The Other Side of the FISH

Hello Again

2007-11-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess you thought I wouldn't be back. But, here I am, like it or not, lol. Hopefully the answer is positive. I have to apologize for the long absence from the blog scene.

My life since last post has been simple, but interesting in many ways.
I have been working in a "sheltered" life while in the television field for 6+ years, in the engineering section. Most people I dealt with were Christian, and this was the world I was in.

After leaving television and broadcast engineering field, I went to work in a convenient store to help a friend and of course to continue trying to pay the bills. In this realm of life, I have met lot's of people from lot's of walks of life. I have realized from getting to know these people and some of their lifestyles, what kinds of lives they are living. I have also learned how bad and widespread the drug problems are in our own neighborhoods. Unfortunately, in a small city like ours, there's enough illegal drugs and pot to supply the entire population of our city and more.
It's a heart ripping experience to see how these people live for their next fix, or the next sales of those looking for it. It's also unusual, the fact that I am authorized to carry a gun while on duty, and quite frankly, I wouldn't be working there without one. I have taken firearms training from the county sherifs dept. from the same officer who trains deputies and city police officers. I'm confident in my skills and did extremely well with my training. But you always have to keep the thought in the back of your mind, Will this be the night that some crazed drug addict is gonna come in the door shooting at me before I have a chance to pull my weapon? You never know, and since now it is being advertised in the local papers, that "this is the beginning of the robbery season" getting more active during the holidays. Unsuspecting people are being robbed more and more by people posing to be someone they are not. Leaves are falling, people hire others, sometimes strangers, to get them up. The strangers somehow make their way into the home, and demand more money than agreed on, and/or take articles from the home, and the elderly can't stop them. God said, it's in the bible, that it will get much worse before the end. It's looking like it's getting nearer.

I've also seen some things happening in the church that I was a part of for 10 or so years.
People with money who seem to look like angels with their large monetary donations to the church, become favorites to the people/leaders who are blind and don't see what's coming. They(the church)is also holding elections to the board with only a few favored people present to vote. Not when everyone is there during the main service. this stacks the deck for the monetary favorites! Thus, people who absolutely have no business being on the board, sre elected on "Favoritism"! Is favortism supposed to have a say in this? I don't think so. Also in the Bible you will find that these are the ways that Satan disguises himself. Makes himself appear to be an angel. Now the church is so "gung ho" into trying to bring in more money to the church in many different ways, that it is leaving behind, the original faithful members whose standards and beliefs were what built the church and what it stood for. Now, who cares as long as they bring money, and in large amounts.
The church and it's members are supposed to stand by and uplift their brother man. But when something negative happens to a member/church leader/ BROTHER IN CHRIST, HE WAS CAST OUT OF THE CHURCH by these so called leaders, including the pastor. This has happened other times too.

GOD, nor JESUS, EVER told anyone to turn your back on your brother!
In this respect, You are no better Christion than the one you cast out and turn your back on! It is not right for the man to be cast out, rather stand by him and uplift him. Throwing your problems away DOES NOT SOLVE THEM! And guess what, when your brother has a problem, it is also YOUR problem. He is YOUR BROTHER IN CHRIST, AND HE IS FAMILY! AND I KNOW YOU WOULD EXPECT THE SAME FROM HIM now WOULDN'T YOU?

How dare you call yourself a Christian, and you act like this?

I have not attended this churh in about a year and a half now. A few months back, I was invited to visit another church. This hasn't been the only one, but this one stood above the rest.
This church member visited me regularly at the store I was working in, and invited me repeatedly to come with him. I finally agreed. I hadn't been to church for some time now and I was certainly missing it. I was accustomed to being a working member of the church heading up the technical end which now I had been shunned away from.
What was interesting about the invitation from this man, was the fact that I am a white man, and he was black. It didn't even bother me that I thought I was probably going to a predominantly black church. He also came by one day before I was to go for my visit, and asked "hey, did I hear you say that you played bass guitar with a gospel group and a praise band"? I said yeah, I did, but not playing any now. He said, in that case if you want to play, we also need a bass player, so bring your bass with you too. I said I don't know but I'll think about it. I saw him one more time before going and he asked if I was going to bring my bass, and I felt I was up for the challenge, and told him okay. After going to this church for a few weeks, I could see that this church, being a small church, was filled with people who are really ALIVE in there praise to God. And also really alive in their love for other people in the church, no matter who they are or where they came from. It was also comforting to know that I was not the only white person in this church, although there were only one or two others most of the time. IT DIDN'T MATTER!
My wife started going with me, and liked it as well. The sermons, the praise and worship, the music, the people are alive! YOU KNEW YOU HAD BEEN TO CHURCH THAT DAY DO NOT SLEEP through a service!
This church and several others in the area are combineing services with each other at different times, so this is another outreach for to other churches, and even other denominations to worship together. I a simple statement, "The doors are open, and you WILL BE LOVED, No Matter WHO YOU ARE! You will be judged by CHRIST< and not by any man.

