February 8th the day after Superbowl XLIV.

A letter I wrote to my family.

I didn't want to fall asleep last night. It was all a blur. The New Orleans Saints won the superbowl. I watched it on TV with my wife and two of our children. We were at a fellow church member's house who hosted the party for her teenage daughter and the church youth group. It was rather loud and I made sure that my voice was heard when the touchdowns and field goals were made. My emotions ran the gamut and I was so happy for New Orleans and the Saints football team.
No one there could really understand what joy and emotions were going through me at the time. That is, no one but those that lived in or near New Orleans. This morning I woke up a joyous and happy man. We all know its not really the football team but the unity that the communities felt as we all cheered on the team. New Orleans and the gulf coast needed hope. They needed something or someone to lead them into a new and better place in their hearts. A place of victory not despair.

There was one emotion that I held back until this morning driving alone to work. ...I cried.... I told myself I wouldn't do it but I did. "It's nothing but a dumb football game" I told myself, but now that I was away from everyone, I could cry my tears of joy. Do you know what I'm talking about? The sights, the sounds, I guarantee will live in our minds forever. We did wait 43 years for this. We actually prayed for this. (Shaking my head).

Well, I got on facebook this morning and I thought you would enjoy some of the quotes. I would like to read more quotes from other people, so find some and send them to the rest of the family.

Facebook quotes on emotions people felt after the game:

Two quotes I will remember for the rest of my life. "God is Great" and "It was destiny". Drew Brees quarterback of the New Orleans saints after winning superbowl XLIV. (me)

I can't go to sleep! I just can't believe it. I witnessed the Saints winning the Superbowl.

The heavens wept last night with the Saints winning so we have surprise snow here in Memphis--6 inches and everything is closed!

I had this crazy dream last night that the Saints won the Super Bowl and the ironic thing was that they beat a son of Archie Manning. Funny huh?

Such a great time to be living in New Orleans!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't be suprised if ash wednesday gets postponed til after the NFL draft

"Happy All Saints Day" in February!!!

HOLY %#@!!!!!!!!! we kick butt!!!! WHO DAT????????

Thank God for answering my prayers!!! You do care about the little things..even a football game!!

Have a great day! It is a shame I have to work today. I need the week off. :-)

Tommy

From our back door in the morning

From our back door we can view the sunrise this time of year.  What a peaceful view while reading God's word.

Winter Pets

As the winter goes on our pets are not quite used to it. We let them in at night when the temps

dip below freezing. They are a hoot. I had to take some photos of animals being let in from the cold for an article. I told one of the editors I can create a shot that I know will work. :-) So I knew Precious our cat would want to go out for the night and wouldn't come back till the next morning. She always comes to the door looking very desperate. Sure enough, the next morning comes and like clockwork she shows up crying by the door. I wouldn't let her in until I got the shot. My wife thought I was very cruel. It made the news.... a 3/4 page photo was used for the article.

Read the article here.

More pics

On Frozen Pond

Our pond filled to the maximum due to all the rain we received and then it got really cold for a long time. (For Mississippi that is) It was around 20 degrees for about a week. We had to let the animals in during the night. The pond started to freeze on the edges and then toward the middle. After about two weeks of below freezing weather our pond was frozen over. The center was about an inch thick or more. We could throw things like sticks and they wouldn't break through. Maggie, was interested in trying to drink from her watering hole but couldn't so she ventured out on the ice. She didn't go too far when she tried biting the ice. That didn't work so she gave up. More pics

Blue Moon

Blue Moon

We had a blue moon this month. Last day of the calendar year 2009. Next blue moon for the last day of the year will be 2028.

A Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. Usually months have only one full moon, but occasionally a second one sneaks in. Full moons are separated by 29 days, while most months are 30 or 31 days long; so it is possible to fit two full moons in a single month. A blue moon occurs about once in 2.5 years on average.

A blue moon can occur in January and the following March if there is no full moon at all in February, as is the case in the years 1999, 2018, and 2037.

Note that because the full moon occurs at different times (and therefore potentially on different calendar days and in different calendar months) in different time zones, the occurrence of blue moons is time zone (and daylight saving time) dependent.

