NASCAR Prayer

you just got to love people in Nashville...
" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E8EYTyACQk"

Pastor Joe Nelms: "Heavenly father, we thank you tonight for all your blessings you sent and all things give thanks. So we want to thank you tonight for these mighty machines that you brought before us. Thank you for the Dodges and the Toyotas. Thank you for the Fords. And most of all we thank you for Roush and Yates partnering to give us the power that we see before us tonight. Thank you for GM performance technology and RO7 engines. Thank you for Sunoco racing fuel and Goodyear tires that bring performance and power to the track. Lord, I want to thank you for my smoking' hot wife tonight, Lisa. And my two children, Eli and Emma or as we like to call 'em, the little Es. Lord, I pray you bless the drivers and use them tonight. May they put on a performance worthy of this great track. In Jesus name, boogity boogity boogity, Amen."

end of an era

i believe i am giving up comics. it's not because i have matured and no, my wife isn't making me give it up. Jim the destroyer Lee is (seems like he would remember how bad his own comics failed).

re-writing history to make sales. changing DC Comics to look more like Marvel Comics.

i know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. i don't like to see the heroes of my childhood changed to be more darker and less about helping people.

(i found this picture last night when i was reading an old comic... i think this was prophecy.)

Bruce Wayne for President

i hardly ever watch the news, but i know there have already been people throwing out their opinion who they think the next president should be... so i figure i would throw out my opinion. i know it won't count... kind of like my vote.

NO!!! why do they do this to me?

Flashpoint is changing everything... it feels like May 21st all over again... DC is changing all of my comics... http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/05/31/jim-lee-i-wont-fk-this-up-plus-your-handy-dc-comics-reboot-roundup/

why oh why?

welcome to our world

Grant Steven Hall...

getting ready for grant

got the paintings for grant's room finished!!!

now if grant would just get here.

loving the elephant in the room

3 times i have tried to write a blog about injustice, my anger, and the need to learn to love those i really wish were not part of my life...
during the many attempts to write my thoughts and feelings i discovered that my anger showed through too much.
that i have allowed people's actions control my life.
i know i need to forgive.
i know i need to love.
but it is never that easy.
i would like to say that after the 70th time i prayed that God took this feeling away, but He has not. i realize now i have to put more effort into it.
but i still have this nagging voice inside my head.
"is it right to just ignore the injustice that is still taking place?"
i don't think so, but until i learn to control the anger inside me... i don't think it would be right for me to confront the issue.
learning to love is a hard process. it's even harder when it is people you really want to hate.
and honestly... deep down i just wish i could tell a few people off.

how do you deal with injustice? turn a blind eye? do you say "it's not my place"?

never trust a thumbs up

DC comics easter basket

i know easter has nothing to do with a basket or a bunny.

it has nothing to do with candy, toys, and easter egg hunts...

trust me, i really do know this, but on easter day you may wonder....

but.....i honestly look forward to having an excuse to buy riley some super hero stuff. ang is really good with watching our money flow and i am really good at making sure it is flowing out of my wallet ( we make a great team)... i still think easter is a valid excuse to buy some toys for my boy.

so i have been working on an easter basket of DC comics super hero toys and movies. nothing expensive, but fun and exciting.

the only problem is most super hero toys are expensive. it seems that everything is considered a collectible. therefore the price is way up.... so what is a geek dad to do?

got any ideas? yeah, me either... so i am going to venture out one day this week and just hunt for a few items and small things to fill the easter eggs.

it's his last easter as an only child... i feel like that is also a good excuse to go a little over board.

besides, i need a few super heroes to act out the "battle for metropolis" infinite crisis in the easter basket.

monthly advice

i realized that i am full of useful information.. so once a month i am going to give my advice.

never work for a board...
1. they are out of touch with the job you are performing.
2. they will have new ways to do things, but little knowledge of how to do it.
3. they have never been in your situation.
4. will never take blame when their ideas fail. it's because you didn't do it properly.

i give this advice because a friend of mine came to me talking about their problems at work. i used to work under a board and i also serve on a board... so i know it's never as it seems.

aquaman is actually kind of cool

aquaman is not as lame as you may think...
but i may be.

i have been slow with blogging the past couple of months and i really have nothing exciting to write about. since i have become a father i live a fairly normal life. routine days i crave. throw anything out of the ordinary at me and i may get a little overwhelmed... or just a little whelmed (robin from young justice).

but that does not mean my thoughts are routine. i find myself thinking about the most random things.

