What is work? What is Ministry

The Corner: A Moratorium on the M Word ?:

"A friend in our rag-tag group shared an anecdote that underscores some of the perverse irony of the categorical use of the word ministry. Their faith community supports, in a small financial fashion, a person who works with special needs kids. A person who also is a member of their faith community works for an NGO that works with the exact same kids. Another member processes the governmental paperwork that allows those kids & their families to receive aid that they live on. Recently, a new member joined their community who is a teacher for these exact same kids.

Formally, this wonderful faith community recognizes one of these 4 people as 'ministry' - the other 3 do work. The fellow who told the story was grounded to say simply 'this is stupid, right ?'."

An interesting article. It suggests that the word ministry needs to be removed as aren't we all supposed to do ministry? If on my job, I give a person some advice on how to fix a computer, even if I do not give them scripture, do I minister to them. I am to do my job as it were doing it for the Lord.

Give it a read.

And I thought that my van was ugly!

FOX Sports on MSN - NASCAR - Edwards' ride gets Red Sox makeover:

"Edwards' No. 99 car has been repainted white, with the traditional red stitches of a baseball, to celebrate his first visit to the land of the Boston Red Sox since the ballclub's owners invested in his race team. The car will also sport the Red Sox name and logo on the hood and sides, and even Edwards' helmet has been painted white with red seams."

Now, I am a Red Sox fan, and I am a NASCAR fan, but follow the link and see of you do not agree that this is the ugliest looking car that you have ever seen. They could have done Red Sox, they could have done Lumber Liquidators, or any of the smaller companies, but to have them all on the car with a baseball stiching design....AGGGGGGHHHHH

A NASCAR Ministry

ESPN - Ashenfelter: Shepherd racing on a shoestring and a cause - Nascar:

"'Our main goal is to be here and to serve the Lord -- that's what we're about with the [Racing with] Jesus logo on the car,' Shepherd said. 'But we're serious about our racing, too. It [just] takes dollars to do it.'"

The car wrecked at Kentucky was purchased from Robert Yates Racing, after it had been involved in a wreck. Shepherd and his all-volunteer team worked on the chassis, and the car was converted to a Dodge.

The motor was used in Shepherd's Nextel Cup car, and the team made the alterations necessary for it to be legal in the Busch Series.

"We just took parts and pieces ... [building it] one piece at a time," Shepherd said.

65 years old and racing for the Lord. Living off a shoestring budget is not the way it should be, but I am impressed with this man and cheer for him when I see him on the races on TV. Here is hoping that he makes the NH race.

NASCAR does not fine things logically

NASCAR suspends Musgrave for one race - NASCAR - Yahoo! Sports:

"DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- NASCAR on Wednesday suspended Ted Musgrave from competition until July 3 for an on-track altercation during last week's Craftsman Truck Series race in Milwaukee.

Musgrave, the driver of the No. 9 Toyota Tundra, appeared to intentionally ram the nose of his truck into the driver's-side door of rookie Kelly Bires' truck after the two were involved in a crash Friday in the Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200.

NASCAR officials black-flagged Musgrave immediately following the incident.

In addition to missing this weekend's race at Memphis Motorsports Park, Musgrave was docked 50 points, fined $10,000 and placed on probation until December 31."

So why, when Kyle Bush, in the premier series, runs into Tony Steward's car on pit row and endangers a pit crew member, gets a slap on the hand and told not to do this any more. If Musgrave does not get to race for one race, why did Bush get to continue?

NASCAR needs to get there act together.

When will they ever learn?

FOXNews.com - Michigan Woman Claims Starburst Candies Are Dangerously Chewy in Lawsuit

"Starburst Fruit Chews are exactly as their name would indicate: chewy. But one Boston-area woman says the candies are so chewy, they should come with a warning label."Victoria McArthur, of Romero, Mich., is suing Starbursts' parent company, Mars Inc., for more than $25,000 for "permanent personal injuries" she claims she sustained after biting into one of their yellow candy in 2005.

"I don't know, maybe about 3 chews and it literally locked my jaw … and it just literally pulled my jaw out of joint," she told MyFoxDetroit.com.

Has everyone gone suing happy? This is ridiculous. Should I sue because I lost a filling when I ate one? When will people stop thinking about what they can get from everyone else and start to do for themselves?

Who owns NASCAR numbers?

