Jeff and Randy Road Trip!

Last weekend Jeff and I made a trip to Louisville to see Charles and Linda. Charles has called Louisville home for as far back as I can remember. This small town has changed little over the years.

Charles was busy cooking away when we arrived. He takes pride in all his meals and really likes to cook for others. We had a good lunch of chicken 'n dumplings, fried cornbread, fried sweet potatoes, beans and bananna pudding (bananna pudding is a staple in our family). This is the way my mom cooked while I was growing up. After lunch, there was lots of talk about food, eating healthy, recipies & doctor visits. From that lunch you can tell that eating healthy was only a small part of the conversation.

What a surprise! He had invited Charleen (his daughter) and her mom (Marie). My dad's sister Frances dropped in for a while. While we were waiting on Charleen, he called Margaret (Bobbie) Beckam to come over. She is his neice and it was great to visit with her since I hadn't seen her in about 14 years!

Pictured below: Charles, Linda, Jeff, Charleen, Bobbie, Marie and me.

Charles feeding the scraps to the dogs.

Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted. - Garrison Keillor

There never was a child so lovely, but his mother was glad to get him asleep.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finally a new Post!

Jennifer emailed me today to say that my blog needed updating...that it is too old. Well....plllbbbbb. I know! I am terrible at keeping this up so I will try better.

The best thing to talk about are the two grandkids. Everyone around me is sick of hearing about them (except Mindy). They will have to get over it. The only other thing I've been doing is work and eating and sleeping.

More Old Photos....

While looking at pictures we also found one of Jonas at 8mos. Amazing!

A really nice weekend.

This was a great weekend to re-charge for the coming week. I can't remember when we've had better weather in July. It seemed as though a football game was going to break out Saturday afternoon. We spent the day Sunday attending the church service, taking a nap & then painting the deck at the lake house.

Also, we found a couple of pictures of Jennifer at roughly the same age as Nicklas. Here are their pictures.

Think they are related?

Last Sunday's Service

Sue and I traveled to Lebanon, Ohio last weekend to be a part of the IMB appointment service for Jonas and Melissa. Let me start by saying how proud we are of both of them and their commitment to serve. We know this decision was made after much prayer and the job ahead will be a difficult one. They are both so committed to their beliefs and with much love they will be successful in spreading the Gospel to the people they meet.

We were able to keep Luke last week while they attended a conference. He was a good traveler up to Ohio and home. It's going to be tough now seeing him when they move. (sigh!)

Urbancrest Church sponsored the service this year and they treated us so very kindy. The congregation turned out to be a big part of the service and threw a party for eveyone there (See Jonas and Melissa's blog for some pictures). Melissa even commented that they treated them "like rock stars". We were awestruck at the kindness and "opened arms" of love.

The service was very inspiring and it was a treat to hear Dr. Rankin's challenge to the appointees and to the church. Each of the appointees had a few minutes to share a bit of their testimony about their calling. Jonas and Melissa drew the short straw and had to go last. Of course, everyone's testimony was a tear-jerker and by the time J&M got to speak even they were emotional. That's what we love so much about them...it was obvious.... the love they share for the cause of Christ and the people they will be serving.

One of the songs they sang in the service was performed by the choir, praise team and small praise band/orchestra (they only had 5-6 people in the orchestra). The sound was amazing and very inspiring. The song is titled "Not Unto Us". It was the first time we heard this song but it is certainly one of the most beautiful in music and lyrics. I've been hearing this song in my head all week so I looked it up and, sure enough, there is a video on YouTube! This video is almost as good as the performance last Sunday. You have to hear it live! This is one of those songs that make you want to jump in praise. Enjoy! (there is a short introduction that is not necessary.

Click on the picture for a supersized view of this good looking kid!

Thursday with Luke!

We have sooooo enjoyed having Luke this week. He's been great and had a lot of fun playing, singing, exercising (Baby 1st TV) and visiting. Luke came by the store again today for a visit and got to see Mindy. She was just short of kidnapping him from us and Luke really took to her. Mindy is a baby magnet; they all love her. Tomorrow Nana plans to take Luke to the pool and for a ride in the "red wagon" with Oscar.

I just woke up and I'm ready to play!

Playing with Nicklas.

