5 Best Pop/Rock Songs Out There Right Now

5. "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" by Fallout Boy
4. "Apologize" by OneRepublic
3. "New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini
2. "Boston" by Augustana
1. "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional

I listen to these each morning as I, or try to, run 4 miles before heading to the office.

Pics

Big Day

Yesterday was a big day!
1 - Court
2 - Housing and Laundry Transfer (Inside Story)
3 - 'Packing Up The Dreams God's Planted' with Allan and seeing him off
4 - Trying to get a hold of Bryce to no avail!
5 - Talking with my buddy, Jim Gardner

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I am back and I will now post some more pics of little Jenniva. I kept promising you a treat, but I can't figure out how to post a video from my video files onto the blogsite. If any of you friends and readers out there know how to do this please comment or shoot me a quick email. I need help!

Be Back Later

I'm going to spend some of the day in court with one of my students and solicit your prayers as we go through this as a family. The situation looks promising. I'll blog again later today.

Sweet Moments In My Recent History

Spending a day in North Richland Hills with my good friend Allan and 'praying it up' one last time with him on the Lord's Day.

Getting to know Greg and realizing that he has a great, sincere heart.

Living in a new house! The new, improved Mitchell Mansion!

Singing with Bryce and Dan! Learning new songs and hearing our group get better and better.

Working closely with the HS Choir Program and watching it grow like gangbusters.

Sneaking around the office and scaring Ann, Greg, Allan and anyone else that happens to be around.

Listening to the profound wisdom of this church family's own personal Yoda - Jim Dobbs!!

Looking at the seniors this year and thinking about how close we have gotten and how much I am going to cry like a baby when they are gone.

Loving my wife and the ever deepening relationship we have.

And certainly not least - watching with tear filled eyes as my baby Jenniva grows and makes her daddy and mommy so happy!!!

Back In Pocket

If 'out of pocket' means being unavailable then wouldn't it stand to reason that 'in pocket' would mean being available? Just don't know! Anyway, I am back once again and ready to attack the world of blogdom. I have so much to say that I don't really know where to start. Here's how the last few days played out:

Thursday-I spent most of the day helping my good friend, Allan, move his office from here in Marble Falls to Legacy church in North Richland Hills. While there, I was able to meet one of his secretaries, both youth ministers, and some of the families that are involved with the youth program. I also got to see his beautiful house on Ember Oaks. It just sounds fancy, doesn't it? I am really happy for him. I'm gonna miss him a lot.

Later that afternoon-My two precious girls met me at Allan's house and we said our goodbyes to him. We headed over to Lindale where we sneaked up on my sister and brother-in-law. We were all so excited that we stayed the night to spend more time together. We went over to meet the youth minister in Van-Marty Baker. Got to know him and hear stories about a younger Greg Neill back in his YM days. We ate some Milano's Pizza and went to bed. The next day we (Misti, Kameron and Brenden) went over to Tyler, ate Bodacious BBQ and met with Big Ole Bear(my Dad). That was some great quality time!

Friday Evening-We came back and collapsed in the bed.

Saturday-We got up late, came to the church building and EL helped with VBS work day for a little bit while I set up Sunday morning's PowerPoint for worship and worked on my a.m. class and p.m. sermon. I know that some people hate my guts because I was not able to help at all with the VBS Work Day and I am truly sorry!! My girls left me at the building. When I was done with my stuff, I borrowed the church van and went to the Nelson house to celebrate the impending graduation of David Griffin, Brian Jamar and Jasmine Nelson. Boy was that BBQ good. After 2 consecutive days of it I was feeling like a walking, talking Brisket and Sausage Plate!

Sunday-I lead worship in the morning (Allan preached) and brought the Word in the evening. We then walked over to the Large Fellowship Hall where all 8 of our graduating seniors had their pictures, awards and tables set up for viewing. I gave them Bibles with Elders and Minsters autographs and Jan Graves gave them quilts that the ladies had made. A lot of gifts and money were given that night. Must be nice!

Yesterday-Allan's last official staff meeting with us. Bittersweet Day.

Today-Later I will have a treat for you readers.

Back For A Short Time

I am only here for a little while. I have been and will be out of pocket for a really long time now and it is getting old.

Monday-We had our staff meeting-then took Allan to Opie's U.S. renowned BBQ for one last time. He sure is gonna miss that. Then the rest of the day was prepping for the Senior Banquet. Congrats to David G, Shana G, Brian J, Kurt M, Jasmine N, Laura P, Ryan S and Kellie U! You guys are awesome and will be sorely missed!

Tuesday-I got into the office at about 11:00 because I had not been able to go to sleep 'til 2:30 in the morning-too wired!! I let Allan borrow my lawn mower to 'nub the yard.' Then I went to the Senior Band Concert!

