FTW on the way back to FL from CA. I went to see it take off. A lot of
people showed up.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Yes I'm thankful
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to have wonderful friends. I get to have a loving family that means more than I have words for.
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to live in a country that happens to be the greatest in the history of the world.
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to live with freedoms that are not free. I get to say what I want. I get to do what I want and when I want to do it. All this with responsibility and sometimes risk, of course.
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to live, love, learn, grow, share, give, spend, earn, and so much more.
Yes I'm thankful.
All these things I have been given by God. My hope is in Him. He is my rock, always faithful, forgiving .....
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to experience all things because I have been given them. I don't deserve them. I have not earned them.
Yes I'm thankful. I'm so thankful that I think I'll just give thanks!
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
I get to have wonderful friends. I get to have a loving family that means more than I have words for.
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to live in a country that happens to be the greatest in the history of the world.
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to live with freedoms that are not free. I get to say what I want. I get to do what I want and when I want to do it. All this with responsibility and sometimes risk, of course.
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to live, love, learn, grow, share, give, spend, earn, and so much more.
Yes I'm thankful.
All these things I have been given by God. My hope is in Him. He is my rock, always faithful, forgiving .....
Yes I'm thankful.
I get to experience all things because I have been given them. I don't deserve them. I have not earned them.
Yes I'm thankful. I'm so thankful that I think I'll just give thanks!
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Gameday
We took in the last football home game for the year at A&M yesterday. OU visited and easily won. It's pretty much the only time I see OU play live and in person. They are impressive with loads of talent.
The best part though is just being together as family and friends enjoying the sights, sounds, colors, traditions, celebrations and fun. No band comes close to giving the show you get from the Aggie Band. It's the only halftime band I've seen where the crowd stands at their seat for the performance each and every time. I don't know how they do what they do.
It's a funny thing. I was a student at A&M, enjoyed it, met my wife there, my first born goes there, and I have many good memories. It's a great school! However I grew up, til I was 15 years old, not far from Norman where the OU campus is at. I grew cheering for OU with my dad and others. You get something like OU football in your blood and it doesn't just go away.
My immediate family and most of my inlaws are A&M first. They are forgiving and try to understand how I support both. They actually root for OU with me when OU plays an A&M rival.
We are blessed in being able to enjoy the gameday experience together a few times each year and especially while our kids are in school. It is great fun in a great environment.
The best part though is just being together as family and friends enjoying the sights, sounds, colors, traditions, celebrations and fun. No band comes close to giving the show you get from the Aggie Band. It's the only halftime band I've seen where the crowd stands at their seat for the performance each and every time. I don't know how they do what they do.
It's a funny thing. I was a student at A&M, enjoyed it, met my wife there, my first born goes there, and I have many good memories. It's a great school! However I grew up, til I was 15 years old, not far from Norman where the OU campus is at. I grew cheering for OU with my dad and others. You get something like OU football in your blood and it doesn't just go away.
My immediate family and most of my inlaws are A&M first. They are forgiving and try to understand how I support both. They actually root for OU with me when OU plays an A&M rival.
We are blessed in being able to enjoy the gameday experience together a few times each year and especially while our kids are in school. It is great fun in a great environment.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Names
It's funny how we get our names. Sometimes newborns get named after family, friends, things, places, or something that seemed really cool at the time. Some seem a bit out there, but I guess you can get used to anything after a while.
I'm told I got named after my big brother's friend. I need to go find that guy and thank him I guess. Mine is a simple name. Three letters, Jay. Some folks just want to spell it J. Then when folks hear my last name they think maybe I just lied to them. Does it get any easier than Jay Smith? Many people try to repeat it back to me thinking they missed part of it. They try Jerry and Jason among others.
Then come the nicknames. Four-eyes was pretty common for me through elementary years since I started wearing glasses in second grade. They paid for it though. At least some of them (just kidding). People tried Smitty and others. Jaybyrd stuck by the time high school years rolled around. That kind of shortened to just Byrd after a while.
Dad kidded that everyone used to be named Smith until they sinned and had to change it.
On another note ...
I've met folks that love to tell people where they are from. This one guy would say, "Hi, I'm Bill and I'm from Earth. " He wouldn't say Earth, Texas. Just Earth. Anyway it sounded bizarre.
Likewise this other guy would say, "Hi, I'm Bruce and I'm from Venus." Yep there's a Venus, Texas too.
I'm told I got named after my big brother's friend. I need to go find that guy and thank him I guess. Mine is a simple name. Three letters, Jay. Some folks just want to spell it J. Then when folks hear my last name they think maybe I just lied to them. Does it get any easier than Jay Smith? Many people try to repeat it back to me thinking they missed part of it. They try Jerry and Jason among others.
Then come the nicknames. Four-eyes was pretty common for me through elementary years since I started wearing glasses in second grade. They paid for it though. At least some of them (just kidding). People tried Smitty and others. Jaybyrd stuck by the time high school years rolled around. That kind of shortened to just Byrd after a while.
Dad kidded that everyone used to be named Smith until they sinned and had to change it.
On another note ...
I've met folks that love to tell people where they are from. This one guy would say, "Hi, I'm Bill and I'm from Earth. " He wouldn't say Earth, Texas. Just Earth. Anyway it sounded bizarre.
Likewise this other guy would say, "Hi, I'm Bruce and I'm from Venus." Yep there's a Venus, Texas too.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
trusting
One said, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."
Understanding?
Are you kidding me?
Run Run Run! But where?
Turmoil
Chaos
Can't we all just get along?
Fear
No Trust
Bailout or Buyout?
Scary
Crisis Point
Back St., Side St., Wall St., & Main St.
Nah, I don't like any of that ......
Understanding?
Are you kidding me?
Run Run Run! But where?
Turmoil
Chaos
Can't we all just get along?
Fear
No Trust
Bailout or Buyout?
Scary
Crisis Point
Back St., Side St., Wall St., & Main St.
Nah, I don't like any of that ......
Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
I like this much better!
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Beauty College
I don't know what year it was, but I was in elementary school. My mom had been going to Beauty College in OKC to become a licensed hairdresser. Next thing I know, mom and dad bought the Beauty College. The college seemed huge to me and there were several rooms to it. Not long after that, they bought a Beauty Salon too. It was a mile or so from the College.
I quickly learned the skills of janitorial work. Both the College and the Salon were swept, mopped, and then waxed each week. I never saw so much hair. It was everywhere. I tried my best to get all the hair I could while sweeping and mopping, but was always amazed at how much showed up when I started waxing. I was a little guy on that mop and sometimes I thought the mop was working me more than I was working the mop.
We refilled all the coke boxes. This was the day of glass bottles and wooden crates holding the bottles. We wood take a couple of crates home for after school drinks and such. I thought that was kind of special and friends did to when they would stay with me.
Sometimes we would refill bottles of shampoo, conditioner and others.
On the way home from the Beauty College we would stop and do the same tasks at the Salon. It was so much smaller that it didn't take long. It was a snap.
These weekly tasks came in addition to yard mowing and regular house chores. It was kind of neat though. While I didn't really look forward to being on the end of that mop handle, I enjoyed hangin out with dad. No cell phones yet. Just me and him for most of one evening a week.
Dad taught me by example on how to work. He was one of the hardest workers I ever knew and I know he got it from his dad, my granddad. Since leaving home I have always realized in the middle of projects around the house or on the farm we had for a few years, that hard work would get it done and thoughts of dad would always come to me as I poured myself into working.
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