Shaun & Rai's miracle day...and life.

Shaun & Rai King are planting a organic church in Atlanta, GA. Only God's grace and mercy have allowed them to see that day. Read about their miracle day and trust God today for the one you may need.

The Fish Smellers

I have a first cousin named Donna. She has a husband named Joe. Donna and Joe have a daughter named Katrina. Katrina has a husband named Bryant. Katrina and Bryant have a little son named Conner. This small family lives side by side in a rural/urban part of Orange County, N.C.

They give great honor to Donna's father Norman who was married to my mothers' older sister Louise. Aunt Louise could take a month of postings alone; let me say this, she was the mother to six kids, a huge number of grand children and a hand full of great grand children, she was a huge life force in her family and her love could bring great joy, she was opinionated and spoke her mind at the drop of a hat. Her cooking continues to be legendary and a social gathering at Aunt Louise and Uncle Normans' house was sure to be a party.

There is a bit of family background.

Joe and Bryant are of course FIL and SIL respectively. They also are serious fishermen. They have a pontoon boat that is built for fishing. They invited my father Louis and me to go fishing with them on Saturday.

I have heard about their fishing trips. These two men claim to be able to smell fish when they are biting. (I am not talking about those guys who cruise around on lakes at 60mph chasing the Large Mouth Bass. Joe and Bryant are after meat fish, something to bring home, clean and then have a fish fry with friends and relatives.)
I never doubted this, I just had never heard of such a thing.

Yesterday morning my father and I met Joe, Bryant and Uncle Norman and headed for a lake in Alamance County. After a 35 minute drive we arrived at a beautiful, tree lined N.C. lake. The morning was bright and cool with a steady breeze. We boarded the boat and were off. Joe and Bryant were talking about coves to get away from the wind. After a fifteen minute cruise across the lake the fishing began. For over one hour we pulled in one good size meat fish after another. Using ultra light tackle a 12 oz. fish puts up a great fight. The wind blew a bit harder and we moved to several other spots and caught a few fish.

By noon Uncle Norman and my father were tired. We returned them to the dock, had a bit of lunch and moved on to another spot. As we entered the cove Bryant simply stated, "I can smell them, they are here." Now, as I took a deep whiff of the air I did indeed smell a fishy aroma in the air.

Needless to say, Bryant was right. The next two hours we caught scores of fish, keeping only the large ones for eating. I now believe that Bryant and Joe could easily have a fishing program on ESPN Outdoors...of course the name would be "The Fish Smellers".

By three o'clock we were back at the home of Joe and Donna, Katrina and Bryant and little Conner. Conner met his father as soon as we arrived and wanted to see the fish.
The live well was opened and Conner saw the abundant harvest from the fresh,clean waters of the lake. A count was taken, the total harvest was 184 fresh water fish caught on a beautiful N.C. spring day.

If you have a Joe and Bryant in your life you are a wealthy person. If you do not have a Donna and Joe, Katrina, Bryant and little Conner, Uncle Norman in your life, you are a pauper indeed.

Thank YOU guys for a great memory and good fishing!!

Thank God for all!

Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. We will be mindful of all the grace God pours on us. We will pray for those who are not with us. Our list of thanks would be VERY long. Enjoy this day with friends and family.

Gwaltney family, we miss having all of you sitting at our table. SGT Josh Freeman, our prayers are with you. SPC Chris Minton, we miss and pray for you, where ever in this world you may be today.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

~George Washington~

Thank God for my Girls

• In January, I will have been married to my wife 25 years.
  
• The oldest is in college, but we are lucky she is local. She is still at home and we enjoy her company each day.
• The youngest is turning into a wonderful young lady and is our budding athlete. We have many years of basketball ahead.
• We truly have a total blast in our home, their is much joy and laughter.
• We experience God's grace and mercy each day.
  

Thank God for Sunday Mornings

I love Sunday mornings. Hot coffee, silence and time to sit and read or blog or walk. As others in the house awake, the noise turns from silence to the sound of a family preparing for a journey. The dogs must be walked, fed and watered. Breakfast prepared and consumed bu the humans. One bathroom used by 6 to shower, dress and such. As the time to meet with our faith community grows closer, the noise rises in decibel level. No one there expects perfection. No one there expects a right or anointed sermon. Just a group of Jesus followers meeting to look at each other in the eye, pat each other on the back, talk about Jesus and the bible and share a meal together. In the process we hope and pray to become and live as missional Christians in a culture who needs to experience the jesus of the bible stories.

Thank God for Coffea Arabica

I thank God for coffee. It has changed the course of America since the Revolutionary War. The best conversations of my life have had this beverage as a voice, speaking through the warm cup and caffeine buzz.

God is also doing some cool things through coffee companies. Check out Pura Vida Coffee Company. They are selling great joe and building God's Kingdom. Read their story, be inspired and buy a 1lb or two for a great cause. If you don't drink coffee, send it to me.

Thank God for Female Curves

As Thanksgiving is on the way, it is time I begin to write my list of things I am thankful for this past year.

• I thank God for curvy women. I was attracted to a beautiful curvy woman almost 25 years ago. Thank God, she is still curvy and more beautiful to me now than 25 years in the past. As this new report reveals, curvy women produce intelligent kids and curvy woman live longer. I can tell you that my wife has done a bang up job educating our girls over the 15 years we have been involved in NC home schooling. As any parent, I deem my kids smarter than yours and in many ways they have a huge leap forward on their dad in the noggin department. Should my wife outlive me, I pray she will find a young man with goobs of cash and spend every dime before she exits the planet;-0 Yep, thank God for curvy women!