Church Sign Friday #7

I think this speaks for itself.

Do Rag Wearing Pastor Paul

I snapped a pic of Pastor Paul today at Team Meeting with his "Do Rag" he got as a Christmas present from the secretary. He loves riding his motorcycle and that is why she bought it for him. It's too cold now to ride, but he really enjoys wearing his latest motorcycle riding apparel!

Well, the Christmas gathering at the Snyder home is over. I look
forward to listening to "The FIVE Disfunctions of a TEAM" and my new
mannheim Steamroller Christmas SONG CD. In all it was a good day.

The gifts are nice nut the best part of the day is spending time with
my family.

By the way, this is my first shot at mobile blogging. It is a nice
option, but I am not sure if I will do it a lot or not. We'll see.

Merry Christmas again!

Sent from my iPhone

That's What Christmas Is All About, Charlie Brown

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Isaac and Paul

Yesterday my sister and her husband had their son Isaac dedicated at church. I am so pleased. I was able to snap one picture of Isaac and Pastor Paul after the service. I thought it turned out pretty well. Judge for yourself.

By the way, if you check out this previous post, you can see how much Isaac has grown.

Church Sign Friday #6

Here is this week's church sign. I found it at "Life in Mordor". I didn't read all of the blog so I can't recommend it or not recommend it. However, I think this sign probably sums up most churches.

Peanut Butter and Jimmy Hoffa!

So today my sister and her husband needed to use my van to sign the final papers to adopt Isaac. My van was better to take because they had 7 people going along. Anyway . . . I had to take a few minutes to clean out the contents in my van. The picture below shows some of what I took out of the vehicle!?! I am not sure, but I think I might get better gas mileage this way? I am definitely not a clean freak! In all I found four coats, a football, peanut butter, a lot of change, three pairs of shorts, assorted socks, a dish towel, clean folded sheets, at least five t-shirts and other shirts, and a lot more. Some people were pretty sure Jimmy Hoffa was in there somewhere?

Fireproof the Movie Wraps Up Production

According to their latest blog entry, Sherwood Films has wrapped up production of their new movie, Fireproof. The pastor of the church making the film wrote the entry summing up the progress so far. I loved the last paragraph:

You have to know that this movie is a team effort. It’s the whole church
that makes the movie. Without our people and their willingness to serve, none of
this would be possible. Without their willingness to buy into the vision of
“Changing the world from Albany, Georgia,” we wouldn’t be in the movie business. I’m grateful to pastor a church that will think outside the box.

Check out the entire entry and the rest of the blog and look for the movie in theaters in August.

Sun-Drop Golden Cola and Christmas Cookies

I was invited to help make Christmas cookies at a friend's house not too long ago. While there I noticed her collection of soda bottles. This one was particularly interesting to me since I had never heard of Sun-Drop Golden Cola before. I loved the slogan at the bottom of the bottle: "Refreshing As a Cup of Coffee." So, I snapped a picture of it and after very little research, I found out it is still being made in Pulaski, Tennessee and elsewhere. According to the Sun-Drop Bottling Co. website, they also now make diet Sun- Drop and even caffeine free Sun Drop. Here is an excerpt from their website

Sun-Drop Bottling Co., Inc. was founded in 1947 by Buford White as Nesbitt Spur Bottling Company. In 1961, the charter of the corporation was amended to change the name to Sun-Drop Bottling Co., Inc. reflecting the fact that brand Sun-Drop had become the main product of the company by this time. Today that is still the case with Sun-Drop representing more than 75% of the total beverage sales. The company is the third largest distributor by case volume of Sun-Drop beverages in the United States.

Inflation? What inflation?

Here is an update on inflation in the US. If you just look at the prices of "old school" Christmas lights, (I refer you to an earlier post) THERE IS NO inflation. Last week I went to Lowe's to see if I could find some red and white lights. I was successful. The best part is that the price 20 years ago is MORE than the cost today. My mom paid $1.17 for four red lights years ago. I paid $.73 for four read lights last week! More than likely, these cheaper bulbs won't last as long?

Church Sign Friday #5

This weeks Church Sign Quote:

Christmas, children,

is not a date.

It is a state of mind.

Aaron the Meteorologist . . . "Perfect Storms!"

