This past week was awesome.  Monday through Thursday, I was blessed to be able to help out at the county-wide Vacation Bible School.  Hundreds of children, from pre-school ages to high-school ages, attended this event.  It was incredible to look out over the parking lot and see dozens of buses representing dozens of different church bodies and denominations.  The church in Clay County really came together.  There was great fun, fellowship, music, conversation about Jesus, speaking, and mission reports.  This year, the offerings taken up at the VBS will go towards missions in Poland.  This was my first year, and I sincerely regret not volunteering for the first two.  Running home to change, then running to the church building to hop on the church bus, helping out at the event, then riding the bus for another thirty minutes or so after was tiring, but it was worth it and I believe I was blessed as much as the youth.  Praise God for the souls redeemed and the lives changed this week!

I saw this on the side of the road in Oneida:

I’ve only seen one or two red foxes and as many grey foxes in my life.  I certainly didn’t want to get a close look under these conditions.  I must say that I am surprised that whoever hit the fox didn’t take it in order to have it stuffed and mounted.

I finally had the opportunity and occasion to travel north to Morehead this weekend.  It was great to hang out with some dear friends and family. Also, I was able to help out Crosspoint Church and play with their praise band.

After the Sunday evening service, I got to hang out with several friends, including Todd & Miranda. It was great to see them. Todd, when can I borrow the D90?

My parents were out of town to visit my brother and his family. They brought back this unique cookie with caramel between two waffle pieces called a stroopwafel. It’s Dutch. I’m a caramel fiend, so it was very thoughtful.

Whilst they were gone, my parents asked me to mow thier lawn. So, on Monday night, I drove to the old home place and fired up the mower. I quickly realized that it had probably been close to two years since I had done so. It was nice to smell the fresh cut grass and be outdoors on such a wonderful and unseasonably cool evening.

On Tuesday, the library hosted a pool party for all the children who had participated in the summer reading program. It was quite refreshing to be around so many care-free kids enjoying themselves. This is cliche, but I do sincerely believe adults could learn a thing or two from the innocence of children.

The week primarily consisted of moving books in and out of the bookmobile at a feverish pace by day, and then playing tennis and cooking by night. However, the routine was thrown off by my wife’s excursion to Cincinatti to see Cheap Trick, Def Leppard & Poison on Wednesday. She even got to talk to the lead singer for Men At Work. I didn’t miss the life of a bachelor, so it was great to have her back on Thursday.

Friday night was full of good food and good friends. We don’t get to see each other often enough do we Joey?

I had to work Saturday, but the circulation desk was busy, so the time passed by quickly enough. After work I traveled to Laurel County to see some of my aunts and drop off that print I ordered from Kodak. Yes, I’m just now having it framed.

Monday afternoon, I was amazed when I stopped by God’s Closet at the John Rice Center on Dickenson Street.  The amount of people who came by was astounding, not to mention the incredible number of shirts, pants, shorts, dresses, shoes, toys, & purses.  God is doing a great and glorious work there.

Some years after my last tennis fiasco, I got the racket out of mothballs and played against my good friend, Kenneth.  The wrap over the handle is dry-rotted (I was informed one should change it every year), so my right hand was black after the match.  It was a beautiful, not-too-hot day to get out and enjoy the sun, competition, exercise, and great company.  I won on the first day, but got creamed the next day.

After some of my baked chicken, Kenneth and I then watched some of the UFC 100 Greatest Fights specials to get geared up for the weekend.

Was aware of 12:34:56 7/8/09 while it happened.  Do you think the world will still exist on 3:14:15 9/2/65?

Met with some alumni and current students at the building where I went to school, which is to be decommissioned soon.  We talked for quite a while about the many memories we have there.  The next day, I stopped by to snap a few photos for posterity.

Love. You can know all the math in the ‘Verse, but take a boat in the air you don’t love, she’ll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she’s hurtin’ ‘fore she keens. Makes her home. Captain Malcolm Reynolds - Serenity

On Saturday night, my wife and I had some dear friends over to watch UFC 100.  We had a blast.  Henderson-Bisping was incredible, GSP was dominant over Alves, and Lesnar was, well, let’s say entertaining in victory over Mir.  Oh, and Jon Fitch has the most awesome intro music ever.

