James 1:2-3

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

Nothing great has ever happened without pain and trials of the ones who accomplished it. Trials of many kinds bring us closer to Christ, and almost force us to depend wholly on Him and no one else, including ourselves.

Endurance is required to reach our goal of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven here. We must run our race with endurance. Without endurance, it's a sprint, and, while it may have great results, we don't want to be disqualified ourselves.

What trials are you facing? I know we're facing some big ones. Thank God today for your trials, not because of the pain, but because of the long-term result, which we may not see for a very long time.

James 1:1a

"James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Chris,"

James declared himself a "bond-servant." What is that? A servant is one who serves (duh!), but a bond-servant implies something a little different.

When a servant or a slave had worked long enough to pay off a debt (or if the time limit on debt had run out...Jewish culture had such an awesome way of dealing with debt), he could make the choice to go out on his own as a free man, or he could stay with his master, because he loved his master, and was then a bond-servant.

A bond-servant doesn't serve because that's his job or because he's paying off a debt or because that's the position he was born to. A bond-servant serves because he loves his master. James declared himself a bond-servant because he served Christ out of love for Christ, not out of obligation to repay the enormous debt which all of us who have accepted Christ's salvation have been relieved of.

Are you a bond-servant, or just someone trying to work to earn the salvation you've already been given?

Acts 1

"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
- Acts 1:45

Jesus did not tell His disciples to do anything. He told them to wait: to wait to receive the Promise of the Father. Why do we hurry into doing things "for God" when sometimes He just wants us to stop and wait on him? Go when He says "Go." Stay when He says "Stay." Proceed when He says "Proceed." Wait when He says "Wait."

Meet Charlotte

Here's Charlotte! We got her from my parents last Sunday. She's a cockapoo (half cocker spaniel, half poodle). She's seven weeks old, and she's loads of fun.

Birthday Fun

So, today was my birthday, and it was a most excellent day.

Sarah and I started the day off going to Beach Church and got to worship with our Lifegroup and a whole bunch of other Christ-followers (always good times).

After lunch, I got to open my presents from Sarah. Yes, I said presents. My wife tends to go all out, and she definitely went all out on this. She'd been saving her blow money (see Dave Ramsey if you don't know what that means) for months. She bought me a table saw AND a router, both of which I've been wanting for a while, but I don't possess the discipline to save my blow money long enough to get them. Here's a couple pictures.


After an afternoon nap, Sarah started work on a homemade cheesecake (which we will be eating shortly). Then, we went out to Travinia for dinner and went to Barnes and Noble.

To top off everything my awesome wife has done for my birthday, I've received numerous text messages and facebook wall posts wishing me happy birthday, and phone calls from two of the closest friends from my past, Christof and Nate. Thanks for everything.

And now, back to the regular world (where my wife is still awesome, and I get to eat cheesecake).

California is Run by Wannabes

Okay, so maybe not all of California, but check this out.

To help with the state's budget crisis, Governor Schwarzenegger (it's still weird to type the name as that of a politician) ordered a GARAGE SALE at the Department of General Services’ surplus warehouse in North Sacramento.

That's an awesome idea, and maybe everyone else should follow in Cali's steps for a change, but where have I heard of this idea before?
Oh wait, DAVE RAMSEY!!!

For the article, click here.

1st Week

Well, the first week of school at North Myrtle Beach High School is over. It was a great week, but really long. Thus far, my students have been great. I've already had a few sleepers, and two of my three classes have already had a quiz (the beauty of 4x4 schedule - you hit the ground running).
To end a great week, our football team walked away with the victory last night against Loris (our new principal's old school). I didn't get to go to the game, but I read about it first thing this morning.

Anyway, one down, quite a few to go. It will get more stressful, but I'm sure it'll be an awesome year (well, semester, since we are now on true semester schedules).

What in the World?

Do you find yourself spending long hours online? Do you check your Facebook and Twitter accounts every few minutes? Do you Google random words just to give you something to look up online?

If this is you, there's someone who can help.

No, seriously, there's now a rehab center for internet addiction in Washington.

If this is you, please, click here, we're begging you.

I Don't Like Jesus

Check out my friend Todd's new blog I Don't Like Jesus. You may just find out that you don't like Him either, and that's where the journey begins.

School Days

Well, the summer flew by apparently. I'm back at North Myrtle Beach High, and things have been going pretty well thus far. I'll be teaching Algebra 1 and Honors Geometry this year.

This week has been meetings and working in our rooms. Tomorrow is New Chiefs...New Beginnings, which is our freshman orientation. Students come Monday.

