Yearbook Yourself

This past week, Matthew Rose posted a great link in his blog. The link was to a site called Yearbook Yourself. This site allows you to upload a picture of your face, and it sticks your face on different hairstyles/clothes throughout the years. I tried it, and came up with some great pics. What do y'all think?

1954

1962

1964

1966

1970

1974

1990

The really funny part? The 1990 picture...it looks like I'm looking at a picture of my cousin Christy when she was this age!! Totally crazy...

A Legacy

"Man must have something larger than death...or death takes man." ~ Max Lucado

Yesterday I was allowed the honor to attend the funeral of an amazing saint of God. Her name was Marilyn Addison. Some of you know her grandson, Eric. Marilyn had an amazing 76 years. She was one of 12 children, married a pastor she met while in college, started a life with him and had five children. A little over 39 years ago, her life changed forever. Her husband, while on his way back home one night from a camp meeting, was killed by an idiotic drunk driver. He was taken from this world, leaving Marilyn with five children; The oldest being my pastor, Rick, at 14; the youngest, their only girl, at 2. Daunting odds for anyone, truth be told.

Marilyn was one heck of a lady. You really don't see her breed a lot these days. She never remarried. She raised all five of her children, on her own, in the Lord. Today, three of her sons are pastors. One is a successful Christian businessman and very influencial within the Bible College down here in Hobe Sound. Her daughter is married to a pastor. All of her children live out those Biblical foundations they were raised upon. All the while doing this, she served for many years as the Resident Director for woman at the Bible college, along with a few other odds and ends. Pastor Rick made the comment that his mom was more faithful to her husband during these years that he's been gone than most woman are to their living husbands today. Unfortunately, he is not wrong in this. Between viewing on Tuesday and funeral Wednesday, over 1000 people came to pay their respects to Marilyn Addison. An incredible woman who, as was the theme of her funeral, lived a life of impact.

We could all learn a lot from Marilyn. She had many challenges in her life, from the death of her husband to losing her trailer in 2005 to Hurricane Wilma, within weeks after fixing it up and redoing it after the two hurricanes of 2004, to her declining health, living with Parkinson's Disease for three years, and pancreatic and liver cancer for the past 10 months. But she never wavered. She clung to the only thing she had, we have, that is bigger than death. Christ. And death didn't take her. At 1:05pm on Saturday, September 12, 2008, she was reunited with the love of her spiritual life, her Savior Jesus Christ, and the love of her earthly life, her husband, after almost 40 years apart. An incredible woman. An incredible life.

I owe Marilyn a lot. I remember her before she got sick, when I met her 12 years ago. A spunky old woman full of smile. I remember driving with her a couple of times, which was a joke at the funeral, because you wondered if you were going to survive. I think her grandson Jonathon must have taken driving lessons for her, lol. I remember working in the preschool when my class was in the old building, and we had tvs in the classrooms that, if Marilyn wasn't working, we could put Contemporary Christian music videos on to watch. If Marilyn was working, though, it was all hymns, all the time. I remember family dinners at the Addison's that I was allowed the grace to be a part of. I rememer talking with Marilyn while she was working in the offices. I remember when Marilyn and Frankie would get orony at the women's retreat and nothing but fun ensued!And I have to thank her, above all, for the gift of her son, Pastor Rick, who, with his wife Karon, were like parents to me when I needed it most. I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for them. I credit Marilyn with them, for her strength to raise her children to know and desire the love of Christ, that drives them even to this day.

An amazing woman. Taking the challenges handed to her without complaint, without bitterness, but with the full knowledge that God only does what is best for us. An incredible legacy. May we all strive to leave an impact with our lives that will one day change this world for the better.

"Let it be said of us...while we walked among the living...let it be said of us...by the ones we leave behind...let it be said of us...that we lived to be a blessing for life...let it be said of us...that we came to reach the dying...let it be said of us...by the fruit we leave behind...let it be said of us that our legacy is blessing for life..." ~The Blessing - John Waller

"For those who know the Author of Life, death is nothing more than Satan's dead-man's bluff." ~ Max Lucado

Has the United States Gone Too Far?

I always find, when I talk about the Presidential elections with someone, that what you're most passionate about dictates what you think about and who you'll vote for canidate-wise. It was the same during the Republican primaries. If your main concern was the economy, you were more than likely behind Romney. If your main concern was the war, you were more than likely behind McCain. I'm finding that with the McCain/Obama deal. A lot of Canadians I talk to think Obama is the coolest thing since sliced bread. They don't understand why I don't really care for him. Well, I guess it's because of what my primary concern is. It's not the war, though that's important. It's not the economy, although it affects me greatly. Both of those things take a back burner to my primary concern: morality.

