The 65/30 Rule Is Still In Effect

What is the 65/30 Rule you might ask yourself? Well, yesterday's temperature was 65 degrees. Overnight we had thunderstorms and drenching rain. This morning it was 30 degrees with freezing rain. Below a few photos of what I woke up to this morning.

Welcome to Northwest Missouri.

Merry Christmas From Across The Pond

This post is to our very special friends in Galati, Romania. They have captured our hearts with their sincerity and sacrifices they face while sharing the gospel. Troy & Karla and their family, Randy & Teresa, Bogdon & Paula and their family, Roland and Lora and their family, and Justin; you are in our thoughts and prayers. May God bless you during this very special Christmas Season as you serve our Lord Jesus Christ in Romania.

Young Dragon Squad Place In Tournament

The Dragons placed third at the Trenton Invitational with seven medalists.

Farewell To Emily

With the cancellation of tonight's dual, Emily wrestled her last match as a Dragon last night. Her family will be moving on Saturday to Sedalia over the Christmas season due to her father accepting another work position located in that city. We will miss her greatly because of her tremendous attitude toward life, the work ethic she brought into the practice room and her preparation toward competition. Emily was a member of the National Cadet Women's team that competed in El Salvador this past summer and also she is a member of the Women's Cadet All American team (both at the 100' weight class). Emily was the first district place winner and state qualifier from CHS last season. Best of luck to you as you compete the rest of the season. A Below are a few photos of her last year and current wrestling season:

Snapshots of Emily competing in the district tournament last season.


Class 1 State Wrestling Tournament 2008...She lost to the eventual state champion first round and the eventual fifth place finisher in the second round of the wrestle backs. This placed her in the top 12 wrestlers in class 1.

Last night's final competition at Chillicothe. Here she is pictured with our varsity 103 pound wrestler Adam. Farewell

Dragons Notch First Dual Victory

One senior and a squad of baby faced underclassmen traveled to Chillicothe to compete against the Hornets last night with only one coach (aka. me) available for the contest. Junior high and work schedules prevented the other three varsity coaches from making the trip to the east. We are looking for our athletes just to be competitive this year since we are extremely young and inexperienced at the varsity level. The final outcome of the dual...48-33 Dragons. Due to inclement weather tonight's dual at Richmond has been postponed until a later date. Below are a few random photos of last night's dual:

One coach (left), one senior (Kemper, right) and a couple of the underclassmen during the dual.

112' Landon (left) and 125' Garett (right)

It's That Time Of The Year

Yes , sports fans, it is that time of the school year for me...wrestling season. November/December consists of daily practice sessions followed by two weeks of competition before the Christmas/New Year's break. The bulk of our schedule is in January with District and State Tournaments in mid-February. This year's team is the youngest I have ever coached in 28 years (1 senior, 1 junior and the rest underclassmen), but there are many talented athletes on this squad. Below are a few random snapshots from our first dual and tournament.

Ah!!!!!!

It was bound to happen sooner or later but I was in hopes that it would have been much later...snow. This is the sight that greeted me this morning when I woke up. It is pretty, but I prefer a hot sunny day!

It Won't Be Long

I looked up into the sky today and saw this jet silently gliding by...I thought to myself, it won't be long and I will be up there watching the world go by.

Fried Bird

If you have never had the opportunity to dine on a fried turkey...you don't know what you are missing. It make traditional ways of preparing the fowl sub power. Below are some photos of my good friend Jeff preparing the bird.

Left: Getting it ready.

Right: Slowly lowering it into the peanut oil.

Frying ... and the temperature being checked.
Oh my!!! Yes, it looks great, and tastes even better!!

Sorry Randy, I can't bring one of these over this Summer!

Beautiful Mess

As you know, I am somewhat a neat freak...everything in its place and everything has a place. However, I must confess that this was a welcomed sight at our home this weekend: Whitney was back for Thanksgiving vacation after nearly completing her first semester at NWMSU. She has a week of classes, a week of finals, and then she will be home for Christmas for several weeks. I am thankful for her room looking like it does...it is great hearing her rummage around the house again.

Kairos IV At CCRC

A foggy Saturday morning greeted us at the main building at CCRC
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This past weekend I was one of the members on the team that shared Jesus Christ to a select group of offenders at CCRC. The offenders selected for this program are, "men that have influence over other men" at CCRC (leaders). The program began on Thursday evening and continued until the graduation for the offenders on Sunday afternoon. Six offenders are seated at tables with three team members. Each table is given a name, for example, The Family of John. The offenders are of many religions or non believers...They are seperated so there are very few in any one family of the same religious background. Our team, a multi-denominational group of men, all share a personal relationship with Jesus Christ...the "label" is not important. There were 29 offenders and 33 team members for Kairos IV. I am once again humbled by the way God has selected me to go out side my comfort zone by being the Observing Leader...I will lead Kairos V this April/May at CCRC. We provide many snacks, food, and beverages (hot coffee, juice, lemonade) they do not get while incarcerated, but better than physical food, we offer spiritual food, acceptance and brotherly love. The main objective for Kairos is forming prayer and share groups within the prison walls where offenders can fellowship together and support each other through tough times. These men will remain in their new family groups when they begin attending Tuesday night call out for a couple of months. After completing the program the offenders have the option to attend or not attend the call out...they get to choose.