I'm really excited about the upcoming school year. I hope it will turn out to be as great as last year.

Summer Activity

So, I've been lazy this summer. Lucky me. Actually, I've been doing a bit of reading and working on a couple of projects, but nothing big.

Since I haven't blogged anything lately, I figured I'd just write out a list of the books I've read this summer, in case anyone cares.

I reread the Harry Potter series (in preparation for the new movie)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (5 books in the series)
The Warrior Heir
The Wizard Heir
The Dragon Heir
What's So Amazing About Grace?
I'm now reading The Hobbit and will hopefully get through at least part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy before school starts back up.

Anyway, nothing much else has really been going on. I've been helping Sarah here and there with her cows, but that's it.

I hope everyone else is having as good a summer as I am.

Congratulations

James Walker Thompson V finally arrived to grace the presence of his parents, Jim and Sara Thompson, this morning at 3:06. Congratulations, Jim and Sarah!





Can we be next?

Attention Myrtle Beach

Head out to Market Commons tomorrow night at 6:30. Our church is going to be having a Connect Service there, and it's going to be kick-awesome!

Lifegroup

I just thought I'd mention the fact that I love the guys in my Lifegroup from Beach Church. I always look forward to Wednesday nights when we get to talk about life and share each other's burdens and walk through things together.

Angels & Demons

After getting home from Charleston for the weekend, Sarah and I decided we'd go see Angels & Demons to round off our weekend. I think it was a mistake.
The movie was a pretty good movie, if you haven't read the book. If you've read the book, forget about seeing the movie. The book was fantastic, and could easily have been made into a feature-length film without all of the "creative licenses" that were taken to make changes.
Since it did have to do with the Illuminati, I'll give the movie a 2 out of 5.

Anniversary Trip

So, Sarah and I are staying in Mt. Pleasant this weekend for our anniversary trip. Yesterday afternoon, we went downtown and hit the market and walked around, and then went to Gilligan's Steamer and Raw Bar for dinner, and then headed to Marble Slab for desert.

Today, we, of course, went to Folly Beach for a while, and now we're getting ready for James and Amelia's wedding tonight. Other than that, we're just relaxing and enjoying our time together.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary Sarah! It's been 3 years today! I love you!!!

Horry County Wildfire

Please pray for all those living in the area where the wild fire is burning in and around Myrtle Beach. Many of my students live in the area endangered by the fire, and quite a few of them did not come to school today.

Please continue to pray!

Chick-fil-A

Check out my friend Kelly's blog about Chick-fil-A!

April 15

Happy Tax Day!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!!!

Just a Reminder

Just a reminder of the true reason for "Easter" (which I prefer to call Resurrection Day).

Spring Break Day 1

Spring Break Day 1:
- Went to check out parts of the Cooper River Bridge Run
- Drove back from Charleston
- Helped Sarah with some Chick-fil-A training
- Mowed our lawn for the first time
- Spending the rest of the evening relaxing with Sarah (and probably going to get some CFA milkshakes later)

Yay!

Sarah's home! Woohoo!

Bachin it, Day 4

Today was an up and down day.

- I woke up 45 minutes late. Considering I normally get to work an hour and a half before school starts, it wasn't that big of a deal, but I hate being late.

- I gave blood at school today. Since I'm a universal donor, they wanted me to donate two units instead of one. No problem for me. When you do two units, though, they hook you up to a machine that draws your blood, separates the parts (red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma), and then puts back what it isn't using. So, 5 minutes of drawing blood, 5 minutes of a saline solution going back into my body. Took a little longer, but wasn't bad at all.

- At the end of the school day, Mr. Brown (my principal) called me down to his office. Guess what...I'll have a job next year. Woohoo!

- The best part about today, though, is that it's the day before Thursday, and Sarah comes home on Thursday!!!

I'm about to head to bed...still not sleeping well.

Bachin It, Day 2

Day 2
- Woke up after not sleeping well
- Went to work
- Went to the store to get sugar to make tea
- Cleaned up paint chips in the garage because I've been too lazy to do it in the last month
- Sat on the couch and watched TV
- Going to bed soon

Happy Sad

Today was one of those good-bad days.

The Good Part - Sarah and I got paid this past week. That means its tithing time. Today, we tithed to Beach Church for the first time. We've been sending our tithe back to Crossroads to continue to support that ministry while we sought a new church home to get involved in. That's finally happened. The reason this is the good part is because we finally feel like we're becoming a part of something here in Myrtle Beach. Anyone can attend a church, but contributing is a different thing (actually, we're commanded to contribute, not just attend).

