Had a good time this afternoon at WalMart while they changed my oil and rotated my tires. This time I also got new windshield wipers and a new air filter! After roaming through WalMart for 30-minutes, I stopped for bite at Subway and then headed to stare at the new XBOX 360 that is being displayed in the video game section. I’ll never own one of those but it sure was fun to dream!

I came home and finally took the time to pick up our backyard after it had been littered with our patio furniture after this weekend’s wind storm. I also picked up miscellaneous garbage that also made its way into our yard.

I’ve spent the last couple of hours in my “cacoon” on the couch watching “It Takes a Thief” on the Discovery Channel. My cacoon involves one of those hospital-quality heavy-duty blankets and as many couch-pillows as I can stuff all around me. (We still don’t have the heat on!)

“It Takes a Thief” is a show about two former thieves who offer to break into a family’s home to show them just how vulnerable they are. It then takes on a “makeover”-type show as they “renovate” the house to make it “thief-proof”.

Pretty funny to watch people’s reactions when the thief they “allow” to break into their house breaks something or takes something “that they thought would never be taken”.

In other words, daytime television is lousy.

What a day!

This morning I was at Richard’s for breakfast with the Warsaw Ministerial Association at 6:35AM. We had a great time this morning. My old friend Mike Metzger of Metzger Trucking shared this morning about the three loads of relief items he drove down to the New Orleans folks. It was great to hear how the Lord worked through the situations and allowed him to go through areas that were otherwise restricted!

After lunch time today, another old friend – John Radford from Greenville, South Carolina called me up to have a chat. He’s doing well and enjoying a new home that he and his wife have purchased. He was thrilled (terrified?) to hear that Stevan was going to be a father in a few months!

Tonight at theBOX we had a great crowd due to tonight being the due-date for the LOGOS5 Youth Convention pre-registration. In all, we have 29-teens that have their deposit in and are now on the list as attending from theBOX! I was mobbed post-BOX due to many questions from teens and parents and didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to my buddy Scott Greene and his 3-year-old son Aaron who were visiting theBOX tonight on a whim!

Tomorrow is day-off-errand-running day. First on the list: get the Neon’s oil changed (and roam around WalMart for an hour or so!)

Looks like I’m golfing with Dan Warren on Friday morning – probably the last 18 of the season. Friday night Jess and I have a double-date with the Stivers and then will attend the High School Musical that evening! Saturday night is our District Men’s Banquet with Dr. Jim Dunn speaking. And on Sunday, Mom & Dad Garrett are coming to town to visit!

I’m excited about what the next 4 days will bring!

Woke up early this morning with only a few hours of sleep to my name.

I got up, showered, and headed out the door for my bi-monthly blood-giving. The Red Cross thanked me today by missing my vein and also by allowing some third-party group to come in and slow things down even WORSE than usual by asking us to register for some “beta-testing”. I may find out that there really IS something wrong with me if this “third-party group” does some sort of testing on my blood…

Danny Carter’s viewing this morning was somber. Pastor Wanda was in great spirits and continued to shine her smiling face.

The funeral was at 1PM and Pastor Kinnan and I did a tag-team effort. The compliments following the service made us feel honored to have been a part.

I’m heading home with an emotionally drained, tired body that needs to crash on the couch.

Tomorrow will be an early morning with our 7AM breakfast with the Warsaw Ministerial Association.

Yum. Breakfast.

Sherilyn has arrived back in the US – and more importantly – home to Boiling Springs, Sout Carolina – safe and sound after being away to Bosnia for a year! She assured me via telephone tonight that once she’s had a restbit she’ll be on the road to Warsaw for a sibling reunion!

Other good news: the Indianapolis Colts are 8-0. Take that New England! If my Panthers can’t beat you, my Colts can.

“Christians who go to Scripture to find a verse or passage to prove someone else wrong are like children lost in a desert using their last bit of water to fill up squirt guns to tease each other rather than to slake their thirst.”

– Chuck Smith Jr. in “Frequently Avoided Questions” (Chapter 1 – “Why the Bible?”, page 28)