Today-I mowed my lawn then went to give moral support for one my teens and his family who are going through a rough patch right now. I spent the better part of the afternoon in the Burnet County Courthouse. I got to the office in time to look over my plans for tonight and get the Youth House set up.

Tomorrow-I am getting up early to travel over to Richland Hills with my buddy, Allan, to move boxes into his new Fancy Preacher-Man office at the Legacy Church building. Then we are off to his new 10,000 square foot house to get some rooms furnished and something about a messed up shower that needs fixing.

Well, I best be off!! The morning is going to come earlier than I want tomorrow! (Blair, I will call you whilst on the road!)

I'll have a neat little surprise for you all when I return to the blogging!

Plane Ride Home

Back from my travels! The past few days have been wild, to say the least.

Though I hated to do it, I left my sweetheart and little girl on Mother's Day of all days to come back here for the special Going Away Party for my friend and colleague, Allan Stanglin who will be leaving us this month to start a new work as preacher man in Richland Hills, TX at the Legacy Church of Christ. I really don't want him to go. I'm gonna miss him a lot!

Anyway, I got to the airport in LR ready, or so I thought, for the plane ride to Dallas then to Austin. I got to the checkpoint with my toothpaste, floss, hair stuff and aftershave in baggies for inspection. Well, I had not read that it had to be 3 oz or less and had to surrender the items to the airport inspectors because my sweetie had already left me. What fun, huh? Wait-it gets better! I got to the gate and was told that my carry-on would have to be checked because the plane was too full of carry-ons. Great!! So I could have kept all of the aforementioned items and left them in the carry-on that was to be checked as luggage anyway. Wish I had known! So I got on and sat next to a pregnant lady on the 3rd leg of her flight. She looked a little nauseous and told me that she did not feel right. Right before we landed in the Big D we hit some turbulence and she proceeded to fill not only her bag but mine also! I patted her on the shoulder and offered what little help I could during the process. On top of all of that I had to wait forever for my luggage to slide out onto the conveyor belt. Long Day!

I will be back tomorrow to tell you the rest of the story...

From Arp To Conway

Well, here I am in Conway, AR (home of my In-Laws) by way of Arp, Lindale and Van, TX (home of my family-El's In-Laws). It sure is nice to be able to stay with and visit my whole family only 5 hours away and then travel a few days later to see El's whole family only 4 hours away. It makes for shorter travels each way! That's good for all involved!!

I will be here for a few days and then head over to see some of the core students from my former youth group graduate from Jessieville High School over by Hot Springs Village. It will be cool to see them again.

I hope to see as many of my old friends while I am back in AR-the first time in almost a year and a half!!

I will blog as much as I can. There are so many stories to tell.

Bueno Buddy!

This weekend was a blur as several things happened in the church family here.

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First off, Joshua Gorenflo, a former intern with the youth group here, spent the weekend at our house. He came primarily to catch up with us and the teens that he worked with while here. It was a fun time- a little too fast-but fun nonetheless. Joshua is the titular role of Bueno Buddy for me (we spent a lot of time at Taco Bueno together while being camp counselors at Abilene Christian University Kadesh Life Camp 4 this past Summer).

While here, Bueno Buddy and the Mitchell family ate dinner with Jammer on Friday night, opened up the house for about 20 people (youth and family that came to catch up with Josh) on Saturday night and held a combined MS and HS class on Sunday morning. He even stayed for lunch (the ever exquisite China Kitchen) and dinner (Lakeside Pavilion fellowship with Smithwick).

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Secondly, Greg Neill and I were put in charge of opening up the Pavilion and setting up chairs, tables and songbooks. Fortunately, the Wenmohs family, the Stanglin clan and some others were able to help us get it together for the night of prayer and praise. It was a smashing success with a little over 200 people there to worship God and encourage one another.

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Thirdly, the 3CT (the Tenor trio that I blogged about the other day) performed for the whole group last night. We sang 3 songs and were quite flawless, if I do say so myself! lol Anyway, it was a nice performance that was well received by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Tonight, we cover chapters 8-11 of Revelation in Meat Eaters at the Mitchell Mansion. If it's anything like last Monday night, everyone will be on the edge of their seats.

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I will be back in the future with more pics of sweet little girl.

Word Of The Day

Mulligatawny

Very Interesting! What do you think it is?!?

Update

If You look at the right hand side of the page, you will see that I have added a few lists just to let you in on what I am learning as I try to grow up. It's kinda hard to do, if you ask me. The first list is books I am reading now, the next list is books I have read this year and the last list is a compilation of songs that I have learned in the exciting new tenor trio composed of Dan Burdett (a major home builder here in town who sings Tenor II), Bryce Gage (the successful Marble Falls High School Choir Director who sings Tenor I) and me (youth guy who sings Alto).