The Bad Part - Sarah has Chick-fil-A training in Atlanta this week. That means that this afternoon, I had to take her to the airport and leave her there (because you can't get through security unless you have a plane ticket). I cried when walking back to the car, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Sarah and I don't do well apart from each other for long periods of time. So, I'm baching (bacheloring) it this week. It's not fun, but it's a necessity. C'est la vie.

Time Flies

So, it's been almost a month since I've posted anything at all. What can I say, I'm the world's worst blogger. (Okay, maybe not the worst, but I'm definitely not good at it.)

Sarah and I went to the upstate a couple of weeks ago to visit family and celebrate my dad's birthday. Last weekend our friends Alex and Jenn came down here to visit us. They're moving to Vermont soon. This weekend, thankfully, we're not doing anything. Sarah and I are just going to relax and relax some more. That's the plan anyway. I'm sure something will come up.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day Sarah! I love you!

What Pork?

The Stimulus Bill was voted on after not even being available for 24 hours. It was so long, that, even reading at an average college-level reading level, it would take 12 hours nonstop to get through it all. Now, you tell me, did every one of those government officials read it? I seriously doubt it.

Here's some pork I found out about (even though that are "no earmarks or pet projects in the bill")

- $8 billion for a high-speed railway from LA to Las Vegas (because we need easier access to major gambling so that we can win money instead of earning it)
- $2 billion for the litium-ion industry (because better batteries will stimulate our economy)
- $800 million for carbon-capture projects
- $650 million total for NASA - $450 million for "science" and $200 million for "aeronautics" (because getting to the Moon again will really help the accountant and constructions workers down the street who lost their jobs)

And here's a partial list from Foxnews.com
- $100 million for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program
- $200 million to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program
- $300 million for "Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs"
- $900 million for the IRS for the "Limitation on Administrative Expenses"
- $1 million for the Railroad Retirement Board for administrative costs
- $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Act
- $50 million for Health and Human Services to carry out injury prevention programs
- $1.1 billion for studies on the effectiveness of different medical treatments
- $200 million to upgrade labs and facilities for the Department of Agriculture "to improve workplace safety and mission-area efficiencies"
- $10 million for urban canal inspection
- $16 billion to pay for student financial aid
- $1 billion to pay for the U.S. Census
- $600 million to pay for a fuel-efficient federal auto fleet
- $650 million for the Digital Converter Box Program to help the constantly delayed transition from analog television
- $485 million to the Forest Service for "hazardous fuels reduction and hazard mitigation activities in areas at high risk of catastrophic wildfire"
- $3 billion for the Centers for Disease Control wellness programs and vaccinations
- $410 million for Indian health facilities

WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY THINKING!?!?!?

What in the world?

I don't think I've ever heard anyone speak so much to not say anything as I have so far tonight listening to the Presidential News Conference.

Congratulations

Congrats to my good friends, Jim and Sara Thompson, on the fact that they found out today they'll be having a totally awesome BOY (named James Walker Thompson V, of course).

Congrats Jim and Sara!!!




PS Is it the Weber's turn now?

Twilight

I finally gave in and read Twilight in the last couple of days. It was pretty good, but I don't see what all the obsessions has been about it. Then again, I'm not a teenage girl, either. I started New Moon today.

And, in case any of you are thinking that my salvation is at stake because I'm reading a FICTIONAL book about vampires, get over it. And just so you have something else to gripe about me over, I've also read all of the Harry Potter books (and loved them), parts of the Book of Mormon (and hated it), and parts of the Baghavad Gita (and hated it). I've also ready all of the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and own the movies), but most people don't make a fuss about that because they were written by Christian men (even though Tolkein never made any comment that LOTR was based on anything Christian).

By the way, I also used to have earrings.

Sorry for the rant, but several people I know (my wife included) have been bashed by comments on their blogs because they've read the Twilight saga, and it really irritates me that people take the time to comment like that. For those of you thinking of doing that on my blog, here's some advice. Use the 10 minutes it takes you to fume about this and the 2 minutes it takes to write a comment, and go outside, knock on your neighbor's door, and show them love. I promise you won't be nearly as concerned about my reading after that.

The Week In Review

This week was reeeeeeeeeeeeally long. It wasn't bad at all, but just long.

Monday we had parent-teacher conferences at school. That means that my work day was over 13 hours long. It didn't help that I woke up tired, so by the end of the day, I was kaput.

Tuesday was great. Nothing spectacular.