FOX Sports on MSN - NASCAR - Report: DEI can't sell No. 8 to Hendrick:

"Hendrick Motorsports may have Dale Earnhardt in their stable, but they won't be able to buy his trademark No. 8.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. will not be allowed to sell the No. 8 to Hendrick or any other team, according to a report on the Charlotte Observer Web site.

According to the report, spokesman Ramsey Poston reiterated that NASCAR owns and assigns all car numbers and said a team cannot sell numbers on their own accord.

'NASCAR owns the numbers and licenses them to teams on an annual basis,' Poston said in the report. 'A team may allow another team to use the number for that year pending NASCAR's approval.'

Poston said in the report that each year a team submits the numbers it wants to use. Numbers a team has previously been using are usually reissued. If a team gives up a number, it returns to NASCAR for reassignment. Selling the numbers is not an option."

Seems Michael Waltrip said this last week on 'Inside Nextel Cup' on Speed Channel. I was waiting for the attempt at money to change hands for the number to see if it would happen. I wonder if NASCAR was wanting their piece of the pie. Maybe they will need it to fund the ATT suite they are doing?

From the 'Life is funnier than movies' department

FOXNews.com - World Hot Dog-Eating Champion Crippled by Jaw Injury

"TOKYO — A Japanese man who set a world record by wolfing down dozens of hot dogs within minutes has suffered a severe jaw injury due to his rigorous training, making his next title uncertain.

Takeru 'Tsunami'' Kobayashi said he can only open his mouth to make a gap the size of a fingertip after being diagnosed with jaw arthritis."

This is just really to funny. I feel sad for the guy, but if you wrote this in a movie or TV show, no one would really believe it.

The Car has an owner - sort of

When the car was buried in 1957, more than 800 people submitted guesses on what Tulsa's population — which was around 250,000 in 1957 — would be in 2007. Guesses ranged from zero to 2 billion, but Raymond E. Humbertson's guess of 384,743 was only slightly off the official U.S. Census count of 382,457.

Winner of buried Belvedere died in 1979 - Yahoo! News

Seems like the winner died in 1979.  Some how, the fact that he and his wife pased away with no children seems appropriate concsidering the shape of the car. 

The Car unvailed

KOTV.com - The News On 6

Well, the car has been uncovered. Ms. Belvedere has been opened. Water seeped in and rusted the car out. The case of beer in 'tin cans' got rusted also. The time capsule came through unharmed and a beautiful 48 star American flag came out of it. Warning, go to the link and the video is 43 minutes long and when I started to watch it there was a lot of stopping for buffering. There are links to other stories that the local station did as well. It was even on ABC national news tonight. I guess we got attention for something neat.

It really is a shame the car and a lot of the interior got wrecked. It would have been nice to see it in good condition.

The Car is out

KOTV.com - The News On 6

A 50 year old new car has been removed from its time capsule. They had a little water in the nuclear war proof vault but it is up and will be unveiled tonight.

FOXNews.com - Oklahoma Convenience Stores Terrorized by Diaper Flasher - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

FOXNews.com - Oklahoma Convenience Stores Terrorized by Diaper Flasher - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News:

"TULSA, Okla. — A man who's flashed several Tulsa, Okla., convenience store clerks wearing only a diaper has struck again.
Authorities said the man made his fourth appearance last week striking a Broken Arrow, Okla., gas station, FOX affiliate, KOKI-TV reports.
“You can't help but laugh about a man wearing a diaper in public, but the key part is he's exposing himself,” Corp. Mark Mears of the Tulsa Police Department told KOKI-TV.
Store clerk Kyle Holdman told the station that his friend was working the night of the flasher's latest appearance.
'He was just kind of like creeped out by it,' Holdman told KOKI-TV. 'The guy went into the bathroom and came back in a diaper. He told him he needed to go find somewhere else to do that.”"

Why do we always make the headlines for stupid stuff. I mean, Tulsa is digging up a huge time capsule this weekend and do you hear about that on the news. A 1957 Belvedere is a better story than a man in a diaper I would think!

Mr, Wizzard had gone home

FOXNews.com - Don Herbert, 'Mr. Wizard,' Dies at 89 - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment:

"In 'Watch Mr. Wizard,' which was produced from 1951 to 1964 and received a Peabody Award in 1954, Herbert turned TV into an entertaining classroom. On a simple, workshop-like set, he demonstrated experiments using household items.

