like a billionaire- This book is about what the Donald thinks it takes to become extremely successful. He talks about characteristics of a billionaire. He also spends a fair amount of time talking about the apprentice show. Which if you have seen the show is pretty neat. A good book overall.

The Velvet Elvis- I am reading this book right now. It is by Rob Bell. It is about a new way of thinking about Christianity. Maybe more specifically about how we think about our faith has to keep changing. My understanding is that God is not changing but the way that we relate to God does change as our culture changes. I think this book asks more questions than I care to read. But maybe I will change my mind when I am done with it.

Simply strategic stuff- This is the first of three books in this series. It is an actual Book because it is not available as an audio book. I like this book because it has short chapters and you can apply what you learned. It is about church leadership. These guys also have a great podcast called the Simply Strategic Show. Great stuff.

that's my list. I think I have successfully read more books this month than I have in my whole life. Kinda sad but true. I was never much of a reader so to be able to listed to a book on my commute to work is perfect for me. Find something that works for you.

Shine on,
Tim

Annual Car Cleaning

2006-07-08T14:58:00.000-05:00

Today my wife and I decided it was time to clean out my car. I thought this as a worthy event to blog. You may be wondering why, if so you have never seen my car. It is a filthy mess to say the least.

As we cleaned my car I documented some of the things that we found. The list goes like this:

8- rolls of paper towels
3- pairs of shoes
1- large bottle of hand soap
1- 4' florescent light
1- backpack
4- rugs
1- guitar stand
4- bicycle water bottles
150- Christmas light clips
2- pairs of winter gloves
1- metal detector
1- caulk gun
2- phone books
1- extension cord
2- lunch boxes
6- Tupperware containers
1- Tupperware container with moldy mashed tators
1- 2006 calendar
1- wedding invitation
1- Xbox wireless controller receiver
10- paper cups/bottled drinks
1- digital camera box
2- books
1- box concrete screws
2- quarts ammonia
1- ice cream maker
2- empty Go-gert packages
3- empty Capri-sun packages
2- concrete countertop samples
9- wood clamps
2- cargo straps
1- climbers chalk bag and ATC
1- battery powered ice cream scoop
1- box Delta faucet parts
2- bags concrete tint
1- sponge
1- can shellac
1- plywood carrier
1- 50' irrigation tube
1- trowel
1- feather board
8- coupon books
1- luggage strap
1- bike pump
4- insulated coffee cups

So I am a messy person.

Turns out the last time I completely cleaned my car was last August. So I almost made it a full calendar year.

It only took us 2.5 hours to get it clean but I think it will be worth it.

Check out some pictures below.

Shine on,

Tim and Genessa

Who we are

2006-07-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

newberry family pic
Originally uploaded by seeyabye.

Or at least what we look like.

Shine on,
Tim and Genessa

I'm blogging

2006-07-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

For all of you who want to know my secret to blogging, it is to let the templates do all the work.

Stay tuned to see if I can come up with any thing people might want to read.

Shine on,
Tim