IF the finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.

IF people ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the 5000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish, and what bait was used to catch 'em.

WHEN the pastor says, "I'd like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering,"
five guys and two women stand up.

IF opening day of deer season is recognized as an official church holiday.

IF a member of the church requests to be buried in his 4-wheel-drive truck because "It ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of."

IF the choir is known as the "OK Chorale".

WHEN in a congregation of 500 members, there are only seven last names in the church directory.

IF Baptism is referred to as "branding".

IF high notes on the organ set the dogs on the floor to howling.

IF people think "rapture" is what you get when you lift something too heavy.

IF the baptismal pool is a #2 galvanized washtub.

IF the choir robes were donated by (and embroidered with the logo from) Billy Bob's Barbecue.

IF the collection plates are really hub caps from a '56 Chevy.

IF instead of a bell, you are called to service by a duck call.

IF the minister and his wife drive matching pickup trucks.

IF the communion wine is Boone's Farm "Strawberry Hill".

IF "Thou shalt not covet" applies to hunting dogs, too.

IF the final words of the benediction are, "Y'all come back now!! Ya Hear"

Late yesterday afternoon we headed up to Bluffton University to attend a parade and banquet. Four awards were given at the banquet and Todd was one of the four recipients. He received the "Professional Achievement Award". The description of the award reads "The Professional Achievement Award recognizes a graduate who has continued the pursuit of intellectual growth and has explored creative avenues in his or her chosen field. As a result, this individual has achieved notable success and recognition in his or her career."

I am very proud of Todd. He really deserves so many other awards too. Like for being a wonderful husband, father, son, friend, etc. He gave a wonderful speech which can be read over on his blog.

Along with the banquet there were some other interesting things that happened last evening. We were in the homecoming parade that they had along with the other recipients. It was fun although I think the wind chill was about 45 degrees in the back of the convertible. LOL! As we worked our way downtown there was a lady watching the parade who was yelling dates out to the people in the parade. She yelled December 5th as we went by. Well wouldn't you know that was Todd's birthday. He explained to me later that she used to work at the school and was a savant. It's been 21 years since he went to school there and this lady remembered his birthday simply by seeing his name on the side of the car. He said she had everyone's student id memorized too. Simply amazing!

We also got to meet Judson Laipply, the guy that was famous on YouTube for doing the Evolution of Dance video. He received the "Outstanding Young Alumni Award". Between the parade and the banquet we had some spare time and we ran into Judson in the rec area. He asked if we wanted to play Carpet Ball with him. I played first and he beat me pretty bad and then Todd and Evan did much better. He is a very high energy individual and gave a great speech too. He is a motivational speaker along with being a great dancer. Make sure you check out the video if you haven't seen it before.

It was a very nice evening and even though Todd thinks that he didn't deserve the award he really deserves that and so much more. He is an amazing person full of compassion for others. He has been blessed and has shared that blessing with others. Congratulations sweetie!

This is the second book in a two-part series. The first one was called One Tuesday Morning which I really loved. I can now officially say I’m a Karen Kingsbury fan. I’d love to read all of her books.

This book continues the story of a woman who lost her FDNY firefighter husband in the south tower on September 11th. She has a 7 yr old daughter to raise while trying to move forward from her loss. There are a lot of twists and turns that make the book very fun to read. I’d highly recommend it.

I have been pretty quiet lately when it comes to posting on my blog. Most of what I’ve been living through lately has had to stay under cover until today.

Today I turned in my 2 weeks notice after working for my current employer for 10 ½ years. I have loved working at my job but in the last year things had slowed down dramatically and I hardly had anything to do. I had asked for more to do and was told not to worry about it – that sometimes things were slow. Well it was just way too slow for me. I was starting to feel worthless as far as contributing to the company and I was feeling guilty for getting paid for what little I did.

I have known for awhile that I had to do something different. About 6 weeks ago Todd had told me that the Bookkeeper at Evan’s school was going to leave because her husband got a job in Boston and they would have to move. Todd is on the school board. I mentioned that the job might be interesting and before I knew it I was in talking with the Superintendent about the job. Of course this was something totally different from what I do now. I am a Systems Analyst and this new job involved Accounting. I have felt a tug lately to do something different after programming for 22 years and Accounting has always been of interest to me. Maybe because my Dad and brother are CPAs and my sister is an Accountant with a private company. I think it must be in my blood or something. LOL!

So I sat down with Debi, who is the current Bookkeeper, and had her show me some of what she does so I could get a grasp of whether or not I could do this. I have an Accounting minor but it has been 22 years since I’ve had any classes so it probably doesn’t even count. I decided that I thought I could handle it. Debi had told me that she didn’t have any Accounting experience before taking the job so that made me feel better about it too. I talked again with the Superintendent and after much prayer decided it was a good fit.

Last Friday I started my training at the school. I am going in on the days I’m not at my current job. Now I am extremely overwhelmed with learning all this new stuff. I never liked changing jobs but this is even more difficult because I’m not just changing my place of work but also my skill set. Yikes!

I do feel better now that I’ve turned in my notice. It wasn’t something I looked forward to. As soon as I told my boss he immediately asked if I would be willing to consult with them. I said I would. The problem is that nobody has been trained in what I do there and I just can’t give my work to someone else. I think this will work out well. I can still keep my hands in programming while learning something new.

I just hope I can keep my sanity while I’m going through this transition.

Yesterday Evan was off school because of a teacher in service day so he had to endure my weekly grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

We were going down the aisle that had Spam in it and as we pass it he is behind me saying "Please Keep This Away From Your Computer!". He acted like he was reading the label on the Spam so I asked him if it really said that. I was thinking it would be a funny way of advertising and that maybe they put that on there. He said he just made it up. I thought that was pretty funny. Maybe I should let the Spam people in on it.