"This is shaping up to be the PERFECT STORM!" Those were the words from our Ministry Assistant, Aaron when he walked into the office. Part of his responsibility is snow removal and he was out looking at the grounds. It should be noted that he LOVES snow and checks regularly, with grave interest, the weather forecasts on the respective internet sites. He followed up his statement by saying "Ice today, which will hardly be removed well by tomorrow and then the big snow storm that is coming this weekend will keep everyone at home, keeping them from doing any 'Christmas' shopping - making them think about the real meaning of Christmas!"

You gotta love 'em.

Thanks for Mom and the Old Five and Ten Stores

I was changing light bulbs at Cruiser's this week. We have a strand of red and white, old school, 50's style lights around the front of the cafe. There were a bunch of bulbs that needed to be changed and I didn't have enough. My mom and dad happened to be there at the time. She mentioned that she thought she had some bulbs at home. Well. . . this morning, while walking with the Snyder Street Four, my mom gave me some red and white bulbs she had bought "way back when" at G.C. Murphy's Five and Ten store (Five and Dime???). As you can hopefully see, the price for four of them was $1.17. I just thought it was interesting.

Tim Tebow's Heisman Award Acceptance Speech

What a great way to accept the Heisman!

Narnia: Prince Caspian, the Movie Trailer

Thanks to Jim, I found the trailer for the next and newest Narnia movie, Prince Caspian! It opens May 16. Take a look.

Chruch Sign Quote #4

Today's church sign quote is taken from http://www.says-it.com/ where they have a bunch of pictures of real signs. However, they also have a church sign generator like the one in the picture that you can create. There are other types of signs as well. I thought it was pretty cool. Give it a try.

The Nativity Scene

Christmas is right around the corner and this morning while walking with the Snyder Street Four, I was reminded about my mother's Nativity collection. Over the years my mother has collected 154 nativity sets. All will be placed around their home for the Christmas season. Some she bought while most were given to her. The picture below is of the first set my mother bought. She tells us that the first Christmas together with my dad she thought it necessary to have a nativity set in their home. So, she went to the "Five and Ten" (I also remember people calling it the "Five and Dime") and bought this set. She brought it home and my dad quickly put together a "stable". For over 50 years this same scene has been set out at Christmas.

Thanksgiving At Operation Christmas Child

Yet another video from our Operation Christmas Child trip over Thanksgiving. Actually, this is from Thanksgiving Day.

Uncle Phil's Diner Production

Last night we started the ball rolling for our second diner theater production. We will be producing the original "Uncle Phil's Diner" by Dave Avanzine, Coley Fisher, and Craig Wilson on February 1, 2, and 3 in the Family Life Center. I am looking forward to getting this together. Last year's "Christmas At Uncle Phil's Diner" was a lot of fun. Look for more posts in the coming weeks.

Church Sign Quote Friday #3

This week's Church Sign Quote:

Big Bang theory: God Spoke and "Bang!" It happened

Elevator Pictures

The elevators in the Hampton we stayed at during the week of OCC had some odd pictures. Judge for yourself.

Song "Jana Grant" at Operation Christmas Child

Here is a video of Emmy Fisher and Brittany Emigh from First Presby. SPY of Lewisburg doing their song that I have titled "Jana Grant". More videos and OCC stuff soon and then back to the regular blog posts.

Interview with Franklin at Operation Christmas Child

Here is the video interview with Franklin at Operation Christmas Child!!

Operation Christmas Child 2007 Wednesday Highlights

Here is highlights of Wednesday at OCC. Look for my inteview with Franklin really soon!!!! It is so exciting.

O.C.C. and Diet Mt. Dew

I went to Arby's when we stopped Tuesday evening on our way to Operation Christmas Child warehouse. Very few places can you buy Diet Mt. Dew, but I got it here! Enjoy, enjoy!!

RMY/SPY OCC Wednesday

Things went well today at the Operation Christmas Child warehouse. We had devotions at the warehouse and after training went to work in the pre-sort area. I got to meet Franklin who was at the warehouse today and even got to interview him! I will post the interview as soon as I get a chance. Tomorrow we have been invited to eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal at a local church and then relax most of the evening. Hopefully I will get to watch the colts some. The rest of our group comes tomorrow evening. Look for more videos and posts soon.

Operation Chrismas Child Tuesday Video Highlights

Here is a quick edit of some highlights of our trip down to Operation Christmas Child. Taking the bus was the way to go for me! I am so much more rested. Enjoy the video.