This weekend we will return for the follow up with the Kairos IV graduates. The emphasis will be on teaching them how to participate in the Tuesday night prayer and share group. I am interested to see how many attend this Saturday and then how many continue with the Tuesday night call out. On February 7, 2009 will be the reunion for all those offenders that are active in the Tuesday night call out followed by Kairos V in late April into the first of May.

Kairos means "God's time." All events in our life happen in God's time when we are actively seeking God's Will.

Fall Splendor

I snapped this photo walking from one building to another today. I love Autumn but I don't like the season that follows.

A Work, Still In Progress

Goopy Girl shows us the proper technique of spackling the wall.


Here Spackle boy (white shirt) recruits a helper to paint the walls in the youth restroom area.

The newest helper in the youth room, Roller Derby rolls his way around the walls spreading white paint and good cheer.

stay tuned as the project rolls on!

Happy _ _th Birthday Mom

Sunday, October 28, we executed a surprise Birthday party for Pearl (aka. my mother)...She was taken totally by surprise. Below are some photos of her special day. There were many guests from many years ago, when my father was pastor at FBC in Lathrop. It was great to visit with them and reminisce about days past. I have been so blessed to be able to have my mother for so many years. This was a special day I am sure she will not forget for a long time...Love Ya Mom!!!!

The table is ready.

The guests are arriving.

Now our honored guest has arrived.

Pearl talking with one of her friends from many years ago.

Grandma, Grandpa, and the Grand kids.

"Sticking" To It

As I walked into the Youth area at FBC, I heard the sound of a saw...Travis was behind the wheel, cutting tiles. In the rocking chair was Megan...watching.

Hey look mom, two hands (still attached)!

Spackle Boy spackling, Megan fascinated with the white paste that holds the tiles to the wall.

Spackle Boy working, Travis watching as the work goes on

...more to come.

Spackle Boy To The Rescue

Yes ladies and gentlemen for all your bathroom remodeling needs you need the Prince of Porcelain, the Captain of Commodes...You need Spackle Boy (above). He is the newest laborer here at FBC...He along with his side-kick, Goopy Girl (no photo yet) can turn your out dated toilette/bathroom into a work of art! Here he is, preparing to stick it to the wall, transforming it into a masterpiece! Stay tuned for the finished product to be featured here on this blog. To hire Spackle Boy and Goopy Girl to transform your necessary room into a work of art, call this number: 1-800-stickit.

The Sower

I received this via the Arbor e-Devotional today from my good friend Mike Proud...I liked it so much I decided to post it. The parable of the Sower is one of my favorites in the Bible, this take is a bit of a twist (on the parable). I hope this devotional blesses you as much as it blessed me.

Keep throwing the seeds!

GO SOW
(Mark 4:3-9)

I love how the Bible is like a diamond. Each time you behold it you see something new, or at least see something in a new way. If you are like me, you often read the Parable of the Sower and think about its message in terms of the soils, or the growth which does or does not take place. But this morning let us look at this parable from a different angle; let us focus on the sower himself.
What do we know about the sower? All we really know is he went out to sow. Now, I realize this may be a statement of the obvious, but the whole of the parable depends on the sower going out into the field to sow. He is the catalyst for what is to follow. Without the sower there is no parable. Without the sower there is no teaching. And here is the most important aspect, without the sower there is no harvest. It takes the sower to cast seed on the soil before there will ever be a harvest. This is a message which we should take to heart.
Folks, the truth is we will never see a harvest for the Kingdom of God until we go out to sow the seed. Notice something here, the sower's responsibility was not to make the seed grow, nor was it to worry about the type of soil upon which the seed fell. His sole responsibility was to sow. As we take Jesus' words to heart we should keep this in mind; there will not be a rest of the story until we first go out and spread the seed of the gospel! God is faithful to bring growth, are we being faithful to do our part? Let us go sow!

-Dr. Michael Proud

Life 180...Finding God At The Speed Of Life

You gotta check this service out called "Life 180"... Casual dress, contemporary music service, and a challenging message from God's Word.

FBC Praise Band

There will be two more services, the first Saturday of November and December.