Thank you all so much!

Thank you all who came to the party, those who couldn't come but wanted to, and for all the congratulations. I am so blessed. To have such a great church and great friends and family. Who could ask for more? I should have taken more pictures Saturday, but I didn't. Honestly I didn't have a good feel for exactly how good my camera is. I took some of my family and they turned out really well. Here are a few.

The whole family. Together for once.

Dad and Mom

Brothers with dad.

The sisters (in-law)

PB and Christie - a great surprise to see them.

Ben, Court, and Chloe.

And a close-up of Chloe of course.

Dad and Luke - They are both so photogenic. I love taking pictures of them both.

My family was all able to come which was amazing. We so rarely ALL get together, that even Christmas is hit and miss. (The oilfield will do that to you.)



To answer a question that I have been asked a lot... So what is next? I have been thinking and praying about it a lot these days off. I was really hoping God would make it very clear like he did with the "No Debt" thing. But He has not. I will be focusing on my house mortgage, and hopefully will have that paid off in 3-4 years. Dave Ramsey (who's course I did not follow, though I probably should have) recommends saving 3-6 months worth of expenses. And though I REALLY want to quit my job now, (so I can be in Bryan/College Station) I don't have anything lined up, the wise thing is to get the backup savings saved. So I have a set amount to save, and hopefully will have that by November or December.

As I have mentioned to some, I know that I am supposed to be teaching in the future. I really have not known what that will look like exactly, and I still do not know. But up to this point I was thinking 3-5 years in the future. As I have this milestone of "no debt" behind me now, I can let myself think more concretely about the immediate future, and teaching really does not seem too far away. I can see myself starting to substitute teach on my days off, and start going back to any school I need this next spring. We will see how God works all that out. So teachers, I may start to ask a lot more questions and advice.

My New Toy!

I was finally able to go out and buy a toy I have been putting off for several years now. I have had the same digital camera since 2002, which was decent, but limiting. So I celebrated my getting out of credit card debt by going and getting a good camera. I was thinking slimline at first, but the zoom is what I was really wanting. So I got a Sony Cybershot, with a 15X zoom, 9.1 MP. A huge increase over my no zoom, 2.2 MP camera. So I got to play around with it a little bit at my nephew's birthday party the other day. Here are some pics:

Here is Gravy questioning my choice.

Gravy, head always propped on something.

Zoom...

And more zoom! I love it!

Zak, the Birthday Boy. Happy Birthday Zak! All of 6 years old.

All the kids, cousins, and friends, straining to see what all is in there.

Here is Lucas, the character. He was wondering why Zak got all the presents, so he kept declaring, "My Birthday." He just couldn't understand.

He was just fine after all the presents were open, and this one was left for him.

Another present utilized by the guests. :) Here is Devin, as The Hulk.

Son, learning from Dad.

I really like this picture of my sister, and it was from 20 feet away! I probably should have used a flash, but I think it works.

And here is Chris, my brother in law, again from 20 feet.

A good picture of mom.

And here is my brother and sister. I am so blessed with my family.

Long Gone!

The credit cards are long gone! I was able to pay off my last credit card today, to become credit card debt free! As some of you all know, this has been a big deal for the past 1 ½ years for me. God had made it very clear that I was to get out of credit card debt, and here I am. It is incredible to be in His will, for once.

I have been planning a celebration party for awhile, celebrating this time. I am inviting pretty much everyone I know. Barney and Joanna have been kind enough to offer the use of their ranch. The details are:

Date: Saturday, August 9, 2008

Time: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Breakfast tacos @ about 10:30, snacks and desserts after that.

Pool and fishing pond are available. Plenty of room inside and out.

Just email me, or leave a comment for directions, and I will get them to you.

If you cannot come that is fine. I can totally understand. Do know that you all are more than welcome.

It's like a brand new truck!

You should try it sometime, just pay off your vehicle, get it washed, and it just feels like new. Great feeling.

God has continued to bless me, and today I was able to pay this truck off early. And this coming Friday, I will pay off my last credit card. That just leaves my mortgage payments. That is next on the agenda.

So to celebrate... I will be hosting an "Out of Debt" celebration at Barneyville. Anyone and everyone I know is invited. It will be Saturday, August 9, 9:00 AM to about 3:00 PM. Breakfast/Brunch will be served. Do come if you get a chance. Every get together out at the ranch is a great time. If you need directions at all, just let me know, and I will email them out to you.