Operation Christmas Child This Week

I will be at the O.C.C. warehouse this week. I will be posting regularly about our trip with both written and video posts. I look forward to seeing some comments. Sorry to those of you who might not be interested in this. Grin and bear it for five days. Thanks.

Operation Christmas Child - Blog Your Blessings Sunday

We leave on Tuesday to work at the Operation Christmas Child warehouse in Charlotte, NC. When everyone arrives, we will have over 70 people sorting, un-packing, packing, inspecting, etc. shoe boxes for the O.C.C. distribution throughout the world. Each box has been filled with toys and necessities and donated to be given to kids who would normally not get any Christmas gift.

It is a blessing to be able to work together with these groups of teens and adults. It is a blessing to know that kids around the world will receive these gifts. And, I am humbled to think that God has allowed me to have what I have. I know I am responsible for using the gifts, talents, AND resources to honor Him. I pray that I will constantly do just that.

Richfield Raceway

Just got done checking out the website of the Remote Control Ministry at the church. Pretty cool. Check it out.

Church Sign Friday

I don't if this is good or not for a church sign, but if you work for a church you probably would enjoy this week's Church Sign Quote:

God so loved the world that He did not send a committee.

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Yesterday I was the guest reader at one of the local elementary schools. I read to a group of 6th graders. We read from one of the "Chicken Soup" books. It was fun. As I contemplated what I might read, I remembered a book I mostly listened to at one of my friends' house - Tikki Tikki Tembo. I googled the book and found this video and thought I would post it. It is almost 10 minutes long and for that I apologize, but it brought back many fond memories for me.

Historic Event

I took this picture at the end of our district playoff game. It was the only picture I took. I didn't want to look like an idiot . . . the coach taking pictures during the game! Anyway, I thought this was something that is kind of historic for the Tiger Football Team and wanted to post it. It is the first time any Tiger Football coach has been interviewed after a District playoff game. You can decide for yourself the importance of the event. :)

Blog Your Blessings Sunday

I have been blessed to have been around a great bunch of young men this football season. Thanks for a great year!

Church Sign Quotes Friday

Something new beginning this week. I don't know how long it will last, but I am going to begin a list of Church Sign Quotes. Email me yours to be included. I will post one each Friday. Today's Quote comes from my sister who saw in a book she is reading:

"Stop, Drop and Roll Won't Work in Hell"

Wing Night With the Boys

One of the best things about coaching is getting to know a bunch of great guys. Tonight was "wing night" with a bunch of them. Check out the pics.

Above: Tyler and Paco pose for the camera while nothing keeps Wade from his food!

Below: Bucket Head tries to keep up with Little Mitch. It's not gonna happen. Little Mitch ate 127 wings!

Below: Seniors Hoffman and Truitt can't believe they got out eaten by a sophomore!

Below: Chang and A.B. try to look serious.

Amazing Grace!

Thanks to Bruce Heffner for this.

Sherwood Pictures "Fireproof" Blog

I just found the blog for the new movie "Fireproof" being filmed by Sherwood Pictures, makers of "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel". I have added their blog to the "Blogs I Frequent" section of my blog. I think it is great that this church is impacting lives around the world through the medium of feature length films.

STOP!!!

I took this picture(with my new phone) coming home from my nephew's football game on Saturday night. I think it is overkill, but who am I?

Congrats "Get Real with Dave & Jana" on One Year Anniversary

Two youth leader friends of mine, David Jones and Jana Grant produce a radio show called "Get Real" on the local Christian station, WGRC, each week. The youth oriented show airs from 10 - 10:30 PM every Saturday Night. You could listen live via the internet or on a podcast anytime.

This week is the one year anniversary of the show and I would like to congratulate them and wish them well in the years to come.

Just Halloween Today :(

Today is Halloween. That's okay. Halloween was always a fun time growing up. All the negative stuff about this day we hear about today just wasn't as prevalent to me back then. Anyway . . . There isn't any other "day" today that is good to celebrate. Sooooo I will just take some candy to Youth group tonight and say "Happy Halloween" to you all. Kind of boring:(

Amazing Ending

Thanks to Lori for today's video!

I Hate Being Sick - But Then, Who Likes It?

Yesterday I got a big needle in the left glut for the infection in my tonsil. I Still can't talk today and I am very tired. Probably no one cares. And that's okay.

