When I was your age $20 dollars was only worth $9

OK, you always say I will never say that then you do and want to have the proof to back it up. Well here it is a fun little calculator that will turn any denomination to what it WAS worth! Pretty fun once! Click here.

MORBID REALITY!

I heard of a website today that I was unaware of and thought to be quite morbid. It is www.mydeathspace.com and is a listing of individuals Myspace accounts who have died? See the thing is myspace does not delete accounts for inactivity at this point so this website lists the individuals with the cause of death and a link to their Myspace pages.

The sad thing is that the cause of death is listed and it is amazing the number of suicides, murders and alcohol/drug related deaths! No correlation between having a Myspace account and lifestyle I suppose? (Yeah Right!) If you go through them it seems like most all of them died of this cause, it is truly BIZARRE! Or is it?

I definitely had a sick feeling looking at it and at the same time I felt so bad for all the individuals and their families/friends. If you don't think we live in a lost and dying world then I recommend you check it out!

Finally, the Myspace accounts show the last login, which sometimes is the day of death, along with all the comments from friends and family which is also pretty interesting and sad to read. I just don't understand the motivation of the website to do such a thing? Then again that could be said for a ton of websites out there, so who knows?

THE TOP 25 OF FATHERHOOD!

You find out interesting things when you have sons, like

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Tampa, FL has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. 80% of women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

25. 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

What Influence

Over the past few weeks I have been struggling with the idea of family. As we all have dysfunction in our families it comes as no surprise when things happen, more so from the outside in, meaning aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, mothers, fathers on forward to your own children and spouse.

The hardest part is, the closer it gets to your immediate family the harder it is to deal with and the more painful it can be!

Rachel and I have really battled this past two weeks with a ton of issues, mainly from our son. Often times the pain is too much to bare and it seems hopeless in our own strength.

Yet in the midst of this life I reach for God's word for the "How do I handle this?" and the "What do I do?" God has shown me to stay the course, don't make any sudden harsh moves and believe. OK, I can stay the course and not make any sudden harsh moves, but BELIEVE? Every indication I have had thus far tells me I CAN'T BELIEVE!

Funny how God can use things to teach you lessons. I am reading an article about a study done at the University of Pennsylvania. How do you say "caught and cot" or "pin and pen?" If you say them the same, you may be from the northeast. What does this have to do with the price in tea of china? Well it has been thought that we are loosing the dialects in each region as time goes on. The southern drawl, the nasal talk of the north, all thought to be going away.

So someone was bound to study it and guess what?

They are actually getting worse and more defined by region.

The influences they believed causing a decrease in regional dialect such as transplanting and relocation rates are not affecting the dialects as they thought. NOT EVEN TV is overcoming the influence on dialect, which was considered the greatest influence on dialect.

So what is causing the growth in strength? Family, that's right the influence of family is more powerful than any other influence. Biblically we know this to be true, for some reason scientifically they don't? Well I have to say that was a great encouragement to me cause when you feel all hope is lost and you are beating your head against a brick wall, it is nice to know that the influence My Beautiful(Gratuitous Plug) Wife and I make will surpass the peers, friends, books, teachers, and yes even the television.

The BIG question is this, "What type of influence am I on my children?" If I can confidently answer that question correctly than all I have to do is stay the course, not make sudden harsh moves and BELIEVE!

Deuteronomy 6:6-7:
Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates

I know not all of you have teenagers yet, but those of you who will one day may want to copy, paste and save this post for when you do! Those of you who already do GOD BE WITH YA!

SNAKES ON MY PLANE?