For dates on blue moons for this century click on this link: http://www.jgiesen.de/moon/BlueMoon/index.html

Merry Christmas

Have a joyful Christmas!

A Christmas Message

As I pondered over sharing a message with my family about Christmas. I wanted to get a new feel for what the Christmas season is all about. Yes, the birth of Christ is the reason for the season but I wanted a fresh point of view. I wanted a life's lesson.

I read a devotional in Crosswalk this morning that helped me see some things from a different perspective. The perspective from the shepherds that were out in the fields. Minding their own business when they were interrupted from whatever they were doing. Sleeping, tending sheep, living.... hmmm I was on to something.

I saw something different this time... "The shepherds". You see the shepherds were lowly people down casts of society. They were very smelly and dirty from tending their sheep, did I mention smelly. In Luke 2 verse 8 (NIV) it says they were "living" out in the field with their sheep.

We know the rest of the story. The angel of the lord appeared to them and told them not to be afraid etc... OK, lets take a small step back. The angel of the lord....hey the angel of the lord thought they (the shepherds) were worthy enough to tell them a life changing secret. That God is here on earth to save the world and to save them.

Now read and think a little further, Luke 2:17 : they (the shepherds) were used by God to spread the good news all around them. So, all around them were people they new from their sphere of influence. I can only imagine that the lowliest of society were honored to be thought worthy to see Jesus and believe, when the rest of society didn't think them worthy of anything. So why did God think them more worthy than the kings and rulers of the day? I think it's simple. The shepherds are an example of all who hear the gospel story. It is played out right before our eyes in this biblical message.

As a lowly shepherd, God wants you to accept him from where you are. He stands at the door and knocks. He has a message he wants to deliver and he is waiting for you to respond. No matter how dirty you are with all your sins. You may be dressed in your bathrobe with morning breath and hung over from the night before but he is knocking. He wants you to see Jesus and believe no matter what you've been doing. So answer the door, accept him into your life and you will be transformed beyond your comprehension.

Christmas Eve Message from Crosswalk

Sunday 11/15 was a fun day!

Before church, Julia woke us up to remind her mother that she (Beth) would straighten her (Julia's) hair if she (Julia) woke up early enough...Thanks honey! It was OK though. I like being alerted that it is 6:30 in the morning by a cute girl anyway. So I thought a "before" photo was in order. (She is not going to like me posting her photo.)

After church we watched the Saints game... they played the Rams. The Saints won the game but it wasn't pretty. However, they are now 9-0 and are secured a playoff spot. Never thought I would be cheering for the Saints again.

Julia invited a friend over for the day. (Wish I would have taken a photo) They look like sisters now that Julia has straight hair. They played outside by the pond a little and I did take a long photo from the house. I was on my way to photograph some wildlife when right about that time a friend of ours came by to see if we wanted our field mowed. I couldn't turn that down. So as the tractor was purring and I was walking to the pond, my next door neighbors decided to skeet shoot with their 12 guage shot guns. It not only scared me but just about any wildlife for a couple miles. Well at least I thought. I saw this Mississippi Kite fly overhead and I had just enough time to photograph it flying away.
I thought for sure I wouldn't have a chance for many more photos but as I was making my way around the south side of the pond I saw a bird that was bathing itself and it flew into a nearby tree. As I kept walking I heard a little splash and saw a field mouse in the water swimming away from me. The dogs must have scared it but they didn't see it. The poor thing swam and swam until it was almost to the shore of the north side. By this time it was exhausted. It stopped by a floating tree we have as a turtle resting place. My dog Maggie has a very keen nose and smelled the critter. She couldn't see it because it was behind the log. However, Maggie was determined to find what she was smelling and she was awarded her prize. She snatched the mouse and kept it hidden from anyone who came close. I am no fan of field mice but I did feel a little sorry for the varmint.

Just a little later Michael and I raked leaves and burned them. Maggie and Sam like to play in the leaf piles like young children. We let them have their fun until there were none left to play in. We finished the day by bringing the kids to youth group and I visited with some friends.