Yaacov Yisrael Interview on WGRC

Just got a phone call from WGRC that they are going to air an interview with Yaacov Yisrael on Friday as a segment of their "The Matter at Hand" program from 11 AM - 12 Noon. You can listen to WGRC by clicking here.

Weird Al Celebrates Bologna Day?

Happy "National Bologna Day"!

Yaacov Israel Visits

I got to hang out with Yaacov Yisrael for a while last evening. "Cov" is a former Penn State football player and currently plays for the Pittsburgh River Rats of the American Indoor Football Association. He came to football practice last night and spoke to the Jr. high and Varsity players for a while and then we spent some time at Cruiser's Cafe talking over supper. It was very enjoyable.

Yaacov and his wife Jill (a former Penn State field hockey player) will be a our church Sunday evening. It should be good - tailgating at 5 PM and then Sports trivia, the Yisrael's and Pastor Paul will end then evening.

What You Can Learn While Walking - Meteors and Oleo

I am considering beginning another blog about my daily walks with my mother, her cousin George and added this morning my sister, Melanie. More about that later.

Today's walk was very informative and enjoyable. Early on in the walk George told us about the meteor shower that was in its peak over October 21. Throughout the walk we were able to see a good number of meteors streak across the sky. I never would have been able to see it if I had been sleeping and not walking. Chalk one up for getting up to walk.

The second new thing was about Oleo. Oleo is what a lot of people around the Mahantango call margarine. George related a story about oleo and told us that oleo is actually a clear substance. He said at one time you had to "explode" a yellow dye into the oleo and kneed it to make the oleo look yellow like butter. George talked about how they enjoyed this process when he was growing up. I had a harder time than usually finding information about oleo or "oleomargarine" on the Internet. Wikipedia came through again. It seems that oleo was cheaper than butter and the dairy industry fought to keep it off the shelves by trying to keep the oleo industry from coloring their product. See the entire article here. Also, check out the funny video I posted about "You Can't Believe It's Not Butter" in April.

Hey, Wednesday is Nation Bologna Day. We will be having Bologna at my youth group this week. Does anyone have any good ways to serve or good dips for bologna. Let me know.

"Line Slashers" - The Way To Go

If you are going to go to Scare Mare with a group of 25 or more, use their "Line Slasher" program. It is worth the extra dollar or two. We were in and out within an hour! One year we waited almost 6 hours to get in and out. Granted, it was good quality time spent with teens. But, quite boring.

We had a reservation at 8:45 PM but got there about 8:20 PM. We were done and walking back to our hotel by 9:15 PM! Incredible! They do a nice job and have over 30,000 people go through their event in three weekends. But, the fastest way is to go through line slashers.

The most fun part of the night is watching the girls scream. I have to admit I jump every now and then. But the girls make the night.

Scare Mare and Logan's Roadhouse

Our 6 hour trip to Lynchburg, VA went very well. We Toured the Liberty University campus ate at Logan's Roadhouse and then went through Scare Mare. I am here at the hotel while everyone else went for some ice cream. I get enough ice cream at Cruisers and I was up at 5 AM this morning and just wanted to relax.

I wanted to give my opinion of Logan's Roadhouse. I was a little disappointed? We were there last year and it was fun and the food was good. This year, it was all business and, truthfully, I wasn't too impressed with my steak. The taste was okay, but the cut left something to be desired. I am allowing the less than spectacular service because of the number of people we had (21) and the time we arrived (5:45 PM). However, the steak . . . well, I don't understand.

This doesn't mean I won't go back. The atmosphere was good and the teens loved throwing peanut shells on the floor . . . but you can do that elsewhere. I don't like to be negative, but, well, it was just an okay experience today.

Scare Mare, Liberty University and Teenagers. . . A Good Combination

We are taking about 20 people to Lynchburg, VA Saturday and Sunday. We are planning to take a quick tour of Liberty University, eat and then go through "Scare Mare" on Saturday and then go to Thomas Road Baptist Church on Sunday Morning before coming home. Much fun . . . I hope.

