find my phone

find my phone

My daughter lost her phone Sunday night. Someone else began using it Monday. Click the link above to see the numbers they called before I turned the phone off. None of them knew who had the phone when I called, but maybe they'll remember more for you.

Never Forget

Henry Blackaby: Remembering America's Fallen | Baptist Press

As we pause today to remember all of the brave men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, we are humbled by their courage. As the father of a US serviceman, not a day goes by that I don't think about the possibility of him, and the rest of our family, being called on to make that same sacrifice.

God bless the families of all who serve. But let us never forget, that in this current war with radical Islamic jihadists, that the first casualties were neither soldiers nor sailors, but civilians and civil servants. Let us never forget the lives that were taken from us. Let us never forget the passengers of United 93 who fought valiantly to take the plane back from the hijackers, saving our nation's capital building and all who were therein. Let us never forget the FDNY firefighters who were running up the stairwells of the burning towers while everyone else was running down.

Tominthebox News Network - Religious Humor/Satire

Tominthebox News Network - Religious Humor/Satire

I use Google Reader to keep up with the news and my fellow bloggers. One of the nice things about Google Reader is that it suggests other feeds you may want to subscribe to, based on what you are already reading. I found this one this morning and was very impressed with the creativity and humor. If you need to add a little humor and satire to your church experience, this is the blog for you.

New forum for my subdivision

Residents of Liberty Square Park

It's about time the homeowners in my neighborhood started taking responsibility for protecting our children and our property values. With that in mind I started this forum for my neighbors to begin talking with one another about how we can take control of our HOA and our neighborhood.

In Memory of Maria

In Memory of Maria Maria Chapman, the 5-year-old daughter of Contemporary Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident at her home. She was struck in the driveway by a car driven by an older sibling. Please keep the Chapman family, especially the teenage driver, in your prayers. A blog has been set up in Maria's memory. Please visit the blog and click on "comments" under either of the two entries to leave your condolences. Adoption Community Mourns Musician's Daughter | Associated Press

Good News! Home Prices are still dropping.

Home prices down 1.7% in first quarter, U.S. agency says - MarketWatch
If you were planning to cash out your home in the near future, or hoping to get your lender to drop your PMI, then I guess dropping home prices aren't such a good thing. For the rest of us this is either good news or relatively unimportant.

First time home buyers will certainly appreciate being able to buy homes at a more affordable rate. The drop in housing prices will save them untold thousands in principle and interest over the life or their mortgages. Many who may previously have been priced out of the housing market may now finally have an opportunity to own their own homes without dangerous adjustable rate mortgages.

Those moving up to bigger homes will also benefit from this drop in prices. Most of us begin with a small "starter" home and move up as our income increases. If your home was worth $150,000 a year ago, and you were planning to upgrade to a $200,000 home, then the drop in prices will be a blessing for you. Although your current home won't bring $150,000 now, that home you wanted to move into will now cost less also. To make the math simple, let's assume they've both dropped 10% in value. Now you are only going to be able to get $135,000 for your current home, but you are only going to have to pay $180,000 for your new home. That means the upgrade is now costing you only $45,000 instead of $50,000. While that sounds like a savings of $5,000, it's much more over the life of your mortgage.

If you were planning to stay in your home for a few years then the current trend in housing really has very little impact on you. The real estate market has up and down fluctuations, just like the stock market. But like the stock market, the real estate market has historically always performed well over the long term. While no one can guarantee the future value of your individual home, there is almost a statistical certainty that the average price of a home in the United States will be more in 10 years than it is now, or even more than it was a year ago before prices began to fall.

The next time you hear the media screaming about falling housing prices just smile and think about all the good deals that are available to you, your friends and neighbors.

4 Philadelphia Police Officers in Videotaped Beatings Will Be Fired - New York Times

4 Philadelphia Police Officers in Videotaped Beatings Will Be Fired - New York Times

Enough is enough. Can we not just get a law passed that says if a suspect attempts to allude police or resists arrest, he can expect a whipping upon capture? If you don't want to get whipped, don't run and don't fight. It's time we get on the side of law enforcement on this issue.