I thank God for everything. Including being shunned by the pastor, and the so called leaders of the church. I was able to find a true church, whose primary purpose is to worship GOD, and to love everyone. To UPLIFT your brother, NOT TO THROW HIM OUT THE DOOR AND STEP ON OR OVER HIM ON YOUR WAY OUT! I was bitter towards my old church leaders for some time, but in God's grace, I have forgivven all. I have grown leaps and bounds in the last several months. And I pray that I continue to do so. I have been Graciously accepted at a church that actually still has Values and Priorities still in place.

GOODBYE TWC.

Mmmm,

2007-03-24T09:38:00.000-04:00

I suppose I've been slacking on the posting lately. Although there has been a lot going on in the last few weeks. Mainly, job opportunities. I have been presented a couple of jobs in the last 6 to 12 months which required moving out of state.

One of them I wanted and was waiting for the first opening, but it still isn't open. The other was taken because I didn't move on it. I prayed about it, and it seemed better to stay put at the time. But now I am faced with the need to find a job ASAP. I am in contact with one the one I originally wanted to go with, but it's not worked out yet. In the tv business, usually no one stays in the same place for very long. So it finally became time for me to leave the station and the network I was working with. So I am at the point where I may have to take a job in a different field, at least temporarily. Really shouldn't be that bad for me since I have been blessed with having several different professions before this one. So I'll be out Monday trying to land one of them. I have a couple of possibilities to go to. I've have had a few side jobs and I have some things I need to sell and get rid of since I don't use them anymore. But money is starting to get t really thin now.

Also, my house and land are up for sale, so I've been looking at places to move into locally, at least temporarily. There's stuff that needs to be hauled away and dumped that I won't take with me wherever I go from here. However, I really need a trailer to haul stuff on now, and it would come in handy for hauling my mower. That could also be another source of income as the grass is starting to grow again.

So, we just pray for God to open doors for us and put us where He wants us to serve.

Later.

a little warmer,,,

2007-02-21T10:42:00.000-05:00

Hey there!
Isn't it great that the cold is finally come and uh, going? Not quite gone, but kinda sorta gettin' there? I see a warm lite at the end of the tunnel! YES! So now back to thinking about things I can start getting done outdoors. In case you can't tell, I'm giddy. Feel like I've been hiding indoors all winter. Now, it's time for a major breakout !!! I suppose I should start planning things to do in order of priority, right? Aw come on, where's the fun in that huh? Just go for it! That would be more fun now, wouldn't it? Okay, back to reality, I actually am starting my list. Even though most are just things that need to be done, some can actually tickle the fun side too.

If you have one of these lists, or a re gonna make one, or your spouse or significant other is making or has made one for you, I hope at least some of it is enjoyable.

Later.

ouch,,,

2007-01-30T19:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, I got my hand smacked for not posting lately. For good reason too.
I've been busy, tired, busy, doing things, and , did I mention, , , busy?
Yeah, well, I've been busy looking for, and preparing for, , , yeah, "snow".
Unfortunately, some would argue with that, but we haven't had any to speak of.
1 inch one day, next day it was gone. That's it for this year so far. I know some of you
would laugh and say they wish I had what they had. And no, I don't want your cold or flu,
thank you very much!
But I remember seeing snow knee deep and loving it! The only problem was the fact
that when you spent all day shoveling the driveway, the snowplow comes by and leaves a wall
as high as your head! Oh well, gonna miss 2 more days of work! Or this happens on Friday
and you suddenly realize what your weekend is gonna be. Definitely, not what you planned!
Oh yeah, we were supposed to go grocery shopping tonite huh, time to get inventive.
So, I am starting to think about cutting grass again. I see that some people already have!
Now it finally turned cold enough to start losing those thoughts! What next? Probably more ice storms and frozen water pipes. Oh well, I guess I can keep wanting to mow grass again.
Probly won't get to do that for awhile either, lol.
So I'll take what I get until I finally, maybe, I get what I want, sometime close to when I want it!
I hope what you are waiting for comes your way.

Later.

Happy New Year !!!

2007-01-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Now that all the decorations are down and put away, we move on to a new and hopefully a better year.
The guy that painted decorations on my vehicle came by as promised to remove the paint and clean my windows again. Only problem now, I have to go and wash the entire vehicle. But at least it paid off to wait to wash it. We've had tons of rain, and I had to go to a tower site for our TV station down through a farm, pastures, plowed fields, huge mud holes, a pond of water knee deep and as wide as a 4-lane road. Real mud boggin' for fun in my 4-wheel drive!
As it rained more since, it washed the red mud off the windshield, top, and the hood. So now I'll just go wash the bottom and sides, right? Okay, wishful thinking huh? Oh well, time for a complete detail job anyway. Can't get out of it this time I guess.
Now the sun is out, and it's crazy warm, and no excuses. So off I go to the car wash!