Robotics Competition

Michael has been involved in a local robotics competition lately, here are some photos from the competition from a few weeks ago. The homeschool team was named Eclipse, the team mascot was the ninja platypus. Each school team had to come up with a Team name, have a booth representing their team and their robot, build a robot and program it to run certain tasks for an obstacle course. Sounds complicated but after seeing how things are done it's not as complicated as you might think. Each team member has a certain job to do. Each team is given certain parts to build a robot and a general program to perform the tasks at hand. The fun comes in how original and creative you get with the robot. The Starkville homeschoolers had great parental turnout for the competition. They did well and are going to Auburn, AL for a regional competition. Go Platipi!

Car Show

Along with the robotics competition, a car show was going on outside in a nearby parking lot. So during the lunch break we had something to kill a little time.

Rain Rain

The rain has been here for three weeks and it only stopped a few days in between. I've heard rumors that we've gotten 35 inches of rain in 6 months; 17 of those are for the month of September alone. I have to remember that there is sunshine on the other side of the clouds. The good side to this is that I can get a lot of housework accomplished.
(Photo by Julia Thompson)

Still Just a Kid, Thank You!

We had Phillip over for his birthday cake and celebration (On Oct 11). We were very thankful that he had another birthday to celebrate. A broken collar bone 4 weeks ago from a bicycle accident and a serious auto accident the night of his birthday kept us on our toes and praying for him. The car was totaled but not a scratch on any of the people involved. Thank you Lord!

The Ten Commandments

Today I reflected on the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. I've been going through a time in my life where I feel I need to post on my blog the core of my belief and of my family. After all, life is getting shorter each day that passes and I sense I just need to polish the basics of my life.


Exodus 20:3-17 The Ten Commandments

¹ And God spoke all these words:

² "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (He brought me out of my slavery to sin. Wow, what a gift.)

³ "You shall have no other gods before me. (Does that include football games and spending too much idol time watching the TV or on the computer?)

⁴ "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments. (I guess this means I need to love the lord my God with all my heart, soul and mind. If I spend more time doing the things that will keep me from Him than being with Him, I had better get my priorities straight.)

⁷ "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (OK, this should be straight forward, no using his name in vain.)

⁸ "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (I think I can relate to this one, God wants to be appreciated for all he's done. It tells me if he rested, I need to rest in Him on His day.)

¹² "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (I have a great mom and dad so this one is close to my heart and they have made it easy for me to honor them.)

¹³ "You shall not murder. (No problem with this one, however, hate is the root of murder, so getting my heart right is important.)

¹⁴ "You shall not commit adultery. (I would think this would be obvious, but who am I to judge, he wrote it down for a reason.)

¹⁵ "You shall not steal. (If it doesn't belong to me, I don't take it. I can ask to use something but I should return it promptly after using it.)

¹⁶ "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (No lying about others to make myself seem better than others.)

¹⁷ "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."(Keep my eyes on myself and be grateful for all God has given me.)

Kids Portraits

Had fun with the kids and took some photos while I had the chance.

A Strong Family Life

(Taken from a commentary in my Bible NKJ version)

Building strong family life is always a priority in serving God.

The family is the oldest and most basic of human institutions. In both the Israelite culture of the Old Testament and the Hellenistic culture of the New Testament, the household might consist of parents and children, relatives from several generations, servants, and even friends, depending on the economic resources of the head of the family. The Bible stresses its importance as a spiritual unit and a training ground for mature adult character.

The Bible pictures a clear authority structure within the family, whereby the husband is to lead the wife and the parents are to lead the children. But just as all leadership should be a form of ministry rather than tyranny, so these domestic leadership roles must be fulfilled in love (Eph. 5:22- 6:4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). The fourth commandment requires the head of the household to lead his whole family in Sabbath observance; the fifth requires children to respect and submit to their parents (Ex. 20:8-12; Eph. 6:1-3). Jesus Himself set an example in this as a child (Luke 2:51). Later, He fiercely opposed supposed gestures of piety that were really evasions of responsibility toward parents (Mark 7:8-13), and His own last act before death was to provide for His mother's future (John 1"9:25-27).