State notifies parents before releasing awful test scores | ajc.com

State notifies parents before releasing awful test scores | ajc.com

School uproar: Did fautly test fail kids? | ajc.com

According to the unofficial results, only 20 to 30 percent of Georgia's sixth- and seventh-graders passed the state social studies exam. In math, about 40 percent of eighth-graders could be held back because they failed the test.

When a few students don't pass we have a problem with students that parents need to address. When 70-80% don't pass the social studies exam and 40% don't pass the math, we have a problem with the schools that the citizens need to address. Every year this problem is ignored another class of students drifts off into the world unprepared. This should be a top priority not only for our state school superintendent, but for our legislature and governor. This type of performance is inexcusable.

Pray for our Soldiers

Afghanistan Firefight Heard on Voice Mail|KPTV.com

Our son Jonathon joined the army last summer, and is currently undergoing training in Arizona. We are thankful that he is not currently in harms way, but are keenly aware that he may be sent into a hostile area when he finishes his training. I hope we never come home to a voice mail like this. A soldier in Afghanistan tried to call his parents, but they weren't home. Later that day, in a firefight with insurgents, he leaned against his Humvee and accidentally redialed his phone. His parents still weren't home, but 3 minutes of the firefight was recorded on their voice mail. They were able to return his call and found him to be in good health after the firefight, thanks be to God.

Be warned, the audio is not clear. Also, if you can make out the language, it is the type of language you would expect among soldiers under fire. Enough said.

Click here to hear audio from the message left on the Petee's answering machine(WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE).

Alaska Governor Lives out Pro-life Values

The Associated Press: Alaska governor balances newborn's needs, official duties

Al Mohler: Welcome to the Word, Trig Paxson Van Palin

In a time when up to 90% of children who are determined to have disabilities before birth are aborted, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has chosen to give birth to a downs syndrome baby. The Associated Press article states:

There was never any doubt the Palins would have the child, and on April 18 she gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin.

"We've both been very vocal about being pro-life," Palin said. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."

Reading this story is the first I've heard of Palin, but I admire her for living out her convictions. In order to become governor of Alaska, she had to beat the Republican incumbent in the primaries and then beat a former two-term Democratic governor in the general election. Interestingly she has been described as a "maverick" by some in her state. It is rumored that the better known maverick, John McCain, may be considering her as a running mate. Stay tuned.

Healthy Kingdom Churches | Discipleship & Family Ministries

Healthy Kingdom Churches | Discipleship & Family Ministries

This morning I am meeting with Greg Ambercrombie of the Georgia Baptist Convention's Healthy Kingdom Churches department. We will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of our church, and how we might become a more healthy church. In his book, The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren insist that our focus should be on church health rather than church growth, because healthy churches, like healthy plants, naturally are growing churches. Please pray for this meeting that God will give us insight into the needs of our church.

Man asks court to change his name to 'In God We Trust' | AccessAtlanta

Man asks court to change his name to 'In God We Trust' | AccessAtlanta

How do we show God our gratitude for His blessings, especially those blessings received during life's most difficult times? How do we adequately communicate to others His faithfulness even through life's darkest storms? An Illinois man has come up with a rather unique way to do both. Steve Kreuscher of Zion, Illinois is asking a judge to allow him to legally change his name to "In God We Trust." He says the name would be a symbol of God's help during tough times. But that's not the only reason he wants to change his name. He is also afraid the phrase "In God We Trust" will be removed from US currency. I'm not quite sure how changing his name is supposed to slow or stop that process.

The fact is we don't need the courts to change our legal names. All of us who are believers carry the name of Christ already when we identify ourselves as Christians. There is no question of whether we carry the name. The only question is whether we live a life that gives honor to the name. Do we guard our hearts to keep them pure? Do we flee sin and pursue God's face? Do we place the welfare of others ahead of our own in a manner that is reflective of the selfless, unconditional love that God has manifested toward us?

Injured Western Oregon player helped around bases after hitting homer | StatesmanJournal.com

Western Oregon player helped around bases after hitting homer | StatesmanJournal.com

Sometimes it really is how you play the game. Click the link above to read an incredible story of sportsmanship. Thanks to Walter Price for bringing this story to my attention.

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Click on the logo and get a free month of movies from Netflix.

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I got a promotional offer in the mail today with four cards to give a friend for a free month. If you'd like one, just ask me. Or just click on the logo above.

If you have any problems with the link just send me an email, and I'll send you a new link.