OK, I have to admit it I had absolutly no interest in seeing this movie. When I first heard of it I was like "WHAT?" "You have got to be kidding me!" Well I hear a interview with Samuel last week and I really liked what he had to say about it and thought, this is a maybe rental now. Then today out of the blue I get a call from who I think is my wife from the caller id. BUT no it is Samuel Jackson calling me! That is right the one and only Samuel is calling me to tell me I need to go see his film? I was amazed and stuned at first. Then reality sunk in and I realized it was an interactive recording. Well I could not figure out how I got it, I had talked with some people from work about it earlier in the week, but none of them would lay claim to guilt of sending the call to me? I called my wife and she thought I was nuts. Well low and behold my least favorite brother sent it to me.(J/K about the least favorite). I then went and checked it out and WOW what a brillant piece of marketing. You can really personalize this call and the best part is you can ghost the number so it can come from anyone you want it to! Well check it out it is awesome! http://snakesonaplane.varitalk.com/ Maybe I will go see this film? Maybe not?

"YO HO YO HO A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME!"

That song is stuck in my head after going to the Buc's game on Saturday. I went with my brothers and had great seats as you can see from the photos. We lost to Miami? Well it is just a preseason game? YEAH RIGHT!

My son the celebrity!

Jayden was sent out to 80,000 homes for our church! He is such a ham! That is his phone and he is on it more than I am on mine. Of course it does not have service, though you would not know it from the way he usese it all the time!

"Excuse me madam may I have one of those?"

OK, either Nolla is the only one checking my blog ten times a day and commenting once or? She is the only one who loves me enough to comment and all these other slackers are just loving me and leaving me without commenting? Either way I got a new face today, I did not expect it to take so long, "Sorry Noel!" But, like George I got a new face today! Let me know if you don't like it my wife picked them out. If you do like them I picked them out! Just kidding Rachel has the best taste!

COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU!

LOOK IN THE SKY ITS A BIRD ITS A PLANE!
NO ITS A SURPRISE COMING SOON!
















MAKE SURE TO CHECK BACK????????

IT'S GONe DOWn

OK, So we are back from a great trip in OKLAHOMA "Where the wind comes rolling down the plain!" Here is a little bit of a picture tour of the trip:





Here we are with Grandad, He would kill me if he know I wrote Grandad, fortunately he does not read my blog!










Some of the gang hangin out at Jim and Jen's for a little BBQ!









BOYS BEHAVING BADLY!
AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL FOR THE PARTY "DRY ICE BABY!"







YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW IT FROM THIS PICTURE CAUSE SHE IS SO SKINNY, BUT LINDA IS SEVEN MONTHES PREGNANT! MAKES ME SICK!






FINALLY OUR GRACIOUS HOSTS WHILE IN OK, GEOFF AND LIZA WERE SO KIND TO OPEN THEIR HOME TO US!!!!! MAN THEY ARE GEWD PEOPLE I REALLY MISS THEM AND ALL THE REST OF YOU OKIES!!!




IF YOU WANT TO SEE PICS OF THE BOYS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL GO TO RACHELS BLOG WWW.MAJICFAM.BLOGSPOT.COM
LOVE YA BMAC

NEXT EXIT TULSA? & FACE LIFTED

Well I live in Florida and vacation in Tulsa? What is wrong with me? I know! Well that said it has been fun, hot as hades but fun. Funny how it is ok to say hades but not hell? Anyway, I decided to give the old blog a face lift so let me know what you think? I am going to be in Tulsa this week so if you miss me, come see me! I will be at Starbucks most of the week so you can pay me a visit and pay for my Frap (J/K). Well hope all are well and blessed. See ya BMAC

GOING BANANAS?

If you are looking for a lock on evangelism this is it!!!!

George Clooney My Mentor!

Yes it is true, George has dropped out of the major motion picture industry and started to sell food for US Foodservice. Well OK, maybe not. This is actually Curt my mentor and he is really a nice guy. I was just amazed at how much he looked like George Clooney, what amazes me the most is that he has never heard that and does not see it himself? Crazy or just me? Let me know if I have lost it or what?