Helping cousin Nicklas explore.

Drooling all over my new toy!

Yep, she WAS mad.

Out and about...

Luke and Nana came by the store for a visit. Actually, Luke was here to see Mindy. She was out on delivery and missed them.

She will be mad.

Having fun around town!

He's Baaack!

I'm having a ball with Nana.

Playing with his new toy from Gammy.

Listen, Papa. I have to tell you something!

Luke is here for a short stay while Mom and Dad attend a conference. First, he visited Gammy (Melissa's Mom) for a few days and had a great time. She left him with us Tuesday morning and he played with Nicklas for a while and they were happy to see each other. We've been playing, napping, eating & having fun. We will post pictures often.

Paul

Sue and Paul went apartment hunting this afternoon and found a place near his new job. Paul has been living with us for several weeks since moving back to Georgia. Job hunting finally paid off with his recent hire at Fry's Electronics. (Yes, he's working for the competition.) He is finishing up his second week working in the wireless department selling wireless phones and accessories. Today he found out he is being moved to the appliances department which is where he wanted to be in the first place. So that is excellent news for him.

Since he is currently without a car, he will be walking to work each day. There is a bus stop at his new apartment but it does not run after 7:30pm so he may be walking if he works late. The plans are for him to move in to the new apartment the weekend of our beach trip.

He's pretty excited about the new job and seems to like the apartment complex. So this is a real plus for him.

Boring Wednesday!

Business has been a little off lately and today is one of the slowest we've had in a while. Vacation is only a few days away and I'm looking forward to spending time with the family. I'm not much for the beach but I am in to spending time with my wife, kids & their spouses, grandsons and NOT WORKING. So it will be a great week anywhere we go.

Since it is slow I've been looking for more interesting music videos. Again, I found another one that you need to watch. This was recorded 32 years ago. What a great song. I was only 14 when the song first came out in 1970 and it has always been one of my favorites. Yes, that really is Elton John!

Let it rain........

Lake Hartwell all but dried up for us over the last part of 2008 and I have to admit that I was pretty negative about having enough water for lake use this summer. Hartwell reached a low of 24 feet below full pool around the first week of December, 2008. Due to the corp attemps to help the lake recover and good rainfall we are now just under 4 feet of full pool. Look a the difference 6 months of normal rain makes:

I will eventually post something else other than stuff about music. But since it's my blog.....well, you know. Of all the oldies music I like, I have to say that the Beach Boys never made the grade. All the songs about surfing and driving groovy cars and racing just never did it for me. They were America's answer to the Beatles but I felt they failed miserably. Their best surfing song was 'California Girls' which is okay but, again, is about surfing. Not much of that goes on in Georgia. There IS one song that really stands out and honestly is their best. I did a little research and found out that this was one of the first pop songs to have God in the title and Brian Wilson struggled with the idea. I think it is a really nice love song and was way ahead of it's time. I was 10 when this song came out in the summer of 1966. Let me know what you think.

Video of the Day!

That week went by FAST!

This last week went by so fast. We drove up on Saturday to meet Melissa and Jonas in Charlotte to bring Luke home. They were so excited to see him after attending a week-long conference. Sue and I really appreciated the opportunity to keep Luke and really get to know him. Sue has been with him several times in NC but there were a few things I discovered about him this week:
1) He sleeps flat on his back with hands over his head.
2) The third toe on his left foot is lower than the others.
3) He boy loves to smile :) I mean it is real easy to make him smile. Needless to say I took full advantage of that.
4) When he is hungy, he is really hungry. You can't get the bottle ready fast enough.
5) When he eats, the hands go over the head and he'll grab whatever he can find and holds on.
6) He likes to watch TV. We would have to turn it off to get his attention.
7) He wakes up ready to play and was our favorite time of the day with him!

Melissa left us a routine (nap/feeding times) for him to follow for the week. She was right-on with his schedule and we followed it as close as possible. She's a great mom.

It is exciting for us to see the two of them grow as parents and we are thankful and proud of them.

BTW, I did change one diaper.

Luke Day Four & Five!

Luke had a really nice Wednesday staying at home all day with Nana. They played and had a really nice day. Luke is very active and loves to play with all the toys, jump in the swing and watch TV. He's like his dad. He will stare at the screen and you can hardly get his attention.