My primary concern this election season is which Presidental team is going to be morally right for our country. Forget the war, forget the economy. I believe a lot of the reason we're in the state we're in now, with the war and economy, is because of the loss of our morality, the basic principles this country, and humanity itself, was built upon. If you really think about it, why did Al-Qaeda target our country during 9/11? They blamed us for the immorality that was ruining their "world". Our Hollywood. Am I saying that if we were a moral country 9/11 would never of happened? Absolutely not; they really wanted to attack us...they probably would have come up with another reason. But our immorality, what we are now letting slide, is attracting worldwide attention.

But this begs another question. Has the United States gone too far? Is there a point that can be passed where we can't go back to the way things were meant to be? The way they were in the beginning? If so, have we passed that point?

Maybe I'm way offbase. But in my mind, I kind of parallel it with a section of Scripture in Hebrews. There is a section of verses in that book that I have never understood, that seemed to violate my beliefs of second chances and the ability to rededicate after backsliding. The NIV puts Hebrews 6:4-6 this way:

4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

I will still confess I don't totally understand that verse. But could this verse fit the principle of going too far? Is it possible to go so far against God that there's no way you can come back? Or is it speaking with the foreknowledge that there are going to be those believers, who know the joys of heaven and salvation, who turn away and go so far that they wouldn't want to be brought back?

If so, to parallel, if I may, has the United States reached this point? We've had it good for a long time, prior to September 11, 2001. We shared in the riches of innocence and power. We tasted the goodness of it. And slowly, through the many decades since the founding of our country, we've very slowly, almost gracefully, moved away from it, until now we are barely recognizable compared to the amazing God-fearing country we were known as. Can we ever come back?

So far, so good...

Recent computer models tenatively laying out the track of Hurricane Ike are pushing it quite a bit further south than before. Most seem to agree that it will either skirt north of or slam into Cuba before going into the Gulf of Mexico. Good news for us, bad news for the west coast. That is, unless Ike nails the west coast of Florida and moves over to the east. That's what Fay did, and we had it worse than the landfall zone did. Because of the angle in which Ike would hit, if he did move across the state, we would be in what is known as the northeast quadrant of the hurricane, otherwise known as "probably the worst area of the storm to be in". This is where most of the tornadoes happen, and most of the rain. So we're not out of the woods yet. And that southerly track depends on the strength of the low pressure trough coming off the US. If it's not strong enough to keep Ike down, he will more than likely head north, sending him our way. It's still too soon to tell. They have started a mandatory evacuation of the Keys, though. Many people around me are getting their houses boarded up, and gas stations are getting crazy. I filled up on my way home today, and I had to go in to prepay (cause it was 5 cents cheaper if you paid with cash). I was the twelfth person in line at a store which hardly sees much business on a normal day. People are starting to worry. One Christian school a bit south of us has already canceled school for Monday. Talk about jumping the gun. I have to admit, though, it was an eerie feeling saying goodbye to my class for the weekend, facing the uncertainty of next week. I just told them we don't know what's going to happen, but to be smart, be safe, and be a help to their families during this time. Hopefully I'll see them in school on Monday, and all of next week. God-willing...

Florida's New Hymn - Pray to the Lord and Pass the Plywood!

So it's creeping ever closer, gathering strength as it nears. Ike. Hurricane Ike. The big one. The "very dangerous Cape Verdes Hurricane"! And wouldn't you know; the year I move back to Florida, and they have the biggest storm of the year mostly pointing RIGHT AT US! Sigh...my lesson plans are so blown for next week.

I know some of you had been wondering if I had plans to evacuate. So here are my thoughts on it. If Ike looms as a Cat 3 or lower, I'm pretty sure I'm staying put. Cat 4 or 5, not much is going to stand up to that, so I have to look at the possibility of evacuating. It's just figuring out where to go that's the problem. Even moving inland, like to family in Deland, may not be of much help, if Ike is going to plow up the middle of the state. If evacuation is in order, then the only logical thing is to go out of state. I just don't know where.......

