Chuck’s World

I have been drinking Diet Coke, since it first came out. I just love it. It is everything they say it is. Refreshing, satisfying and just downright good. Since my body doesn’t tolerate sugar well, it has been great to have around. However, I have decided it is time to quit. I won’t bother you with all the reasons why I think this is a good idea. I have just decided it is a necessity to get myself to the next level. I also think that anytime you consume something as much as I do with Diet Coke and the fact that it was sooo hard to think about not drinking it, then maybe it is time to step away. I don’t know if there is such thing as an addiction to a soft drink, but if there is then I I need to enroll into Betty Ford.

To replace it, I will be drinking water, coffee and tea. The last is something I will be trying to perfect over the next few weeks. I love iced tea, when it is made correctly. A Mr. Coffee tea maker doesn’t make it correctly. My goal is to try and reproduce a peach mango tea from Broadstreet Bakery. I could drink it all day, everyday.

So, if you call, text or email me over the next few days and I seem grumpy, you now know why.

Consider yourself warned!

We celebrated a late Christmas with Debbie’s family. My brother-in-law and his wife gave me a gift and today I used part of it towards this album. It is one I have been wanting for a long time and I found it on sale. It is as great as I hoped! Thanks Allen and Martha! I will enjoy it for a long time.

We put the rest to good use also. We had to buy the kids some clothes to stay warm while playing soccer. It all worked out great!

Thanks again!

She did it again! Today, Brittany added to her animal collection to bring it to a total of 55. With a gift card and some Christmas money, Brittany bought the latest bear from Build-A-Bear. I am begining to wonder if therapy is needed, either for her or me. I guess I can’t complain. She loves and enjoys each one of them.

At least they don’t eat, poop and have to go to the vet!

The Husband Store

A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City , where a
woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance
is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value
of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper
may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to
the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first
floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.She is intrigued, but continues to the
second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.”That’s nice,” she thinks,
“but I want more.”So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good
Looking.”Wow,” she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes
to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and
Help With Housework . ” Oh, mercy me!” she exclaims, “I can hardly stand
it! “Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help
with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak. She is so tempted to
stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on
this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible
to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

Back during the Christmas holidays, my mom and dad purchased their first Mac. Their choice was a Macbook laptop. They got it during one of the multiple trips to the Apple store in Charlotte, NC that I dragged them to. We don’t have an Apple store in Mississippi. This past weekend Debbie’s mom and dad purchased their first Mac. Their choice was a 24 inch iMac. Each family had a different set of needs, which was the reason for the difference in choices. I think they both picked the right one for them.

A lot had to fall in place for this weekend, because we had to time the visit with a high speed internet installation. I think it all worked out well though. The old was moved out, the new was setup and the ISP install went without any problems. There has been a lot to learn for all for all of them. The Mac is a different world. A better world in my opinion, but still different with new things to learn. I have been impressed that they were willing to have the patience to tackle it. So far, I think they have done well. I just hope in the end, they feel good about their decision and enjoy their new Apple computers.

If their experience becomes something they truly enjoy and not just another computer purchase, then I will be happy.

by Barbie Bassett

Last night, I spoke at a dinner for the women’s ministry at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton and had a lovely time (thanks, ladies). Someone pointed out how important it is that we encourage each other as there are many hurts that our friends, family and co-workers are going through now which we probably know nothing about. Encouragement would be a “gift of exhortation” which is spoken about in Romans 12:8. It is one of the ministry gifts the Holy Spirit gives certain individuals.

The Holy Spirit is called the “Helper” in John 14:26. He exhorts (or encourages) people in their growth in God, encourages them to be all they can be, for God’s glory. We need to see exhortation is a ministry–a much needed ministry in this day and time. There are always plenty of people around us who are willing to give up if something does not happen to encourage them in their faith walk. As an exhorter, you and I actually prevent someone from backsliding or giving up! Also in John 14:26, the Holy Spirit is called the “Comforter”. People who exhort bring comfort, they just simply make people feel better–about themselves, their circumstances, their past, about the present, about the future, about anything else that concerns them.

Some people are very gifted in this area. I know of several people who are natural exhorters (my mother is one of them). Everything that comes out of her mouth is something to make others feel encouraged. I am learning the importance of the gift of exhortation and am trying to remember that people are hurting and need to be encouraged all around us.

“Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11

Two rednecks are out hunting, and as they’re walking along they come upon a huge hole in the ground. They approach it and are amazed by the size of it.

The first hunter says ” Wow, that’s some hole, I can’t even see the bottom, I wonder how deep it is?” The second hunter says” I don’t know, let’s throw something down and listen and see how long it takes to hit bottom.”

The first hunter says ” There’s this old transmission here, give me a hand and we’ll throw it in and see”. So they pick it up and carry it over, and count one, and two and three, and throw it in the hole.

They are standing there listening and looking over the edge and they hear a rustling in the brush behind em. As they turn around they see a goat come crashing through the brush, run up to the hole with no hesitation, and jump in headfirst.

While they are standing there look ing at each other, looking in the hole, and trying to figure out what that was all about, an old farmer walks up. “Say there”, says the farmer, “you fellers didn’t happen to see my goat around here anywhere, did you?”

The first hunter says ” Funny you should ask, but we were just standing here a minute ago and a goat came running out of the bushes doin’ about a hunert miles an hour and jumped headfirst into this hole here!”

And the old farmer said ” Why that’s impossible, I had him chained to a transmission! “

Maybe I am shallow and a geek, but this cracked me up…