as i sit here and write this i am thinking about my Bible college days. like the time i urinated in a guys tackle box because he set off a stink bomb in my closet. how some of us would "sneak" and watch buffy the vampire slayer after Bible study or the times i would sit on top of this hill and pray for understanding. it always bothered me that i never felt like i fit in with the rest of the students.

insecurity is a large part of my thought process.

i am insecure about a lot of things, but i know i am secure in my comic book knowledge. which i should be ashamed of. how many grown men in their 30's look forward to cartoons on friday night? wait- let me rephrase that. how many married men that don't live in their parents basement look forward to cartoons on friday?

i am behind on my chuck and fringe, but i never miss an episode of young justice, batman: the brave and the bold, and star wars the clone wars.

i am pretty sure my parents thought i would grow out of this, but now that i have a son and another on the way, i don't believe i will. i have been damned to a life of nerdy comic book ways... and honestly i think i am okay with it.

sure, it makes me have hardly anything in common with anyone else around me.

there was a time that i wished i was like everyone around me. to be a hunter and a nascar fan... middle school would have been a lot easier on me, but i don't think a gun rack would look good in my focus, but i did have a mullet.

i also thought by the time i reached 25 i would have being a Christian down pat. i would have learned to love people and forgive the people who have wronged me in the past. Wrong... if anything i have learned to hold on to my anger towards certain ones.

a few weekends ago i saw a person that had really made life difficult for me when i worked with a mission. he smiled and spoke to me. i just smiled and kept walking. i could barely force myself to look in his direction. then i go to youth group and talk to them about loving the unlovable... wow... have i really turned into one of those... do as i say, not as i do type of person?

yes sir, i have.

what am i doing to change it... hmmm... i guess i should pray about that.

i am also battling the desire to order more toys for riley.

one day i will complain about all of the toys in our house and the next i will go out and get him more. i am training my child to be a brat i think. ugh... i may not give him mountain dew in his toddler cup, but i am sure teaching him that he can get what ever he wants... forget the needs...

i feel like i just poured my heart out into my diary... now i feel less of a man...

okay, i just killed an ant... now i am a man.

aquaman is actually a cool character... don't judge him because he talks to fish... he is also super strong and can use his telepathy powers to make you have a heart attack.

i need to hurry up and plant my bamboo...

how bout a dream

he gives me a reason to smile everyday.

my advice for 2011

daily i am asked for my opinion. people seem to realize that i am full of useful information that can shape and form their lives into a work of art. so i figured i would share a small part of my great mind and insight on life. this will be a small list, but i promise you that it will help you in the new year to come.

1. always turn corduroy inside out to iron them.
2. always follow and apology with a lecture.
3. never buy a veggie tray from save a lot.
4. look around before you make fun of some one's face.
5. avoid friendships that take away from your story telling.
6. read a self help book and give people advice from the book and act like it is your own.
7. write run on sentences often.
8. "friend" people on facebook and then drop them right after they accept.
9. inform people that you are humble while checking yourself out in a mirror.
10. tell people you are dieting while eating large portions of red meat.
11. give parents advice on how to raise their children.
12. washing your face with sugar will remove dead skin.
13. check your zipper often.
14. never laugh at your own jokes.
15. always be negative, but add a colorful phrase at the end of your sentences. for example " i doubt i will live to see my 40's, but boy are the hills a live with the sound of music".
16. watch the sound of music with meat loaf's bat out of hell album playing... the music goes along perfectly with the movie.
17. lie to yourself... you really are good looking.
18. read batman hush.
19. wear underwear.
20. make a video blog.
21. write a pointless blog that has nothing to do with real advice.

what annoys me the most about Christmas

i know that i write a lot of blogs about "what annoys me", but it's one of my favorite past times. to sit and think about what gets under my skin makes me all warm and fuzzy inside... so i figured i would write a small list for the holiday season... i mean, Christmas season... sorry my fellow Christians i didn't mean to offend or did i?

i hate shopping this time of year. no one seems to be happy. people fight over stupid things. angie forced me to go with her on black friday to wal-mart. i witnessed women fighting over barbie jeeps and zoozoo pets. i was really afraid that i was going to die.

i always feel like i have to give money to the salvation army walking in and out of the store. i always feel like they are judging me.

i hate when people go crazy over "X-mas"... the X means Christ! not the X-men... though that would be cool... i think beast would make a good wise man and cyclops would be a good shepherd.

i have a hard time writing out a Christmas list. i never can think of anything i really want or need...