What You Learn While Walking

This morning I got up at 5:55 AM, drove to my parents place and walked with my mother and her neighbor. It was the second day in a row that I walked before 7 AM. I missed my partners yesterday because I got up late. We walked for about 35 minutes and my mother and neighbor talked almost the entire time - not that I minded. I did learn about the "blackouts" during the war, that you can loose weight inside your body as well as outside and that Burnham and Newton are planning to merge. The latter is from the local paper. It seems that at the end of walk, George, my mother's neighbor, gets the paper out of the box and reads the headlines each morning. It really was quite enjoyable this morning. In the future, I plan to WALK to my parents place - it isn't that far, for those of you who don't know that. But today, I got up late, so I drove. This new activity is designed to get me a little more active. I really need to do this for my health. And having someone to walk with makes the whole thing easier.

Happy "Wear Something Gaudy Day"

Wednesday is "Wear Something Gaudy Day"

Tomorrow is "Wear Something Gaudy Day"! What will you wear?



According to www.holidayinsights.com the origins of this day date back to my era:

"The roots of this day go back to the hit 1970's television comedy show "Three's Company". Larry Dallas (played by Richard Kline), one of the characters on the show, declared a Wear Something Gaudy Day."

If you are looking for a gift for the day, I found this site. I am not sure I really endorse it. Use your own judgement.

SNL Does the Muppets!

Thanks to Mike Lavato (great name) for this. The muppets meet Saturday Night Live!

Air Bag Are For Our Safety

I don't know if this is real or not, but it is funny!

Angel Food Cake Day

According to HolidayInsights.com, today is "Angel Food Cake Day"! Sounds like my kind of holiday! So enjoy angel food cake ALL day.

Call the Police . . . They Stole My Cannabis! Again!

Found this at http://www.boston.com/.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand --A middle-aged New Zealand woman rang police to report a theft of cannabis plants she had been growing at her North Island home, local media reported. The crying woman told a constable at the police station in the city of Napier the plant theft was the fourth from her property in as many years. The 45-year-old woman, who was not named, lamented someone had again sneaked on to her property at night to steal her three carefully nurtured marijuana plants.
"I am a good person. I am sick of these low-lifes stealing my things," the woman told a police communications officer.
Senior Sergeant Mal Lochrie told local media Friday that the officer found it hard to stop smiling as the women gave details of the theft over the phone.
A community constable who visited her to take details of the theft had also warned her that her horticultural pursuits could have legal consequences, Lochrie said.
Police decided no action would be taken against the gardener, he said.

In the Beginning . . . of Youth MInistry

I wanted to post something more substantual today, but this is what you are getting. . .

The King of Kong - My Short Review

Last Night I had the opportunity, if you want to call it that, to see the documentary "The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters" at the Campus Theater (I could make a post about the 66 year old art deco theater, but I won't) in Lewisburg, PA. I am not much for documenataries but this one was quite good. It had acutally been suggested to me by a friend who had seen it at the Austin, TX film festival.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters follows a middle school science teacher as he battles a hot sauce mogul for the Guinness World Record on the arcade classic Donkey Kong.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it "Roaringly Funny". I wouldn't go that far. It was humorous at times. But not roaringly funny. I did laugh out loud a couple of times. I had too. Some of these characters were funny. And remember, this was a documentary, with real people, not actors.

As with most documentaries, at least in my opinion, they show a bit too much. The entire thing could have been about 15 - 20 minutes shorter without losing anything at all.

In all, I was really glad I went and I think you would be too.

Richfields Version of the Cockpit Camera

The Richfield Raceway began racing again for the year in the Family Life Center on Monday nights. They have started a website - www.richfieldracers.com. Last night Aaron taped the video camera to his car and ran it around the track. Kinda cool. Check it out.

That's What That Was

I was at my parents house this morning. My mother has recovered from proceedures to have her eyesight corrected. This has been great for her and actually a bit comical for me. I love the fact that she can see better now. I am not sure my father does. He remarked how much busier he will be fixing and cleaning now that she can see all the little problems around the house. This morning she was cleaning the "junk drawer" in the kitchen. I heard her say, "Oh, that's what that thing is!" When I question her about what she meant, she relayed that over the past months, when she wasn't sure what something was because she couldn't see it correctly, she put it in the drawer. I can be amused at this because my mother is somewhat amused. I know that it isn't a funny matter, generally. I do love my mother and I am please with her new awareness.

Aldrich Meets Penzance

I thought of Kevin Millikin, Mr. Shoop and Josh Lucas as I watched this. Paul has been here at least two times. Very funny guy. I enjoyed this.