I'll keep you guys up to date, of course. As long as the cell phones are still going, I'll still be going, lol. But prayers would certainly be appreciated. If you're keeping up on the news, I live in Port St. Lucie, in St. Lucie County. If you saw any coverage on Fay, you would have seen my city up there. We were some of the worst hit with Fay. A lot of Fay-damaged houses have not been dealt with yet. However, if Ike gets his way, we may not have to worry about them for too much longer...Oh, the sense of humor had by mother nature! We'll just have to keep an eye out. More to come as I know of it, lol.

Kentucky Missions Trip, The Rest of the Story

I know it's taken me forever to get the rest of this up here, but here it goes, lol. I just claim insane business. The mission house lost internet after my last post, and we never got it back up before we left. Then I jumped right into school. So here, on the Labor Day weekend, I'm finally getting up...the rest of the story.

Day 5 - August 14th: We went to another elementary school this day. It wasn't nearly as big as the other one (the first, with the bat, being 212 kids; the second, about 50-some), but at least we made it through the whole program! It was the same principal, too, as the first school. Some of the smaller districts have to have a traveling principal, because they can't afford a full-time one for each. She was wondering where our bat was, lol. The kids totally enjoyed the show. They thought it was awesome! After the elementary school, we had quite a bit of downtime, then geared up for a church service that night at the mission house. What a great service! There were about 35 people there, including the woman whose house we were rebuilding, who had never been to a service there before! There were also a few kids from the houses surrounding hers that the building team had been interacting with all week. It was awesome. The church people there are incredible, and they have a heart that could change Jenkins, Kentucky, if they go forth with it, which is seems like they are aiming to do. During this time, someone from the community came to see Bessie and Lester, our hosts, to inform them that they had been chosen to be Jenkin's Citizens of the Year! What a great honor to see them recognized like that, and to really get a feel for how awesome their diaper ministry really is in the community. Praise God!

Day 6 - August 15th: We had two things to accomplish today. The first was a trip to the nursing home in Jenkins. When we got there and unpacked, we realized this was the same group of people who had first stopped to watch us when we were at Wal-Mart! They didn't get to see the whole program, though, so this was their opportunity. We also noticed that this wasn't just a nursing home. It was more a nursing home/mental hospital split. It seemed our audience was made up of people more on the mental hospital side, but that was all right with us. They enjoyed it just the same. The biggest adventure came when we got our 15 passenger stuck in the parking lot! This place was up on a huge hill overlooking the whole town. We kept having to back up and pull forward, but soon got ourselves into a position where we couldn't move forward to turn anymore, and if we moved any further back, we were plunging over the edge! Some of the patients tried to help us, but, given their reasons for being there, weren't able to help much. Finally, the hospital's van driver took pity on us and jumped into the van, maneuvering us out. That was quite the adventure! I have to confess, part of me thought for sure we were plunging over that hill. But we made it back safely, with a story to tell.
The second part of our day, and our last performance of the trip, took place at the community park that night. We did our whole program out under a pavilion, and there were hotdogs and punch to go around. There were about 30 people who turned out for that. It was a great night, with a lot of kids. Some of the kids were from the bat school, so it was great that they were able to see the whole program. After the program, I gassed up the Jeep for the return trip the next morning, and we all spent our last night together at the mission house.

Day 7 - August 16th: The return day. I was not looking forward to this day at all. It meant leaving behind my friends and my "family" again, and not being able to see them for four more months, until I went up there for Christmas. It was hard, but I did well. I didn't cry until I got into the Jeep. We all left at about 6am. They headed up to their hotel in Pennsylvania, and I headed back to Fort Pierce. It took me about 13 hours to drive back home. It went smoothly enough. The lowest gas price I found and filled up at was $3.33. I was pretty stoked at that. Then I hit some traffic in Jacksonville, where the car started acting wicked funny. I have linked it to the cooling fan, which may be traced back to the serpintine belt. I have yet to get it fixed, but it's on the list of things I must do this year.

Final Thoughts: As far as comparing this trip to last year's Kentucky trip, I really can't. They were on two different planes. This trip was a smaller community, which meant that events and programs would be smaller crowds and fewer venues. Corbin, last year's trip, was a much bigger city, and we were constantly on the go. But the goals were the same, and I believe they were accomplished. God was spoken, love was shown, and lives where changed. You can't ask for anything more than that. :)
I also want to send a huge THANK YOU to the people who helped me to be able to make this trip financially. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you. :) And thank you to everyone who held this trip up in prayer. Without the prayers of the many, this would not have had the impact it did. Your reward will be great. :)