Quote Of The Day

"Paul writes, "The Lord said, 'My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.' So I shall be very happy to make my weakness my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Whatever our failings may be, we need not lower our eyes in the presence of Jesus. Unlike Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, we need not hide all that is ugly and repulsive in us. Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace. As we glance up, we are astonished to find the eyes of Jesus open with wonder, deep with understanding, and gentle with compassion." - Brennan Manning

Arson in Fresno

I solicit your prayers. I just received an alarming Instant Message from one of my closest friends, Jim Gardner, Preaching Minister at the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA. Apparently someone set fire to their building and they are currently suffering from smoke inhalation. Luckily it was caught in time. The arsonist had set fire to the College Church of Christ building in Fresno last night causing $50,000 worth of damage. Jim told me that the damage to the Woodward Park building was minimal but that CSI are investigating the crime scene as I type this blog. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Miscellany

The Word of the Day is:

Scalawag

I have to ask...How many of you out there have been called by this name?

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Well, my mom and dad finally made it to the burgeoning community of Arp, TX. They have moved half of their stuff into the new house and mom has already started to work at the hospital there. I can't wait to see them! I really like the idea of them being only 4 hours away. That way Jenniva will know her Nanagram and Bobba!

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This weekend I will be accompanying the Marble Falls High School Choir on their trip to San Antonio for competition and fun! We depart from the High School parking lot at 5:30 in the morning. El and little Jenniva are going to meet us there at the hotel tomorrow evening. We will be yucking it up at Sea World and Fiesta Texas.

Quote Of The Day

"The institutional church has become a wounder of the healers rather than a healer of the wounded.
Put bluntly, the American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works-but our lives refute our faith. By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor lived. Too many Christians are living in the house of fear and not in the house of love." - Brennan Manning

I Concur

I found this on the Net this afternoon and I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly!

"Firefighters, the clergy and others with professional jobs that involve helping or serving people are more satisfied with their work and overall are happier than those in other professions, according to results from a national survey.

The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching and protecting others and creative pursuits,” said Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey (GSS) at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago."
- Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience Staff Writer
SPACE.com

Rip Roaring Ready

Well, I am now back and rip roaring ready to go. The past 2 weeks have been a doozy as we had Spring Break and LTC to do. I have been busy as a little bee.

Being a newbie to LTC, I was not quite prepared for the sense of being overwhelmed by not only the size of the Hilton Anatole in Dallas (1606 rooms in all) but also the number of student and adult participants that filled the hotel with hustle and bustle. Now, normally this is my kind of scene, being a people person, but I had stuff to do. Stuff I had never done before. And I was extremely nervous. Thanks to the chaperoning parents that had been there, done that I was taken care of and after about 2-3 hours my anxiety dissipated. The following day was a day of fun and I got to sing with our song leaders and judge in the small drama event. Our students did well and no one took home anything under a Silver Award! I am very proud of my teens and tweens here in Marble Falls.

Last night, the evening service was lead by our young men that participated in LTC and our small drama group performed followed by the awards presentation for all involved. The congregation is very pleased with our students! They were a smashing success!!

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For a few days this past week, I subbed for the Choir, Music History and Music Theory classes at the Marble Falls High School. That is always a great time for me.

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Tonight, the Meat Eaters group begins our study of the Revelation of John with Greg Neill at the Mitchell Mansion. We'll be grilling out burgers and dogs in the newly fenced (6 foot cedar privacy) back yard of our home. I can't wait!

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I will post some pics of our little girl soon. She has been pretty fussy lately because she just won't stay asleep and she is tired all the time. The only 2 reasons she ever cries is from hunger or being tired. I know, it is wild that dirty diapers don't bother her. I don't know what to do about this sleep deprivation, though.

I Just Can't Help It

I am so happy as I watch my little girl grow that I just can't help showing these pics of her to you! Some of you may get tired of it but I am unstoppable!! Here are some of her crawling, smiling and sitting, rather wild-eyed I might add, in her new Bumbo! I love the Bumbo. She only stays in it for a little while before her neck gets tired, but I think she's doing pretty well for only 3 months old. She can also stand up a little. What a strong little girl, huh?

By the way, I am sorry for not blogging in a while. It has been getting busier every day here with LTC and Graduation approaching plus the 24 hours of Prayer (what a great time of bonding with the other men in this family!), the men's breakfast and the huge kickoff of the Capital Campaign for our new building project. All of which I haven taken part. A whole bunch of great stuff going on!!!

Great, New Quote

"Prayer is not a fitful, shortlived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice which goes into God’s ear, and it lives as long as God’s ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God’s heart is alive to holy things.” - E.M Bounds