bruce springsteen singing Christmas carols.

santa buddy the movie... someone kill that dog.

people who think they have to say "happy holidays" when you say merry Christmas...

honestly... this list is a lot smaller than i thought it would be, but one thing that does bother me about Christmas is how i feel bad for the families who can't afford to get what they want for their kids. i know Christmas isn't about what you get, but try to explain that to a kid who has nothing. we live in america and as americans we make everything about ourselves. so i get really sad when i go out shopping and see families struggling. my soft heart can't take it.

sigh...

this went downhill fast.

i hate veggie tales nativity sets! it's just wrong!!!

legalism

i have never been one to keep my thoughts to myself about my feelings towards legalism.

it makes me angry.

it makes me sad.

it makes me laugh.

the problem with legalism is so much more then a list of rules. it is a person trying to earn or prove their faith.

there was a point in my life that i would look at someone and judge them by how they looked. i thought i had the gift of telling who was a christian by the shoes they wore and the Bible they carried.
wrong....

legalism made me feel holier than i really was. it was like a check list of how to be holy.

shirt nicely pressed. check

shirt tucked in. check

hair parted to the right (never the left). check

face shaved and smooth. check

KJV Bible under my armpit. check

chin slightly raised. check

i honestly thought this made me a better christian. that my outward appearance was what God looked at before He looked at my soul, but i was so far from the truth. i worked so hard to please the ones around me that i forgot that God could careless about my outward appearance. that my perfect hair and pressed shirt meant nothing.

i have moved beyond that point in my life. i now know that God cares more about my heart and love towards others.

yet, i still fight legalism. i have hate in my heart towards those who push it. i find myself wanting to take a cardboard sign and march around certain places proclaiming legalism is from hell.

i feel it would be a just battle, but the more i learn about God, the more i realize it isn't my battle.

that the bitter feelings towards former "teachers and preachers" is just as bad as their need for rules and order.

i will never like legalism, but i must learn to love (just vomited in my mouth a little) the ones who force it. this will be a struggle. to look beyond the outward and see their heart. to see that they are worth it.

how will they know the truth unless someone tells them?

and when i say "tell", i don't mean through negative avenues.

two years with my little man

i find it hard to believe it has been two years since riley entered my life.

i have already forgot the feeling of dread the day i found out angie was pregnant. i know, i know... such a horrible thing to say, but i was selfish and i didn't want to give up any freedom i thought i had.

but the moment i held him in my arms i knew i would give up anything for him to be happy. i even let him play with my action figures...

the good ole' days

as a kid i enjoyed watching re-runs of Batman (the campy live action show). they were fun and light hearted. i would laugh and wonder why Robin wore such short shorts.

that was my first connection to the characters.

they were bright and fun...

not until i grew older did i realize that this was not so in the comics.

Batman doesn't say "old chum". in fact he would rather throw a punch or a batarang.

he was dark and paranoid. he liked to put fear in people's hearts.

the Robin that was in the t.v. series had grown up and become Nightwing and the new Robin was annoying and soon to be dead.

as time passed, i couldn't stand watching the 60's Batman. it was not true to the comics.

wow, i now realize how big of a nerd i am .

why would i favor the darker over the lighter?

because i am a fallen man?

because i enjoy violence?

who knows.

what brought all of this on? while surfing the World Wide Web i found a book that talks about the influence Batman (60's show) had on a generation and on comics. it got me to thinking about sick days at home watching Batman and woody wood pecker. sigh... i hate getting older.

randomness seems to be flooding my mind today.

i can't connect my thoughts and i am just allowing them to spew onto the keyboard.

a dangerous thing this is (my inner Yoda is speaking). then i look down at my Chuck Taylor's and purple western shirt and wonder...when did i start dressing like a geek?

i think i am reaching that in between age. i am too old to wear the young men's t-shirts with skulls and i am too young to wear "members only" jackets with elastic waist jeans.

it's a bad place to be. it's kind of like middle school. you don't know where you fit.

i am afraid of becoming an adult who tries to act cool. what am i to do?