'He modeled how to predict and measure and analyze. ... The show today might seem slow but it was in-depth and forced you to think along,' Jacobs said. 'You were learning about the forces of nature.'"

We will miss you Mr. Wizzard. My love of science came from you.

Sermon Notes - Grace Church - How You Give is Important

All scripture King James Version. These notes are what I got from sermon, not necessarily what was preached. Sermons are available to view/listen to at Grace Church website for approximately 1 month from time sermon preached.

Grace Church

03/11/2007

Pastor Bob Yandian

God's Financial Plan 2

How You Give is Important

There are two sides to giving. Spiritual and natural are what they are. God does not mean for us to live continually on the edge.

Tithing is not under the law:

Gen 14:20 KJV

(20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Tithing is a free will gift that we give to God. It is a choice. It came 430 years before the law was given. Tithing was not introduced in the law, it was reinforced in the law. Three things that were there before the law were sacrifices (they started with Adam and Eve and went through Jacob at least), the Sabbath (we are instructed to remember it), and the tithe.

God gives seed to sowers, not keepers.

Gen 15:1 KJV

(1) After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

God rewarded Abram for the tithe that he gave. God had to tell him not to be in fear, that He would reward Abram. Money often becomes our shield, we feel that if we have enough that we can survive any problem. God is our 'exceeding great reward'. Exceeding, Hebrew is meod, means speedily increasing or ever increasing. Great is ratah in Hebrew and means abundance. Reward sakar in Hebrew and means salary or supply of money. God is saying He will be an ever increasing abundance of money. Stop looking to what you have to be your increasing reward.

Abraham is a type of us. Melchisedec is a type of Jesus (no beginning or end, and from Salem (Jerusalem, peace).

Heb 7:4-8 KJV

(4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

(5) And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:

(6) But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

(7) And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

(8) And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

Melchisedec is mentioned in verse 6. Verse 8 shows us that now people receive tithes but as they do Jesus receives them also in heaven.

Abraham gave the tenth. Melchisedec received. Priests take the tithe (it was required under the law), bun now men (ministers of God) receive your offering (not take it). Under law, tithing was taxation. When you give here on earth, a man who will die will receive it. Jesus receives it also, but He has no use of money. He receives the attitude that we give it with. Just as we choose to walk in love to Jesus, we walk in tithe as well.

Tithing was mentioned many place in the law and was always free will.

Gen 28:19-22 KJV

(19) And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

(20) And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

(21) So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

(22) And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Gen 32:10 KJV

(10) I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

Jacob left poor and returned prosperous.

2 Chronicles 30 tells the story of Hezekiah who wanted the people to start to celebrate the passover and to start the tithe again. It had not been done for centuries and they became prosperous when they did. This is show in Nehemiah 10: 34 - 39 as well. They were told to reinstate the tithe and they became wealthy again.

1Co 13:3 KJV

(3) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Giving is designed to profit us. If you give with out love it does not profit us at all.

Luk 6:35-38 KJV

(35) But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

(36) Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

(37) Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

(38) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

There are many other things to do. But they all reflect your attitude towards God and His people.

Waltrip qualifies for first race since Daytona - NASCAR - Yahoo! Sports

Waltrip qualifies for first race since Daytona - NASCAR - Yahoo! Sports:

"``There's been too many times when we showed up with a car that was out in left field and we had to try and get it competitive,'' Waltrip said. ``Today we unloaded and we were competitive. That's the difference.''

Waltrip, who hasn't raced in Nextel Cup competition since the season-opening Daytona 500, hugged teammate Dale Jarrett, the former series champion in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing, after qualifying and they shared a few words. Jarrett qualified 22nd."

All I can say is Welcome back Michael. I have not lost faith in you. I will be cheering for you on Sunday. Go for the win if you can

Unemployment - One week later

It has been an unusual week for me. One week ago today laid off. It has taken me a little bit to get my legs back underneath me and I am not sure that I have. It has been quite an eye opener for me.
To start with, though I got my job with Decision One in 1998, I did not actively persue looking for a job then. I floated my resume a few places through the internet, but I did not have to find a job. For that time, the last time I was without work through a lay off, it was 1989. Think back if you can. There was no Internet, it was still under the military, APRANET. When you went looking for a job you went from place to place. You took 2 to 3 days a week and you knocked on doors and handed out resumes. Now what do you do. You ask if you can put in an application and they tell you to do it on line. No one wants to talk to you anymore. There is no feedback. No one says that they will call if something opens up, or anything else. You get a nice email that says in canned text, thanks for applying for [INSERT JOB NAME HERE].

