Garrett and Lara

A few weeks ago we spent some time with our close friends Garrett, Lara, and Jackson. Little Jackson is going to be a Georgia fan if it's the last thing I do!

lastest momma picture

Join the John Newton Challenge!!!

Some of you may know that John Newton wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace." Have you heard of "The John Newton Challenge"? I strongly urge each one of you to follow the "John Newton Challenge" link on the left of the blog. This will take you to Steve Wright's blog called Lasting Divergence . Please take the time to read what the "John Newton Challenge" is all about and please participate!

morning ritual

A new ritual has begun. I have now made a habit of stopping by Chick-fil-a most mornings for coffee, reading, Bible study, etc. and I really enjoy it. Several of the employees now know me and have the coffee ready for me as I walk in the door. It is usually quiet in the mornings which makes for a good time to get alone and study without many distractions. They also play Christian music there. I take four hazelnut creamers and one pack of "sugar in the raw" with my coffee-mmmmmmmm, and it's about forty cents cheaper than a tall regular coffee at Starbucks. Occasionally I'll splurge and get a chicken biscuit.

Vacation Part Two

After three days in Orlando with Gwen's family we drove up to Beaufort, SC for five days with my family. We stay in a beautiful beach house on Harbor Island near Beaufort. Praise God for an awesome week of vacation with our entire families!

...the beach at sunset outside our house

...Andrew and I by the poo...

...the beach house

...golf day-Dad killed us

...shrimp boat along the beach by the house

...another view of the house

...Gwen, me, Andrew, Bethany

...Bep, Gwen, and Mom judging the hamburger grill-off between Dad, Andrew, and I. Congratulations Andrew!

...Gwen and Dad in an intense game of shuffleboard

...Uncle Frank and Aunt Sandra

...the cousins-me, Andrew, Gwen, Bethany, and Megan

...the fam

Vacation Part One

In the next couple of days there will be a lot of posting to make up for our embarassing amount of posts in the last month or so. We hope you enjoy it!

The first week of June was a great week of vacation for Gwen and I. Our vacation was what they are supposed to be-bringing rest and joy to the soul. We went down to Orlando to be with Gwen's family and see her brother Todd graduate from high school. It was fun seeing Gwen's old friends and spending quality time catching up with them. Gwen and her sister Brook were treated to the wonderful blessing of a baby shower! Brook is due about six weeks after Gwen. They were showered with many gifts as they both prepare to be first-time moms. We also celebrated Gwen's grandmother's birthday. It was so much fun spending time with them especially since we don't get to see them often. What a blessing they are!

...Gwen checking the map as we drive through Florida.

...at Gwen's parents' house.

...with Gwen's brother, Todd, the graduate!

...Gwen and Brook with their grandmother

...Brook and Gwen doing a pose they once did back when they were little kids.

sisters...Gwen, Dorie, Brook

...Gwen and her youngest brother, Bennett

...Dorie, Gwen, Todd

...Gary, Dorie, Bennett, Todd

...me with Dorie, Todd, Bennett, Gay-Gwen's mom, and TJ

Swingtown

I wanted to blog about a new CBS show called "Swingtown." You may have heard of it. CBS calls it "intriguing summer fun." Read this clip of an article below by Bill Johnson, president of the American Decency Association.

"There is nothing "fun" about the show - rather it is repugnant and destructive and one of the worst, if not the worst, show we've seen on network television. "Swingtown", set in 1976, portrays "open marriage" and group sex as not only commonplace, but also as a boost for marital intimacy. And it ignores the facts regarding the addictive, damaging impact of pornography and gives the message that porn use, even by young boys, is no big deal.

The show opens with Tom, a married commercial pilot, bringing home a young stewardess to engage in group sex with his wife, Trina. The three are shown in bed together, as he has sex with the stewardess.

Another scene is of two boys approximately 13 years old. One of the boys finds a large box of his father's porn magazines in the basement and they are shown ogling copies of Penthouse. When the father catches them with a magazine, he simply tells his son and the son's friend, "Don't let your mother catch you with this. She'll have a coronary on the spot." He then proceeds to hand the magazine back to his young son with a pat on the head.

Later in the episode Tom and Trina host a wild 4th of July party. At the party there's open drug use and an orgy in the basement "playroom" showing a man with several women having sex. Tom and Trina want to persuade Susan and Bruce, their new straight-laced neighbors, to join in. Bruce is told by a partygoer he can get him a membership to the Playboy Club and can get him a girl. At one point, as perverse sexual themes are alluded to during this Independence Day party, partygoers are singing the National Anthem in the background. And then, note the following dialogue between Trina and Susan.

After interrupting a partygoer snorting cocaine, Trina tells Susan: "She's harmless. Miserable, but harmless. I keep saying they should just open their marriage like everyone else, but her husband is a little uptight."

This is just a taste of the first few episodes. This is a major assault on families and marriage. We CANNOT sit back and do nothing! This show promotes open marriage, group sex, open drug use, and pornography among adults and children. We cannot allow the media to keep putting this stuff on TV and destroying our families and children. We must act now. Contact your local CBS station and demand that they remove "Swingtown" from their programming. Going to Swingtown's website or CBS's national website will have no effect. Contacting your local CBS station is the best route. You can find the people to contact on the local station's website usually.

Also, consider removing television from your home. Steve Wright, my boss and friend, has cancelled their cable subscription and no longer lives with TV. CBS is not a cable channel but nothing will be done concerning the content of today's television shows until the companies are hit financially. Gwen and I have rabbit ears but we are unplugging our TV. How long will we sit back and let this happen? Please act now.

Baxter

Steve Wright says that I am the spitting image of one of the reformers, Richard Baxter. Especially since he was also "rocking the soul patch."