Later!

BTW (back to work)

2006-12-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

Didn't really wanna go back to work today, but unfortunately, the best holiday of the year doesn't last the whole year! So I've been told, but I like like to keep it in mind all year anyway!
Funny though, we didn't take any pictures this year. It was so quiet, just the wife and I. So we really didn't make a big fuss over anything. But it was nice. The only thing we missed was having family with us. All the kids are in different countries. Except our daughter, who is in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida which could almost be considered another country! It's still 900 miles away, and the lifestyle is totally different from ours! Oh well, I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
Later!

It's Finally Back

2006-12-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my camera finally arrived. I had to check the serial number to verify that it was the same one I had. They made it work better than before, and cleaned everything while it was apart. Also replaced viewing screens with new lenses.
I quickly found something to snap pictures of. As you can see, my blazer is decorated for Christmas and as I travel down the highway everyday, I get lots of stares! Which tells me that others are enjoying it as much as I.

So as I leave this post with my wreath in the wind, I hope everyone is getting ready for the real Christmas. Later.

Survivors,,,

2006-12-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, it looks like we all survived the Thanksgiving holiday, and switched immediately to shop 'till you drop for the Christmas Season. I for one, didn't get enough turkey. But lately, it seems that more and more turkey soup keeps showing up! Oh well, go figure! I suppose the Christmas ham will show up right on time. We, well my wife, got our tree up in it's place and some presents under it already, so I suppose we got a good early start. I know that looks bad that my wife got the tree up alone, but I have had extra projects that I had to take care of, on top of working 6 days a week. Good thing it's a prelit tree, so it was easy! And I have been doing other Christmas projects too. No pictures yet, but some good news, my camera has been shipped back to me and should be here by the middle of next week. I can't wait to star clickin' again. I haven't been able to make myself go buy 35mm film for my other camera, so I guess I'm spoiled and fully converted to digital! Until next time everyone, Keep takin' the rolaids for a bit longer to get over the turkey! Later.

The Day of The Turkey!

2006-11-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

I will start by wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
I have to work part of the day, and I hope no one else does. Today is a day to spend with family and significant others. Well, My wife and I are spending it together once I get home from work in a couple of hours. Everyone else is to far away this year. the first year we have spent the holiday with just the 2 of us. Yet we still went out and bought the biggest turkey in the store! I can see it now, 3 meals of turkey 48 different dishes and recipes, how many different ways can you eat/serve turkey? We have a few of our own, and I have a feeling we may get some suggestions on this, and that's okay. It would be interesting to see how many different ideas we can collect and share. So I leave you with this question,

" How many different ways would a turkey like to present itself on the serving tray?

Happy binge-ing!

Putting it off again,,,

2006-11-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

I've been holding back again! Wanted to use new pics but my camera won't co-operate. Actually, won't even operate at this point. So after talking to the folks at factory service, I was advised to send it to them. So at this point, it just arrived in sunny California. This is the first time that my camera ever took a trip without ME! They are supposed to check it out and get back to me with the diagnosis. I hope it's not bad. It is possible though, that it will fall under a prior service advisory, and could be repaired for free. THAT would be great. So I am hoping. Oh well, I suppose I can still post old pics until that's worked out. I believe it will be another 2 weeks or so. But until then, we have a BIG turkey to contend with this week, so we'll concentrate more on Giving thanks for what we have. We all have lots to be thankful for. So I leave you with this, and no pics this time.

Who is THAT!

2006-11-09T13:58:00.000-05:00

I know it took me long enough, Okay, too long, but here is another puzzler for you. A few people might have an idea what the deal is here, but most will just have to guess at it.

Again, I apologize for my long absence from posting, but I'll try to stay on track now.

Fall Back

2006-10-28T11:20:00.000-04:00

That time of the year again! Roll the clock back, and get that extra hour of snooze back!
Some people say it doesn't effect them at all. Others say it messes them up for days, weeks, or months. Me? Well, It messes with my sleep schedule for a day or two, and have to get used to having daylight again or dark again. But only for a few days, and then it's norm for me. I suppose as much as I don't care for change beforehand, I do adapt quickly.

How about you? How does it effect you? Good or bad?

Opening View

2006-10-18T21:33:00.000-04:00

Howdy! How's this for the first thing you see?
It could be a,,,, or a,,,,, or maybe an,,,,,