Yes, I know it is more efficient. It is still jarring to my senses though. I have been out of work one week and except for one interview that was advertised as a full time job and wound up being part time, I have not gone out of the house to drop a resume anyplace. And the one job that I had a phone number to talk to a man, the secretary told me to email the resume in.

Anyway, just letting you all know what is happening. I know I will survive and get a job. I know that I am in God's hands and this did not catch Him off guard. I just am having a hell of a time with it.

Sermon Notes - Grace Church - Moses and the Miracles 1

All scripture King James Version. These notes are what I got from sermon, not necessarily what was preached. Sermons are available to view/listen to at Grace Church website for approximately 1 month from time sermon preached.

Grace Church

03/07/2007

Pastor Bob Yandian

Moses and the Miracles 1

Each of the miracles of God in the book of Exodus took on one by one, ten of the Egyptian gods.

Heb 11:23 KJV

(23) By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

Proper here means he was a child of a city.

Heb 11:24-25 KJV

(24) By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

(25) Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Abraham showed his life was a pilgrimage. He was looking for a city. This child Moses was a child of that city. God had His hand on him.

Moses had a call from God and blew it. But that call never was removed.

Gen 15:12-16 KJV

(12) And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

(13) And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

(14) And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

(15) And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

(16) But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

What does this have to do with Moses? God is telling Abraham here that there will come a time when Abraham's descendants will get the land but it will be 400 years later. Moses when out in his own power when God said that Moses would deliver the Hebrews, but the 400 years were not up yet. When God has a call on your life, do not rush out the door till you know all the deal. The Amorites had 400 years of grace. They never accepted it, so the time had come now, not 40 years earlier.

Moses then lived in the wilderness for 40 years. It took that long to get Egypt taken out of him. He was now able to be lead people who needed the same. He has gone from self-sufficiency to being a timid person.

Gen 15:18 KJV

(18) In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Exo 3:1-2 KJV

(1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

(2) And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

The angel of the Lord means Jesus. The bush is a type of our human flesh. Our bodies should burn up when we receive Jesus but we do not.

Exo 3:3-5 KJV

(3) And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

(4) And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

(5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

The place was holy because God was there, not because Moses was there.

Exo 3:6 KJV

(6) Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

He was their God and He would be theirs as well.

Exo 3:7-8 KJV

(7) And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

(8) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

The place was not in what is now know as Israel. It was not the ground that made it holy, it was the presence of God that did it.

What does the current church do with the term Holy Ground?

Act 6:13 KJV

(13) And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

They try to make the temple or the city holy. It is not so. There is no one place that is holy.

Act 7:30-33 KJV

(30) And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

(31) When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,

(32) Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

(33) Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

Stephen was trying to say that the presense of God is what makes it holy, not the building or the ground. When Jesus died God left the temple and it was no longer holy.

Gal 4:25 KJV

(25) For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

Jerusalem is now in bondage so it is no longer holy because of the temple. Moses saw God in Sinai, in Arabia, not holy to the Hebrew people, but God says it is holy ground.

Exo 2:18-19 KJV

(18) And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

(19) And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

Moses acted like an Egyptian so all thought he was. He may have even thought he was.

Forty years later Moses heard the voice of God again. Why now. He has no more confidence in himself. God puts on a show and speaks to him, but now Moses says he cannot do it.

Five arguments of Moses:

1. Who am I Lord? He does not have any power or authority to lead them out.

Exo 3:9-12 KJV

(9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

(10) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

(11) And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12. And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

2. Who are you? Who will I tell them who sent me.

Exo 3:13-22 KJV

(13) And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

(14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

(15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

(16) Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

(17) And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

(18) And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

(19) And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

(20) And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

(21) And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

22. But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
    
    
    

    3. What will I tell the courts of Pharaoh? God replies what do you have?

    4. I can not speak. OK, Arron will speak for you.

    5. I do not want to go!

If you are still alive, God can use you. God can pick up where you, like Moses , messed up. Become weak in yourself and strong in the Lord.

