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Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– Let’s roll.
– I got off work like 90 minutes earlier than normal this afternoon.
– I’m actually away from the office all this week in a network security class.
– I knew next to nothing about this material when we started on Mon. AM.
– Now I think that I can pass the big test first thing tomorrow morning.
– That was the goal of this training – to pass the big test.
– It’s material that has next to nothing to do with my daily job.
– Next week I go back to the wonderful world of MONEY !
– That’s my real job is all about – the ‘dolla-dolla’.
– Like – you know – like – you know – like – you know – like – you know – like …
– That was my impersonation of a 16-year-old kid talking.
– It’s gonna be a nice and peaceful and relaxing weekend starting tomorrow.
– I’m hosting the 9 AM service again this Sunday morning at Life Pointe Church.
– That means Scripture study on Fri. and compilation and rehearsal on Sat.
– Next weekend I’m embarking on a nice little road trip not too far north.
– The furthest north I’ll drive is the A1A on Fort Pierce Beach.
– I’ll be visiting a large chunk of Florida that I’ve never seen before.
– I’ll also be checking out Lake Okeechobee for the first time ever.
– Less than 3 weeks after that I’ll be flying to Dallas Texas to visit my family.
– My niece is due to enter this world sometime in the next 15 days !
– I want to be known as the ‘lovable’ uncle – not the ‘scary’ uncle.
– Happy Birthday to my lovable sister-in-law who turns 29 this Saturday !
My little baby brother turns 35 in a little over 2 weeks.
– I’m just about 50 days away from turning 43 (an odd age).
– People that don’t know my age usually think that I’m in my 20s or 30s.
– Of course there are the anomalies.
– Like that lady that thought I was a teenager over in Estero last month.
– Flattery will get you nowhere you cougar !
– Hear Me Now !  I am serious about buying a modern new cell phone !
– I actually watch intently all of the cell phone commercials on TV now.
– My bud Jonathon told me to donate my current cell phone to the Smithsonian.
– I have a Seiko watch that they may also be interested in.
– I like to rock it ‘old school’, but there’s a certain point where it’s just time.
– It’s just time to say ‘good-bye’ to a longtime friend.
– So long 2003-era cell phone that everyone makes fun of.
– Speaking of rockin’ it ‘old school’ I’m rockin’ 1988 on ‘Retro’ this Saturday.
– And don’t forget ‘My Fantastic Journey’ on its new day – Sunday !
– Until then my friends – keep on doin’ your thang.
– Be safe.
– Love all.

Categories
Career Driving God Politics Shopping Travel

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

My Tuesday night tradition since 2007 continues now:

I.  Numbers That Drive Me Crazy – This next section is for my own personal amusement. This morning I started out with 67,613 miles on my car. That’s about 10,100 miles over the past year – a bit above average for me. I generally average between 7,500 and 8,000 miles of driving in a typical year. It’s been a busy year of driving for me – especially with the Thanksgiving Week trip to and from the Dallas Texas area. As far as gas prices are concerned they were much lower exactly a year ago – over 25% lower – right around $2.199 per gallon. It does appear that as the economy slowly improves the price of oil (and thus gas) will slowly increase – especially as we approach the summer driving months. $3.00 to $3.25 per gallon seems very likely as April rolls into May.

II.  Extreme Politics – I know what it’s like to be an extremist on the political spectrum. For the simple fact that I believe in God and unconditional protection of the unborn (that means Pro-Life) I am allegedly a proud member of the extreme right-wing radical contingent of the political spectrum. I am also a registered Republican. The fact of the matter is that one would be rather surprised to find out that I am much closer to being a centrist than an extremist. I actually hold a few strong viewpoints that would have some people out there accuse me of being a liberal. Here’s what I think. The loud and boisterous Hollywood elite are so far to the extreme left-wing of the political sprectrum that I can’t even see them. I think that President Obama appears to be a nice guy – but not a very good President that represents my views or even a majority of this nation’s views. I think that the Tea Party is an awesome movement. They are mainstream America as far as I’m concerned. Those who disagree with their viewpoints have simply hit the easy button by dismissing them as racists, hate mongers, and violence inciters. As a new follower of God over the past 44 months I have removed all hatred from my Life. It’s all about Love. Love thy neighbour. Is that so extreme ?  In this turbulent world – perhaps so.