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Dulp! Did I Ask That Small Group Question?

I was working on stuff for our small group ministry at church and found these "Top Ten Worst Small Group Discussion Questions". I have listed numbers 10 down to 4. You will have to click here for the last three.

10. Share the worst sin you’ve ever committed.

9. If you were God, who would you punish first?

8. Which person in this group do you think needs to find Jesus the most?

7. Which people at your church do you wish would find a different church, and why?

6. If you could erase any verse out of the Bible, which one would it be?

5. Share the juiciest piece of gossip you know so we can pray about it.

4. If you could have anything from your neighbor’s house, what would it be?

David VS. Goliath Voice Over

This was too funny not to post. Enjoy.">

RC Racing Starts Tonight

Here is a picture of our Ministry Assistant's RC car he will be racing tonight in the Family Life Center. It is a Protoform DNA-1 body. The colors are metallic blue, corsa gray, and gunmetal. The car is a new Associated TC5.

Racing begins at 7 PM (I believe). They are racing street and oval style courses every Monday night. The new web site will be up soon. I will keep you up to date.

Tony Dungy Envy

Just got done reading Jana Grant's blog. I am sooooooo jealous . . . She had the opportunity to interview Tony Dungy for the weekly radio show she co-hosts! I want to interview Tony Dungy! No, really, I would like to someday have the opportunity to meet Tony Dungy, but I am happy for Jana. You really need to visit her blog and read the funny story about it.

I have been a colts fan since I was a little boy - when they were the BALTIMORE Colts (and I have to admit that I didn't root for the Colts for about two years after they moved to Indianapolis. I am over it now). I love what Dungy has done for the Colts organization both on the field and off. He has been a great example so far. I pray he continues to keep Christ first in all he does.

Good job Jana!

Erik Mongrain on the Guitar

Thought of my guitar playing friends. Good stuff. Enjoy.

Talk LIke a Pirate Day

Today, September 19, is Talk Like a Pirate Day. To help you celebrate the day, I found the following video. Enjoy.

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Coffee Art!?!

I got this from the "Tattler".

Five Second Rule Might Be Correct!

You know the "Five Second Rule"? - If you drop food on the floor, you have five seconds to reclaim it before it's contaminated. . . Well, according to the "Toolkit" newsletter sent out by Mennonite Mutual Aid(all I have is a hard copy. I couldn't find a link), two Connecticut college seniors, with their microbiology professor's guidance, had fun putting that rule to a test. The biology major students dropped food onto the college's busy cafeteria floor, then measured how long it took for bacteria to form. Their "wet" food, an apple slice, didn't attract bacteria for one minute on the floor, while their dry food, Skittles candy, was safe for five minutes.

Maybe you don't want to try this at home.

19 Years Later, He Awakes!

Found this on ThatsWeird.net. How amazing and what a great story of devotion. Read the entire story here. I have posted a snippet of the article below.

A comatose man woke up after being asleep for 19 years, to find that his
world had changed beyond all recognition.Polish railway worker Jan Grzebski lost
consciousness in 1988 after being struck by a train. He suffered horrific
injuries when his head was trapped between two carriages.He didn't come out of
his coma until Sunday June 3 2007 when he opened his eyes to see his devoted
wife Gertruda's face looking at him. She cared for him all through his coma.Mr.
Grzebski was given only about two years to live after he slipped into
unconsciousness in 1988 and doctors discovered he had a tumor on his brain.But
he remained in good health due to the tireless efforts of his saintly wife
Gertruda. She fed and washed her husband's motionless body every day and moved
him every hour to prevent bedsore infections.Jan's doctor said she had "done the
job of an entire intensive care team."Her devotion was rewarded when at 65 years
of age Jan came out of his coma. He told members of his family he had vague
memories of family gatherings and relatives talking to him, trying to provoke a
response.

Fun Night at Band Night

Went to one of the local high schools' "Band Night" on Wednesday night! Had a good time. Got my pic taken with our pastor's son Seth and his "special friend" (that's what my mother calls it when a guy and a girl are dating) Janelle. Let me know if you can tell which one of the three of us they call "Lumpy"

Thanks Josh Griffin

I really appreciated this from Josh Griffin. Josh is the manager of Purpose Driven Youth Ministry, a pastor at Saddleback Church and dabbles in community with Simply Youth Ministry. He is also one of the world's largest geeks and co-owns TheForce.Net.