The family is to be a community of teaching and learning about God and godliness. Children must be instructed (Gen. 18:18, 19; Deut. 4:9; 6:8-8; 11:18-21; Provo 22:6; Eph. 6:4) and encouraged to use that instruction as a basis for their lives (Prov. 1:8; 6:20). Discipline should be used as a means of corrective training to lead children beyond childish folly to self-controlled wisdom (Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13, 14; 29:15, 17). Just as there is purposeful, loving discipline in God's family, (Prov. 3:11,12; Heb, 12:5-11), so there must be in the human family.

The family is meant to function as a spiritual unit. In the Old Testament, passover was a family observance (Ex. 12:3). Joshua set an example when he said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Josh. 24:15). Households became the units of Christian commitment in New Testament times. (Acts 11:14; 16:15, 31-33; 1 Cor. 1: 16). The fitness of candidates for church office was assessed by observing whether they had led their own family well. (1' Tim. 3:4, 5, 12; Titus 1:6).

Prarie Arts Festival

We had fun at the Prairie Arts Festival. Tom Marlin and I ran in the 5k race. The kids parked cars in the church parking lot. It was pretty much the same as it has been for the 10 years I've participated but still fun.

Yellow Jacket Problem

Back in September we had a yellow jacket problem. Luckily we had a close friend who had a bee suit and knew what to do. He told us that yellow jackets normally nest in the ground and that nesting in our attic was unusual. He waited for nightfall since that was when most of them would be in the nest and less active, then sprayed them with Bengal roach spray. Must have got them all because we haven't had a problem since.

Alligator Nest?

Late afternoon at the refuge. Beth spotted this gator close to shore. I think it had a nest and was keeping close watch. After reading information about nesting season.. it could be a possibility.

Alligators breed once a year. Courtship begins in early spring and reaches a peak during May. Males bellow in choruses or chain reactions to advertise their prowess and attract potential mates, but females make the final choice.

During courtship, male alligators can be very aggressive toward other males or toward humans. Mated pairs are frequently seen swimming or sunning together by mid-May; the male is the larger of the two. By the end of June, the pair separates and the female assumes her exclusive duties of nest building and guarding.

An alligator nest is a pile of rotting grass, other vegetation and mud. The pile is 3 1/2 to 6 feet across and 1 to 2 feet high, sitting in a site 13 to 18 feet across that has been cleared of vegetation by the female. By the first week in July, she lays a clutch of 20 to 70 cylindrical eggs. The eggs are 3 to 3 1/2 inches long, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and are buried 3 to 14 inches deep in the nests. Incubation takes about 65 days.

The female alligator stays close to guard the eggs from raiding raccoons, skunks and opossums. After the eggs hatch in late summer, the pod of baby alligators will stay together through their first winter and often through their second winter as well. The mother alligator stays close to her pod of babies, protecting them from male alligators, herons and humans.

Baby alligators must feed themselves. They eat minnows crayfish, snails, insects and tadpoles. They grow 9 to 10 inches each year for the first five years. As they mature, their diet expands to include fish, turtles, snakes, frogs, waterfowl, wading birds, raccoons, carrion and just about anything they can catch. By six years of age, they are mature and ready to breed.

WARNING: A female alligator will protect her family. Never approach a pile of rotting grass. Never approach a pod of baby alligators.

Love and Respect

Beth and I went to a marriage conference recently. The message was on love and respect based on Ephesians 5:33. The conference was jammed with information and the speakers delivered a message that is almost forgotten in today's society. Husbands should love their wives but wives should also respect their husbands. Say what? Yes, we've all heard the submission verses for our wives but they probably don't mean what you think. Respect plays an important role in a marital relationship. Statistics show that husbands would rather a wife that respects him over a wife that loves him. Both would be best but respect is preferred. The more he is respected, the more he loves his wife and the more he loves his wife the more she respects. It was a very profound and meaningful message. The conference was located in Cordova, TN at the infamous Bellvue Baptist church. We went with a few couples from our church and had an enjoyable weekend.

I highly recommend the book written by Dr.Emerson Eggerich, "Love and Respect". I give it a 5 star rating for the best in meaningful application. Beth and I have been married for 27 years and I have found this message to be one of the best. We've learned so much already and found the principals useful.

Blueberry Pickin

We went blueberry picking a few miles from the house. I love this time of year when I can enjoy fresh blueberries on my pancakes and crepes. The last day to pick was a few days ago. We picked a total of 13lbs in a few visits.