This picture and video was taken right after bathtime!

Gay and Carly (and their new puppy) came by for a visit on Thursday. You know that with 2 grandmas around he is really on his way to being spoiled rotten.

He has been making us smile all week with his laugh!

Here's Luke and Nicklas getting to know each other.

Luke Day Three!

We are well on our way to totally spoiling Luke as all good grandparents should. He had a very busy day today starting with Kindermusik, lunch with Papa & a playdate with cousin Nicklas. Nana met Robert, Jen & Nicklas for Kindemusik and the boys had a blast.

Giving Nicklas a hand.

Singing along with Auntie Jen!

Robert, Jen & Nicklas came over later in the afternoon for some playtime.

Luke Day Two!

Luke woke up this morning ready to play. He got to spend the entire day with Nana. They took a walk and met the neighbors and spent plenty of time playing with all the toys normally reserved for Nicklas. He didn't nap too much today but that's because he's excited to be here. I can tell you this.............Nana had a really nice day! I think Luke is having a blast.

Watching TV in his "baby recliner".

Luke is here for a visit!

Sue and I have been looking forward to this week for quite a while. Jonas and Melissa have a conference to attend this week (without kids) and we get a visit from Luke for the week. We met J&M for lunch today just north of Charlotte to make the baby exchange. The first thing I noticed is how tall he has gotten. Jonas informed me he is in the 92nd percentile for height for his age. After lunch we packed him up and it was off to the lake house for a couple hours and then on to Winder. Luke travels very well and Nana played, sang & entertained him all the way home. We had a moment in the hammock while at the lake and discovered his ears. We are soooo crazy about our grandsons!!

Nice Day!

I celebrated my 53rd birthday on Sunday. April is so full of birthdays...so many and so little time! Jeff (March 30th), McKenzie, Leanne, Jonas & I all have birthdays within a 2 week period. McKenzie actually has 3 each year. She celebrates her actual day and then has two parties (one for kids and one for adults) on the weekend after the actual day. It gets rather confusing.
We slept in this morning and went to the late service at Hebron. The praise team sang "I Will Rise". That was pretty cool since I had just posted this song on the blog. They bundled the chorus of "It is Well" at the end. I believe they did that just for my birthday. It was very moving and Larry preached a rousing sermon on the power of the cross to get us ready for Easter.
Jonas called in the afternoon and Sue, Jen, Robert & Nicklas took me to eat dinner at Logan's. You might think that's no big deal but I like Logan's and nobody else does. "It's the peanuts", I keep telling them.
Facebook is good about telling everybody about your birthday. I did get lots of birthday wishes from friends new and old. Days like today make me very thankful for my friends and family. I am thankful even though one of them called me an "old fart". Some people have no class but can be great friends.

"I Will Rise" new anointed song!

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say, "it is well"

These are the opening words to the song "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin that is the latest song to make my "anointed song" list. I especially like the reference to "It Is Well With My Soul" (my favorite hymn). This is one of those songs that puts me in a worshipful mood even while driving along in the car. Music moves me and this one is awesome. Watch this really nice video that features this song. I Will Rise

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

There is never enough cake in a marriage!

Another song from Coffey.

Holy is the Lamb Here's another inspirational song from Coffey Anderson. Listen!

Oh how things have changed.

Jennifer freaked out last week when she discovered that she had driven about 25 minutes with Nicklas "unbuckled" but in his car seat. I didn't quite understand why she got upset and it was such a travesty but then I realized that times have changed. When I was a kid (I know you're tired of this) parents didn't have all the "helps" from the experts they have today. There weren't as many laws about transporting children or as many books to tell you how to raise a child. I do believe it is safer to have your kid buckled in, tightened down in his DOT approved traveler and snapped in the special carrier and I'm glad these items exist. As parents, Sue and I worked diligently to see that our kids were safe. When we were kids, however, things were much more simple:

1) We traveled in a "carry-all" unbuckled and in the FRONT seat.
2) When my dad put on the brakes he would reach over and hold me back since there were no seat belts in the car.
3) Spread a blanket on the floorboard behind the front seat and you have a nice little bassinet.
4) It was really comfortable sleeping in the back window of the car (and warm, too).
5) Riding a bike without a helmet is much more fun.
6) Learning to swim? My dad threw me out of the boat and yelled "swim"! This is a true story.
7) Get dirty? We played in the dirt just about every day! Our clothes were permanently "brown" from dirt. We played outside and watched very little TV.
8) Diapers were made of cloth and Mom washed a load of them every day. No one picked them up and cleaned them for her.
9) I could say "NO" to my parents but the result would be s swift slap on the bottom and lots of tears.
10) Momma loved on us a ton and discipline came from Dad.