"Worship" vs Worship

A funny thing happened at church yesterday.

My wife has been bringing her friend with her to church for the past couple of weeks. As we launch into the 10x10 vision, we're committed to doing our part as God directs. Part of the way we're reaching out is asking an unchurched friend and her son to visit church. And last week, she accepted Christ!

She was so excited to see my wife this week in church they began talking excitedly together. They were buzzing back and forth during the first song and well into the second. There was talk of Jesus love, baptism and even a few tears. It was a powerful moment - I was moved sitting just down from them seeing a life so dramatically and instantly changed.

But I could tell the woman in front of us was going to blow a gasket.

She looked back once or twice with "those eyes." She looked at her husband a minute later and rolled her eyes. She shrugged to her friends. She even kind of scowled back once, I think trying to use ESP to tell the 'bubblygirls' behind her to be quiet. Finally, near the end of the second song, she just had to say something.

"I'm sorry, but can you guys talk to each other later? I'm trying to worship."

During her "worship" she missed the most beautiful expression of worship ever. Angels were dancing in Heaven and she was ticked on earth.

Now, in her defense, my wife's friend IS loud. She does get a bit excited and I'm sure it was distracting. She doesn't know the "rules" of church and even stopped the offering plate later in the service for an extra 4 minutes to write her check. But isn't that all OK?

Sometimes I like Christians more before they know how to act like Christians.

Why am I so worked up about this? Because I've done it before. As my wife and I talked about it after our post-baptism-celebration lunch, she admitted to doing it, too. Busting someone without knowing the whole story. Getting frustrated without knowing the other half. In fact, I now realize I'm doing that to this lady in front of us, right? Is it possible that this was her last Sunday to live and she is living knowing she's terminally ill? Is it possible she brought her jaded son and daughter-in-law to church for the first time after years of trying - and some jerk behind them is being loud and distracting?

Hmm ... not sure where I'm going with this, other than to say maybe we should loosen up a bit in church. Maybe we should empathize with each other a bit more. And maybe our first reaction to a disruption in the service is that God is up to something, instead of someone being distracting.

JG

Band/Cheerleader Bloopers

I played the tuba in the band. The tuba thing is really funny to me. I hope no one was hurt making this video. Sorry if you have already seen this.

Thank God For His Word

"Therefore we do not lose heart ...
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us

an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
-- 2 Cor. 4:16-17

It Begins TONIGHT!!

Colts

Vs

Saints
Tonight
8:30 PM
NBC

Perfectness!

Review: HotelReservations.com

I would like to introduce you to a website that could be helpful if you travel at all - http://www.hotelreservations.com/ They can get you hotel reservations, airline tickets, condo rentals, vacation packages, cruise tickets, car rental and more for destinations in the United State and throughout the world. There are special rebates and hot deals offered as well as discounted club memberships to go along with their already discounted pricing. If you have a group, there are special deals for group bookings. I used their "Destination Guide" to research the area of Budapest, Hungary for our mission trip next summer.

So if you will be travelling in the near future, you might want to check out Hotel%20Reservations'>this helpful website.

Russian Mayor Bans . . . "I Don't know"

I remind my football players (and others) that the phrase "I can't" means "Won't try". Well the mayor of the Russian town, Megion, has taken it just a bit farther. According to Fox News:

The mayor of a Siberian oil town has ordered his bureaucrats to stop using
expressions such as "I don't know" and "I can't." Or look for another job.
Alexander Kuzmin, the 33-year-old mayor of Megion, has banned these and
25 other phrases as a way to make his administration more efficient, his
spokeswoman said Tuesday. "It's a suggestion to the staff that they should think before saying something," Oksana Shestakova said by telephone. "To say `I don't know' is the same as admitting your helplessness."

Here is the link to the entire story.

Blog Visits from Every State

I have posted numerous times early on about getting at least one visit to my blog from every state in the Union. I just checked and as of today, I still have 7 states left without an visit. Believe it or not Ohio is the state with the most visits?? followed by PA (obviously) and then California (Thanks Josh Griffin).

If you know anyone from Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, and/or Nebraska, please send them to my site.

If anyone visits from those states, please comment me. If I can, I will send a thank you. I know it isn't much, but I don't have much.