Was P T Barnum correct?

FOXNews.com - Hundreds of PC Users Click On 'Click Here to Get Infected' Ad - Technology News | News On Technology:

"No PCs were harmed in this experiment, he emphasizes. The site is benign and has never hosted malware or other scripts or code.

Then he started the Google Adwords campaign, using combinations of the words 'drive-by download' along with the ad, which links to the drive-by-download.info site.

Next, he sat and waited ... for six months.

Over that period, his ad was viewed 259,723 times and clicked on 409 times, for a click-through rate of about .16 percent.

The experiment cost him $23, or 6 cents per click/potentially infected machine.

Of the 409 people who clicked, 98 percent were running Windows machines, according to the user agent string, which is a text string that identifies a Web site visitor to a server."

While .16% does not seem like a large number, if done in large enough quantities, it can be a huge number. What is scary here is that people knew what they were clicking on before they clicked it.

Real Life 'Cars'

When you saw the movie 'Cars' did you think it was just a cute story? I hope this changes your mind:

KOTV.com - The News On 6: "MIAMI, Okla. (AP) _ The Riviera Courts Motel is crumbling away and nobody seems to care.

Once a stop along Route 66, the 2,400-mile neon carnival that connected hundreds of communities from Chicago to Los Angeles, this late-1930s Mission Revival is just a weather-worn building on the side of a country road in far northeast Oklahoma.

Next door, soybean farmers Richard and Rosemary Woolard watch the place deteriorate from their front porch.

``Been a lot of changes in this old county,'' 77-year-old Richard Woolard says plainly.

The Riviera Courts is among hundreds of mom-and-pop motels that met their demise along the ribbon of Route 66 as America's interstate system siphoned traffic off the Mother Road onto a four-lane, divided highway called progress.

In Oklahoma, with more Route 66 miles than any of the eight states it flows through, many motels are derelict or abandoned, used as junk yards, makeshift car lots and flophouses."

I have driven these back roads through the small towns. It is just a shame that the have so many problems. In an ideal world it would be OK to have the big box hotels and the little ones. The mom and pop restaurants and the fast food joints. It is not a perfect world however. In return, a part of history is being eliminated. And we are that much the poorer for it.

Google Land Rush

KOTV.com - The News On 6:

"A new land rush grips a Green Country town. Google's coming to Pryor and catching the attention of land developers. Realtors say the market is the busiest they've ever seen, and News On 6 anchor Omar Villafranca reports Google hasn't even set up shop.

Last month internet giant Google unveiled plans to build a data center in Pryor. Since the announcement, Lee Weems, a Pryor realtor, has been busy.

'We had Gatorade, but as soon as Google came in behind them, it went nuts,' said Weems."

WOW. Google announces that they are going to move into a small Oklahoma city and all of a sudden the land for homes in the area becomes prime real estate. Just wishing that I could get a job with them considering my new status in the employment field.

Lay Off

I have never mentioned Decision One, the company that I have worked for. Notice the key word, 'worked for'. Today, just 1 and 1/2 months short of 9 years with the company I was let go. Emotions are running nuts in me today. I was on vacation and went to check my email to see if I was needed for anything. When my name/password combination did not work for the VPN I was not worried, we have quirks like that from time to time. I sent an IM to my supervisor joking about if there was something that I should know. His response was his telephone number. When I called, he asked if I had talked to our boss. When I said no, he said to call him.

Am I bitter? In some ways yes. For most of the nine years I worked for this company, I was underpaid. I have had no pay raises for at least 7 years. I was told when it all got returned around we would get decent pay raises. I stayed with the company knowing that I was doing a good job. I know that the new head guy who I read about last week, the one that comes in and guts 25% of the company when he takes over, is not going to read this blog. He has better things to do with his time. I just am saying that I am one of those faceless people that you let go. I have sacrificed for this company because I believed in it. This is my reward. 2 months severance pay and see you later. At least I got the sevrance pay. At 55 years of age, finding another job will not be easy for me. I know you do not care.

Am I bitter? In some ways no. I know that God will supply all of my needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. In 30years of computer work I have been laid off twice. and God provided both times. He met my needs not my wants.

I ask for anyone who reads this to keep me in your prayers. If you know of computer related jobs in Tulsa, please keep me in mind. Thanks...

Now, to go look for job leads....