LIVE THROUGH MY SON!

that is what i will do. i will have my second childhood through him. he better be ready to watch super friends and play with he-man action figures.

btw: while cleaning out my basement i found a bunch of my action figures. there was one i always enjoyed playing with. his name was fistor (really odd name). he had a huge silver hand. why would Mattel name one fistor? just sounds so... umm... wrong.

plus: why did they have nipples?

think about it.

way back when

i remember when this book was very popular. so popular that southland Bible insititue made a class around it...

i didn't need the class. i had already kissed dating goodbye... well, at least while i was there...

i remember promising my mom that i wouldn't date anybody while i was there and like a good boy.... i kept my promise...

you should read the book... it is really funny.

satan's playground

i will not deny that i am a very intolerant person.

i don't like for people to ride my bumper. if you do i will slow down and when you are able to pass, i will speed up. it may seem rude, but i am sorry. i can't handle tail gators.

most of the time my intolerance is seen behind close doors. i will not allow others to know how close minded i can be or i guess i should say rude. it is easy for me to put a smile on in public and just think evil thoughts in my mind. what can i say? i am human.

but the behind closed doors way of life changed last night.

angie and i went to chick-fil-a for dinner . i enjoy their chicken salad sandwich and my gosh... those fries... my mouth is watering thinking of them.

it was the set up for a perfect quick dinner.

the only problem... that dang play land.

riley will not eat. he wants to play and ever seat in that building points to that area.

being the good husband that i am, i offered to watch riley while angie ate.

riley and i walked into the small room. there was about four 5-7 year old brats running around screaming. that shouldn't be a huge surprise. i should have known this would be taking place in this sound proof room. so i just smiled and let riley pick what he wanted to do first. what got me was the lack of parental supervision. i was the only adult in that room.

the screaming made riley a little worried, but he pushed through the fear of that little brat's battle cry. he climbed to the top of the slide and came laughing down.

i loved listening to him laugh and say "again". it was going to be the perfect father/son moment.

as he began to go down the slide again, this little girl started to climb up the slide... she sat there blocking riley's exit. i asked nicely if she would move. she just looked at me.

i took a deep breath...

"could you please let my son get by you?"

*snicker*

"please move!"

she finally let riley slide by, but she kept doing it.

she kept getting in his face and blocking his way.

the rest of the kids were just back ground noise until this fat little boy pushed riley out of the way.

riley just looked at him and kept going, but i was ready to fight this kid. how dare he push my son?

i could feel my face and neck getting red. i started to look out the glass windows to try and figure out who gave birth to these little demons.

i think angie has a way of sensing when i am about to get upset. she came in and told me to go eat.

i sat down and ate my wonderful food, but there was anger growing in my heart.
i looked around at all of the parents just sitting there ignoring their little brats in the play land.

i found myself wanting to just stand on the chair and scream profanity's at them.

letting them know that they are responsible for their children. that they need to be in there with them and that i was pretty sure one of them crapped on themselves.

before i was able to step onto my chair, angie came out and told me she was ready to leave.

the absent parents were spared... this time.

i hate play lands. if i have my way riley will never go to another play land... and if he does.. he is taking his brass knuckles and i will be wearing my butt kicking shoes.

my home (you may hate it, but i like it)

i once heard "beattyville is not a destination"...
to many this maybe true.
to many this is just a small town with nothing to do.
a poor community that is riddled with drug abuse and poverty.
a redneck town that is not in touch with the world outside of the mountains that surround it.
i am not going to lie. most of these thoughts are true, but if you look closer you will see more.
you will see a town that still has life it in. sure it may be a life hooked to life support, but it is still breathing.
and i am thankful for that.
i actually love my little town.
i love being able to walk down the street and have people speak to me. to have a real conversation while waiting at the bank.
to have a community that will support the newest person to battle cancer.
the list could go on.
i could never find this in a large city. to find such a close community or another woolly worm festival (i actually think there is another town that has one, but it's not the same...or so i tell myself).
i would never be able to walk out on my porch and look at the stars and that odd planet that looks like it is moving in a figure 8 pattern (long story, but i swear it is moving).
i will not deny that some times i wish we had more to do in this town, but i think that is the charm of this place. it forces us to go for a walk in the woods or to just slow down and sit on the porch and watch the clouds race over the hillsides.
beattyville may not be a destination, but it is my home.
it is the town that i want to raise my son. where i know that people will be watching his every move and run to tell me when he is doing some thing that he shouldn't.
i want to die in this town.
some would look at me with pity...
"there is so much more out there."
"why would you want to stay in a place that is dying?"
and my answer to them... because i want to.
i have spent a lot of time away from beattyville. i enjoy city life, but only for a short time.
i guess i am more country than i want to admit some times.
so if you are ever traveling through kentucky... stop by beattyville... i promise to buy you an ale8 and take you for a nice slow walk through the mountains.