III.  Modernization & Restoration – This is a frequently-utilized term where I work. It’s essentially any construction work that’s done on base under $30,000 that serves to modernize or restore a facility. My entire financial management job is based upon that concept. We have meetings throughout the week in which we discuss whether or not a job is M & R or not. Having stated that here at home while I have a few pockets that have recently been remarkably modernized or restored I am for the most part living like it’s 1988. I can best describe my living room as ‘Late-20TH Century Dorm Room Deco’. It’s just the way I like it dude – don’t be a hater. It’s hard to part with what I love. Nevertheless I have a revelation to make. This may shock and awe you to bits and pieces. Here we go. I’m interested in retiring my 2003-era cell phone with a brand new modern one made in 2010. I want one of them ‘3G’ / ‘4G’ deals in which I can surf the web and tweet anywhere with a full ‘QWERTY’ keyboard. I’m ready to upgrade soon. I don’t mind switching carriers either. I’ve been with T-Mobile since before they were T-Mobile. (They were originally Voicestream.) I’m actually thinking of switching to AT&T since I already have their U-Verse (HDTV + Internet). In fact the Motorola Backflip definitely intrigues me. I dig.

Be sure to check out my ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ up next on the blog.

Categories
God Music People

My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics

A successful 10-month Wednesday night tradition here on this blog moves to Sunday afternoons effective this week. Lord Jesus please bless this weekly blog post series, and allow it to reach, minister, and encourage the unsaved and the unwanted of this turbulent world. May Your omnipotence shine bright God Almighty via these words, and may Your Kingdom continue to expand – one saved heart, mind, and soul at a time. AMEN !

This morning at Life Pointe Church in Homestead Florida I hosted the 9 AM service. I stated that it was a true pleasure to stand there before you on that stage – in that auditorium – in that movie theatre – off that street that we call Campbell – in our great city of Homestead. I added that we must always remember that the building is not the church. We The People – We are the living and breathing body that makes up the church – whether we are inside that auditorium – or in our own homes – or out in the world. We must always be the church and represent our God Almighty – loud and proud !

God used loud music to rescue me and save me from evil and darkness some 44 months ago. That’s when my fantastic journey following Jesus began. God has a fantastic journey for you too. He created it especially for you – and nobody else. If you believe. If you trust.

Here’s a dude who loves God. He likes to rap about Him all of the time. Here he is introducing himself. Get the name right. He’s B. Reith (rhymes with ‘Life’) !

Categories
God History Life Music People Radio

Saturday Night Retro

I was a TOP 40 radio music fanatic for over 30 years through the entirety of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I invested a lot of time in it as a hobby, and it built a once popular web site that eventually evolved into this blog.

As I look back at the past decade – the first decade of the new millennium – I look back at how I strayed from the mainstream TOP 40 music genre. For two years from the start of 2002 through the start of 2004 I was heavily into the ‘pure dance’ scene (European-style trance, techno, and house music). It was all about the beats-per-minute and going faster. Following a 2½-year stint back with my TOP 40 roots from the Spring of 2004 until the Summer of 2006 I discovered another fringe genre of music – Christian Rock. It coincides with my continuing (and everlasting) 43½-month fantastic journey thus far. This music is all about my Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.

But I’m not listening to the Christian Rock music 24-7. Over the past year or so I’ve really taken this ‘Retro’ concept to the extreme. I’m now a 1970s music fanatic. I listen to ‘70s On 7‘ exclusively on Sirius | XM at home, and I’ve also been known to crank-up my car stereo as loud as can be to South Florida’s Majic-102.7 and Big-105.9. I’ve really developed quite a liking for the music that I grew up to as a 2-year-old toddler to a 12-year-old pre-teenager. It is the music of my life, and it brings back memories of a much more simpler time of my life. While I had a lot of fun during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s my most vivid memories (good and bad) remain with the 1970s. The music of the times help me to look back at where I came from – and compare it to where I am today.

I’m really developing a fresh new appreciation for some of the greatest artists and acts of the 1970s including some that I didn’t really care too much for back then as a kid. One such act is the Electric Light Orchestra. They were a hit music producing machine back in the day, and they are frequently played on the aforementioned ’70s On 7′. Here’s one of their hits from 1976 that sounds so awesome 34 years later that it’s on my iPod Shuffle that I play daily in the background at work. It’s “Livin’ Thing”, and it could possibly be a song that celebrates Life – particularly Life in the mother’s womb. It’s unborn to the world, but it’s a livin’ thing. It’s a terrible thing to lose.

This concludes another week of blogging for me. I’m taking the next couple of days off, but you can always follow me on Twitter. I’ll be back on Tuesday night with an all-new edition of my weekly ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’. Until then my friends – keep your feet on the ground – and keep reaching for the stars. (Thank You Casey Kasem for all of your contributions through the years.)