"A League of Their Own" Golf Cart Drive In

I posted a couple months ago about "Salty" Sands who played professional baseball in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. Well, last night, while at my family picnic I finally got to see "A League of Their Own". We were at my sister's house and her husband sells used golf carts. So, we took the carts and lined them up around their white shed in the back yard. We borrowed a wide screen projector and showed the movie on the side of the shed and we had a nice golf cart drive in! We made popcorn and drinks. It got a little cool at the end, but it was a bunch of fun.

Blog Your Blessings Sunday

For my BYBS, I would like to refer you to a previous post - http://everyoneelsebutjoel.blogspot.com/2007/08/rmc-baptism-video.html

Big Dogs Clothing and Micheal Vick

I really like to wear Big Dogs clothing. They have "my" sizes. I am not always a fan of everything they produce. This is NOT an endorsement for every product. They definitely don't take life too seriously. I thought this picture below was kind of a funny take on the Micheal Vick situation.

Richfield, PA Water Authority Humor

I don't know if you know it or not but, Pennsylvania is in a drought watch. So . . . Alvin, our town's Water Authority Staff person, has posted on their website a few thoughts on water usage. I really enjoyed his humor. I hope you do too. Go here for the entire advisory. Here is the list (I italicized some words for emphasis - everything below is copied from the richfield water website):

Some thoughts:

1. Keep your cars clean(use car wash, automatic shut
nozzles on hoses and buckets)
2. Keep the flowerbeds pretty
3. Take care of fall vegetable crops
4. Teenagers should
limit themselves to three showers a day of not more than 55 minutes each
5. Cooking water (potato water) or aquarium water is good for plants- aquarium water is probably not good for cooking, even though it has less
chlorine
5. Have a glass of water with your morning coffee and do talk about this at the Restaurant, Bank, Post Office, Ruth’s Beauty
Shop, and where ever else you might be because I want to save postage and your
neighbor may not know about this.
6. DEP web site for drought
information is http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/(keyword “Drought”)
7. One more; if you see water where it doesn’t belong, contact me. Email richfieldwater@countryilink.net

RMC Baptism Video

How great it is to see people openly saying they will follow Christ! Here is a video from the recent baptism at RMC

I Can Dance. . . @ Jib Jab

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!
I don't know if last week was "Pick on Joel Snyder Week" or not? The ventrilloquist got me on Sunday and Jeff sent me these. I am not a fan of Mrs. Clinton's polotics, but she seem like an okay dancer? ? ? ?

Here's the Other Jib Jab

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!Thanks to Jeff, I get to dance again.

Blog Your Blessings Sunday

I had an awesome experience this morning. Six of the football players I help to coach came to Sunday School and Church today. We had Ryan & Friends at church today and I had invited anyone from the team to come and like I said, six did! The bad (and yet good) part was that Ryan made a fool out of me. Some people say that isn't hard to do?!? Anyway, after church we went to Cruiser's for lunch. It was a very enjoyable morning/afternoon.

Two-A-Days are history for 07

Well, Two-a-days for 2007 are now history. We have had a good two weeks. However, for three of my linemen, it wasn't so great. One has a torn mcl; one has fluid on his knee and one is getting checked out as we speak. Luckily for us, the starters have weathered the storm. We have a talented group of kids this year. I hope we can put together a good run. They are a fun bunch of kids. Check out the Tiger Football site at http://www.tigerfootball.cc/

Thanks to Stacey at Stacey Snyder's Studio for the team pic.

Mike Flynt Rides Again

I heard this on Paul Harvey today. Mike Flynt, 59, will be playing college football this year for Division III Sul Ross College in Alpine, Texas. Read the entire story here.

According to the article, Mike is a "devout Christian". I wish him all the best and I will be following the Lobos this gridiron season.

Makenzie's Medals at Colorado

Makenzie McDonald, right, third place winner at the State Games of America.

The secretary here at the church was buzzing a couple of weeks ago. Her eight year old granddaughter, Makenzie McDonald, has been taking gymnastic lessons for a few years and been doing well. So well, in fact, that she qualified for a national event, The State Games of America, at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Makenzie did very well and came home from the meet with four total medals. She won a second in the vault, and thirds in the floor and bars. She also received a third place medal in all around.

Makenzie has spent time here in the office and is a personable young girl. We here in the office are very proud her and I know that her grandparents are as well. Congratulations Makenzie!