Wednesday, I left work right at 3:30. My head was pounding, and I had a meeting with my principal and curriculum coordinator near the end of the day, so I couldn't really leave early. I went home and crashed on the couch and just sat there until Sarah and I went to bed.
I figured, the work I didn't get to do because I left early could easily be made up on Thursday morning, considering I get to school before 7 each day.

Thursday, I overslept, which means the work I had put off on Wednesday couldn't get done before school on Thursday. Not most of it, anyway. I still got to school on time and with time to spare, but the whole day I felt like I was running behind and missing things.

Friday was a Friday. My students were relatively well-behaved and respectful, but it was Friday all the same, and so they were somewhat antsy and inattentive.

That's my week in a nutshell. The plans for the weekend - lounge around and relax.

15 Things You Should Know About Abortion

This is just a cut-and-paste from John Piper's blog, but I thought you may want to read it. These are fifteen things about abortion. Some of them are purely scientific. Others are purely faith-based. Even if you don't believe in God, there's an overwhelming amount of evidence that abortion is just as wrong as any other murder. Here's the list:

1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).

2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

15.Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

Pharisees

On the way to work this morning, I was passed by a policeman. I was driving down Hwy. 31. He was going at least 75 mph (speed limit is 65 mph), and I saw him change lanes twice without ever using a turn signal.
It made me think about the fact that this man's job is to uphold the law, and yet there he was, breaking the law, right in front of me.
It's a trivial example, of course, but it got me to thinking.
In the Bible, the Pharisees and Saducees were given the task of upholding the Law and teaching others to do so, and yet, often times they were the ones breaking the Law. Was this policeman a modern day Pharisee? But I didn't stop thinking there...
How many times have I, as a child of God and an Ambassador of Heaven, broken the Law while telling others the obey it? How often have I proven to be a hypocrite? Of course, as a child of grace, I'm no longer under the Law, but that doesn't mean that I should just live how I want. It means that I should desire to live in God's will...not because I'm scared of punishment, but because I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.
How about you? Have you ever found yourself in this situation?

Lord, forgive me for being a modern-day Pharisee. Help me to live under your grace and to give that same grace to others. Help me to love you the way that you desire for me to love you. Amen.

Windows 7

So, this week, I downloaded the Beta edition of Windows 7. Windows 7 is the new operating system Microsoft is working on to release towards the end of this year. So far, it's been pretty cool. I'm trying it out on my old laptop, so it's definitely not going to run as well as it would on a newer, average system, but it's working a lot better than I thought it would. It's actually running better than XP right now. How crazy is that? Anyway, here's a couple of screenshots of the Desktop, Start Menu, Libraries screen, and Computer screen, as well as a shot of Microsoft Word (it's not a new version...still Office 2007). Enjoy!

Desktop Screenshot, feature the Betta fish (get it...Windows 7 Beta--Betta fish...you're so funny, Microsoft)

Start Menu. One of the features of Windows 7 is that the Quick Launch toolbar is integrated into the Taskbar. You can see the icons just to the right of the Windows icon.

Libraries are another new feature...you can put all of your pictures, videos, music, etc. into libraries even if they're from different folders.

The Computer screen (formerly My Computer) shows the drives and how much space they're using.

Microsoft Word...nothing new here.

Snow?

This morning, I was at work, and it started snowing...in Little River, SC. That's crazy! The funny thing is that people just freak out about it. A little bit of snow, and the second half of the Staff Development day was canceled, and tomorrow we have a 2-hour delay. Can't complain about that (even though I'll still be at work just as early in the morning). Happy Sort-of-Snow Day!

Buffalo Wild Wings

Tonight, Sarah and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Quite a few people have told us how great it was and that it was a whole lot better than Wild Wing Cafe. Well, let me tell you...all of those people are wrong. The restaurant felt more like a bar than a restaurant, and the selection wasn't that great (14 wing sauces compared to over 30 at Wild Wing). Sarah ordered the boneless wings, and guess what...they tasted like they were Tyson frozen boneless wings that were dipped in sweet barbecue sauce.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my opinion.

Painting

Yesterday I finished painting the living room, so here are those pictures. All we have left for now is the master bathroom, and then we're done (until we decide what we're doing with the office and guest bedroom). Enjoy!







Today, we finally finished the living room. Woohoo!

6 Years and Counting

6 years ago today, Sarah and I had our first date. Happy Anniversary!!!

Good-Bad News

Today we got some good-bad news. Please pray for us over the next few days. Thanks.

Painting Days 3 and 4

Here's a few pictures of the last couple of days' work.