The world is a different place today for sure. We have adapted to be safe and that is a good thing. I can't wait to throw Nicklas and Luke in the lake and yell "SWIM"!

Anointed Song

Matthew West is fast becoming one of my favorite Christian musicians. I really liked his song Next Thing You Know but the best so far is Only Grace. This song is an excellent synopsis of the Gospel in music. My favorite lines are "There is no blame. What happened yesterday has disappeared. The dirt has washed away. And now it's clear, there's only Grace." Watch, listen and enjoy. Only Grace

Coffey Anderson (pronounced cafe) is showing up on GodTube and YouTube with some pretty good videos. Give this guy a camera & a guitar and you've got a worship service. This song does not make my anointed list but is very inspirational. Here's Coffey and All Ye!

If you are a DAD, you MUST watch this video!

Anointed songs (and one rap song)!

Many of the songs we are hearing on Christian radio are making their way into church worship services. I like it because I can be reminded of worship even while driving. Many of these songs really speak to the heart and are especially moving. I've been making a list of songs that I consider anointed songs. I have an actual "anointed song list" paper that write down the titles on as I hear these songs. You know what I'm talking about. These are ones that really move you in such a way that causes you to worship whenever and wherever you hear them. They might also speak to you in a way that even the best sermon can't. I consider them "anointed" since it is easy to see God's hand in the writing and performing of these songs. They are just as anointed as some of the hymns that mean so much to us. It takes more than just a catchy chorus to make the list, too. It has to praise, teach, convict or stir the soul. Here is some of that list along with a rap song. Yes, I said it. Rap! Let me explain.

Lose My Soul by Toby Mac
Let's get this straight; I really don't like ANY rap song. Maybe it's because of my age? I can only make fun of rap music. I don't consider this an anointed song but I really have to give this song kudos for the message. You won't hear this in a worship service (contains the word "pimp") but you can soak in the message and I dare you to listen to it and not hear the chorus in your sleep. My favorite line, "Since I got that call, no more Saul, now I'm Paul". It even contains a prayer about 3 minutes in. Really nice. Listen to it now. Click this link: Lose My Soul. Now on the the real good stuff.

In Christ Alone
I was first introduced to this song in worship by John Cotten at FBC. Right from the start you knew this song was something special. This song is fairly new, written in 2001. It is a capsule of the the entire gospel and when sung in worship, you can't help but get stand-up, hand raising excited about what God did for us. I am especially fond of it because of the reference to Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Take a minute to listen and read the words of this inspiring song. Turn it up. Soak it in. Let everyone around you hear it. Click this link: In Christ Alone. This is a really nice version by Adrienne Liesching of Benjamin's Gate.

East to West by Casting Crowns
It's all about Grace! Amazing Grace is the only other song that comes this close to really explaining the Grace that is our through Jesus Christ. You probably won't be singing this in a worship service, but you can really worship all by yourself with this one. There is one line in the song that speaks to me; "I'm not holding on to you But you're holding on to me." That's a beautiful picture of Salvation. The only problem is this song got so much radio play that it lost it's luster (there is another on the list that got "over played"). Take a minute and listen to East to West like you did the first time. Hey, these guys are from McDonough, Georgia!

Mighty to Save by Hillsong United
I can't think of a better song to be singing in a worship service. I first heard this song at a service at Foothills Community Church in Seneca in 2005. Sue and I were blown away by the excitement it brought to the service. We heard it on the radio on the way home and started singing in the car (I annoy everyone when I do that, I'm sure). Hillsong United has a really nice video of Mighty to Save.

I'll reveal more on the list later. What do you think should be on the list? email me at ranshack@windstream.net