Admiration

It is funny how things bring people together, I was talking to a great guy last night that I really admire. When someone says the word "Character" I think of this individual. He has gone through a ton of trials in the past two years, some of which I have been part of, some I was just a spectator to. All the while he has grown and become a great man as a result. He has stepped up and is such an inspiration to me. I look at the controversy he has walked through, the loss and transition all the while keeping strong and true to himself and his beliefs. Until you walk a mile in a man's shoes you don't know, but watching it has amazed me. Well if you get a chance visit Scott's Blog you will be sure to enjoy it! He has blessed me and I am sure he will you too!

I ate some bugs, I ate some grass, I used my hand, to wipe my tears.

My middle son was singing this to me yesterday and it made me laugh! Well I know it has been awhile since I posted and I wanted to give a brief update as to what has been a great paradigm shift in our lives. First I started my new job and it has been a dramatic change from what I am use to. I have worked nights and weekend for the past sixteen years so being off has been awesome I can't believe I did it for as long as I did. It has had a major change to my relationship with the family and really has taught me to appreciate the time that much more. The week prior I got off work everyday by 2:00 PM and was off for four days leading up to this week. The people I work with are great and although I am training it seems like I am really going to enjoy this line of work. We finally got a new townhouse which we are moving into on the 14th of this month. It is really awesome cause not only is it bigger it has a garage and is three stories so we have a ton of storage and room! Then we are going on vacation to Tulsa from the 25th to the 1st of August which everyone is pumped about. Jared made the All Star team and has really excelled at baseball, he loves it and is pretty good at it to boot! Finally, Rachel started a new job with the leasing office in the community we live in so no more waking at quarter to four AM and no more standing on her feet all day. I think she is going to like it for now, but our goal is for her to stop working in the next year. So, I have to say God has really blessed us and we have come full circle. While things always come at a cost it is nice to reap some of what I believe our family has sewn for so long. Well I will try and keep up more as time permits and would love to hear from you as well!
Here are some pics for you all to enjoy!

First Day Squared

Well not only was it the first day at my new job, but it was Rachel's first day as well! I will let her tell you how great it was herself. As for me well I loved it, it could not have gone better! I walked into a conference room with all the Executive VP's and they greeted me with open arms and enthusiasm. It was nice to be working in a high level of respect. The best part about it was the Human Resources person who did my orientation was the wife a my Dean from High School who remembered me! Scary. Anyway, it is odd to think I have nights and weekends and Holidays off? I am still having to have that one sink in, well you know what they say? Cause I sure as heck don't! Well pray for us as we are still going through a ton, we are moving in the next two weeks to a HUGE town house almost twice as big as our current digs and I am trying to find a new used car. God is GEWD all the time!

SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE

OK, for some of you this will be a surprise for others not. I am on my last week at Joe's which ends Friday the 16th YEAH! I start my new job on the 19th which is a great, fantastic, awesome sales job! I work Monday through Friday 8 to 5 through twelve weeks of training then I work out of my home from that point forward my own schedule. I am so sad and will miss all the wonderful people at Joe's and at the same time am excited not having to work nights and weekends or on a schedule. Anyway I thank all of you for your prayers and words of encouragement (Geoff you rock!). Well I will keep you posted as to how things go down and will have some new pictures to post soon!

A SIMPLE REQUEST?

Hey I know people read my blog cause I have a secret hidden counter, even though none of you are man or woman enough to comment. That said I just have a simple request for your sincere prayers right now as we are going through a HUGE time of transition and life changes! Thank you! GOD BLESS US EVERYONE OF US!
BMAC

FUD

Sorry it has been a while since I posted anything worth reading. Well I am back with the FUD. FUD use to mean something different to me. Obviously to those of you that know me, those that don't to bad! J/K. Anyway we have been in a FUD fog lately and I found this article to explain:

FUD was first defined by Gene Amdahl after he left IBM to found his own company, Amdahl Corp.: "FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM sales people instill in the minds of potential customers who might be considering Amdahl products." As Eric S. Raymond writes: "The idea, of course, was to persuade buyers to go with safe IBM gear rather than with competitors' equipment. This implicit coercion was traditionally accomplished by promising that Good Things would happen to people who stuck with IBM, but Dark Shadows loomed over the future of competitors' equipment or software. After 1991 the term has become generalized to refer to any kind of disinformation used as a competitive weapon."
Opponents of certain large computer corporations state that the spreading of fear, uncertainty, and doubt is an unethical marketing technique that these corporations consciously employ.
By spreading questionable information about the drawbacks of less well known products, an established company can discourage decision-makers from choosing those products over its wares, regardless of the relative technical merits. This is a recognized phenomenon, epitomized by the traditional axiom of purchasing agents that "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" equipment. The result is that many companies' IT departments buy software that they know to be technically inferior because upper management is more likely to recognize the brand.

I think it is funny cause the enemy uses FUD in our lives everyday, stay with me I am safe, Good Things will happen to you if you do nothing! Stepping out of your comfort zone is hard, but if you do it, the rewards are eternally greater, OBVIOUSLY ONLY IF YOU CHOOSE TO GROW FROM IT! Many people step out and fail to see anything, but negative, these are the ones that run back to the safe haven before God and say He missed them. When really they missed HIM!

The ones that seek growth before, during and after the trials gain the most and allow God's favor to shine upon their lives. You can't be grateful with out loss. Sux I know, I am grateful for my kids, cause I lost time with them while at work. Again, I know easier said than done, goes back to choice.

Choose joy and it will come! Choose Peace and it shows up! Choose Love and you win! Anger, Bitterness, Unrest, Anxiety, Unhappiness are all choices! The first one comes independently when Joy, Peace and Love are not chosen in your daily walk. Worst yet it will consume your being if you don't choose them! How to avoid it? Pray, read the Word and Praise Him for the littlest to the large!

I look at where I am at right now and geographically it is beautiful, from a personal stand point it is a mine field. It would be easy to choose a ton of things not good for me or my family to focus on here. But I don't, I CHOOSE TO look at the positive, I have a healthy family who loves me (sometimes), loves the Lord and loves each other. No one is going hungry and we are all Growing in ways we never imagined.

I will give you one example of what I mean by GROW (God's Right Of Way) and then I am out! I have been drinking Diet soda my ENTIRE life. If you asked me five years ago would I ever quit? I would have laughed you off so hard its not funny, same is true if you asked me the question six months ago. Now you have to understand I would consume four liters of Diet Soda a Day! Again, if you know me you know that is an understatement. That said, I joined a gym and quit soda because I learned to step aside and give God the right of way in my life as a result of a trial in my life at the time. Would I have done that in OK? I don't believe so because the trial would never have happened there! Anyway, I have never been healthier and felt stronger that today, why? Cause I choose to grow from a situation that sucked!

Hope this inspires you!

Love
B

A Great Friend and Even Better

I am so blessed to have a great friend and even better a true man of God.

This man is one of the most selfless, kind hearted examples of Christ I know. He does not look in things as perspective to his age would suggest.


He is wiser than pastors three times his age the only one close to him is DeVern F. Fromke (which only he would know who that is). This person has really shown me the Lord, Love and Life in such a phenomenal way. I have been shown what true transparency means.


Even though I often argue and get under his skin he never lets that stand in the way of being a true friend. I have seen this man break down and shed tears in empathy of the pain someone is going through in such a true and loving way.

But the best thing about this person for me is two fold, one he is a friend and mentor for life and two I know one day we are going to fulfill the destiny(again no pun intended here) God has called to the both of us.

Even if he won't admit it! J/K OK,not really!

Finally, I got time to spend with him and his awesome wife/pastor along with his incredible boys for a whole week! I love them all so much and really miss them a ton.
Anyway just in case you can't tell from the photos my wife is the good lookin one and he is the young cat to the left of her.

I have to say I really hit it off with Nate Dog as well what a stinkin cute kid! "of course"

Enjoy the pictures!