It was a slow week, then things picked up for the holiday weekend.

On Sunday, our church had a cookout and pool party.  It was nice to hang out and cook with the men of the church.  The ladies supplied some wonderful desserts.  You just can’t beat the selection of desserts at a church function.

On Tuesday, I got to meet Howard, the new director of Chad’s Hope Center.  The Center is a rehabilitation facility for men with drug abuse issues.  Chad’s Hope is an incredible asset for our community and region. Men from as far as Illinois have been ministered to there.  The Center needs your prayer and financial support, so please consider helping Chad’s Hope.

I had a chance to take some more photos this week.  Check them out!

While taking some of those photos, I must have walked too near a bird’s nest because I was attacked:

The birds would make a call of alarm and descend towards me to within inches.  This photo is the result of me simply pointing my camera straight up in the air and getting lucky enough to snap at the right moment.  It freaked me out.

I ate a Spam sandwich for the first time in quite a while.

Independence Day family get-togethers were great.  I Thank God that I live in this great country.

Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald Leader published a story online this morning about the possibility of Manchester, Kentucky becoming the home for a waste-conversion plant:¹

Manchester, in Clay County, is under consideration for a large manufacturing plant that would turn household garbage into building materials, according to the mayor and the state Economic Development Cabinet.

WNT LLC, which stands for Waste Not Technologies, estimated in an application for tax incentives that the project would create 1,411 jobs, according to a summary provided to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority …

Considering the fact that Clay County has a projected 14.1% unemployment rate, according to the KY.gov Workforce Kentucky website, we sure could use the jobs.  Clay County alone will not be able to fill all of the 1,411 positions, but even those commuting from other counties will help the local economy by paying Clay County occupational tax in addition to purchasing food, gas, and other goods and services in the county.  This stimulation of the economy could prove to be monumental, considering Clay County is the fourth poorest county by median income in the United States.²  Also, if families relocate to Clay County, the tax base will increase, along with the number of students enrolled in the school system.  More residents means more consumer demand.  In order to meet the demand, businesses will open, thus adding more jobs.  As you can see, a cycle begins.  This plant could be the snowball that gets things rolling down the hill.

1. Kentucky.com

2. U.S. Census Bureau

On Sunday, I was blessed to perform the special music during the morning service.  I played “Glorious Day,” which is an updated version of the hymn “One Day.”  Michael Bleecker arranged it while searching for a song for his congregation to sing on Easter morning.  Boy, did he do well.

I bought some new books!  Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller, Atheism Remix by Al Mohler, A Guide to Historic Coal Towns of the Big Sandy River Valley by George D. Torok, and Tobacco Culture by John van Willigen & Susan C. Eastwood.  I’ve started Tobacco Culture, so my love for oral history has found another object of affection.

Saturday night, after BreAnne and I ate dinner at a Japanese steakhouse, we went to Horse Creek Baptist Church and heard a praise and worship band which represents Southeastern University.  Incredible.  If anyone gets a chance to hear them, don’t pass it up.

On Monday, my pastor and I met Jaron and Diego from New Jersey.  This summer, they are cycling through the country to raise awareness and funds for a charity which sponsors those with brain injuries and it’s research.  We were able to pray with them and give them some pointers for navigating the area.

There was quite a stir over storms moving through our area Tuesday night.  Several severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings were issued, but at the time, the skies looked relatively calm.  Then, within minutes, my wife and I saw this front moving in:

At a local convenient store, my total came up to $6.66.  The cashier promptly charged me another penny.  I quipped that if paying an extra penny made her feel better, I would gladly pay it.  She didn’t get the joke as she was very serious about the superstition.  She gave me $3.35 in change, so I actually paid $6.65.

On Saturday afternoon, my wife and I had a fantastic Father’s Day meal at her parent’s home.  That evening, we prepared dinner for my father and mother.  Spending time with family is a treat.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.