I'm Back, Home and Online

I am back home, and for at least two weeks! I am very excited. Well, very tired at the moment, but very excited about the coming two weeks. I can actually plan stuff ahead for the first time in 4 months.

To do list:
Pay off last credit card.
Pay off truck.
Celebrate!

Buy an "out of debt" celebratory toy.
Have fun with it.
Visit with friends.
Update blog more often.

Catch up errands and household projects.

Lastly, but most importantly seek God for His will for the future. Prayer much appreciated.

Catch Up

Another two weeks gone. It is absolutely amazing how fast time flies. All it seems I do is work and drive. The paychecks are nice, but no consistent time home is a bit tiresome. I haven’t been to my church in the past 6 weeks!

Speaking of church, here are a couple of thoughts… I have had the opportunity to visit a couple of new churches. I am always frustrated at trying to find a new church in the area. I am beginning to think that if they have the adjective “life”, “living”, or “alive” in the name, try those first. I guess they have to have something going on, or they would automatically be hypocritical.

I was able to attend a normal Baptist church, and it seems quite the same across the country. Polite men in suits handing out bulletins at the door. Groups, families, or cliques, sitting from the middle to the back of the church, choir with mostly older people, one song and then the greeting when everybody is friendly for the 30 second greeting time, (primarily with the people they are friends with), hymns, one “contemporary” song (two if they are really progressive), offering, sermon, invitation, baptism of a kid or two, closing prayer, and everybody is off to lunch. Going in as a first time visitor, it is very noticeable how friendly or not people are. It really is no wonder how people get out of church, or are never in, how difficult it is for people to get back in.

It is probably needless to say, but I went to a different church the next week. Now this church blew me away. I was greeted by at least 12 people going into the beginning of the service. Two men gave me their phone numbers, and invited me to their houses anytime I needed a place to get away from the rig. One of the two pastors invited me to lunch afterwards. I needed sleep, so didn’t go, but met with him for lunch during the week. It is amazing what a difference seeing people who really want to be at church and enjoy it is from people who are just doing it for whatever reason.

On other notes: I was able to make a trip to Jonesboro again for the second time. I was able to get a copy of my great-great grandparents marriage certificate. Pretty cool that they let me back into the vault and go through the big binders. I actually got to handle the very same paper they signed! That was pretty cool. To think that they were actually there in that town, walking the same streets over 100 years ago.

Work has been the same, a lot, and a lot of driving. The paychecks have allowed me to pay off two credit cards in the last two pay periods though. That is exciting! I have one credit card left! That will be paid off by August 2. I cannot wait. Next step is a party, a fairly expensive toy (haven’t decided what that will be yet) and on to the final step, of getting my house paid off.

I have been so blessed to meet several people in the last month or so that are out or getting out of debt. Two couples at church at home, and one at church here in Arkansas. I have had several people in the past tell me that it is impossible for people to live without debt in this modern American culture. I beg to differ. Not only am I on my way to doing it, I know people who are doing it! And that is exciting.

Well, I better get some sleep for today. Hopefully I will get off this weekend.

Time

Time is going way to fast. I had 7 days off this last week and it felt like 3. I have been here on location in Arkansas for 4 days and it feels like 2. This is getting ridiculous.

Right now, I get a break here. It is not good, but I don’t have to worry about anything. Our tool is out of the hole, but we are stuck. Right now they are trying to jar the pipe loose, without much luck. We could be waiting another couple of days. What a job.

I am currently on a new rig here in Arkansas, in the east part. A new group of guys to work with as well. I think it is going to be good. I think I needed a change of scenery. I hope this works out, so we can follow this rig. Bad start for this hole unfortunately, but not a lot we can do about it.

Let’s see, not a whole lot new going on. I so enjoy my time in B/CS. No work to worry about, plenty of friends to hang out with. Now if I could just be there for longer periods of time, and still maintain the income, that would be great. We must work to eat I have read somewhere though.

There are some ideas going through my head right now, I will let out sometime in the future. Part of that problem though is they stay in my head, and rarely come to fruition. Please be praying that God will reveal His will for what is next. I have some ideas of what I would like, and hope that goes along with what He wants, but I need to know for sure. I need it to be clear like the no-debt thing.

Well, so much for now. It is morning, so I get to go to bed. I also get to try and find a new church this morning.