The summer of 1993 started out like any other.  Since 1989 had I had started doing magic professionally and summers were a chance to be on the road a bit more.  The picture in this post is me with Harry Blackstone Jr taken in June of that year.  One thing that was different in my life was I had started reading the bible on a daily basis back in March.  The primary reason for that was a girl I had met named Lisa who unlike me was excited about God, church, the bible, etc.  I really liked her and was drawn not just to her beauty, but also this sense of peace she had in her life.  She attributed it to Jesus…I doubted that because I went to church every week and I certainly wasn’t excited or peaceful about any of it.

That all changed on July 27, 1993.  Like today July 27th fell on a Tuesday that year and like today the heat and humidity were high.  I arrived home from working at the magic shop and made myself some dinner and was planning on watching the Orioles game on TV.  The door bell rang…”Hmmmm wonder who that could be?”  Standing at the door were two men from the church Lisa attended, which I had attended as well the previous Sunday (side note:  I hated it because they played drums and guitars and the preacher walked around instead of standing behind a pulpit the whole time…sort of ironic huh?).  To make a long story short, Keith Skidmore and Marvin Bower shared that night with me what it really means to be a follower of Christ and for the first time in my life it all made sense.  Standing there on my front porch I prayed and asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to become the leader of my life.  The rest as they say is history…little did I know that day how much Jesus would change my life.  17 years…wow what a ride it’s been…can’t wait for the next 17 and beyond.  Thank you Jesus for all you’ve done for me!

• Wow haven’t done a random thoughts post in a long time.
• Biggest thing on my mind right now is our housing situation.
• At noon we’re supposed to sign a contract with the people that want to rent our house here in Chambersburg and then at 6pm we’re supposed to finalize the details for the house we put a contract on in Harrisburg.
• It’s been quite the roller-coaster week in relation to all this…even now I won’t believe it until all the paperwork is done.
• If however things go as we hope, then we can actually start moving into our new place starting tonight!
• The place we found in Harrisburg will be a huge sacrifice as compared to what we’re used to but it has some nice features that will help lessen the “pain”…can you say…in-ground swimming pool!
• This week Chad officially started on staff and we were able to lay-out a good game plan for what the rest of this summer will look like as we prepare for launch.
• We visited Antrim Brethren in Christ last Sunday.  I’ll post my thoughts at some point in the near future.
• We were on the road 22 of the 30 days in June and my body suffered because of all the eating out.  I put on 12 pounds so I’ve been working to lose them for not only health reasons but also to just have the necessary energy I need as we get ready to launch.
• Anyone else as disappointed in Lebron as I was?  Not mad that he chose Miami…that’s what free agency is all about.  Just disappointed in how he went about doing it.
• Can’t believe it took this long for them to get the oil spill under control.  Not 100% sure it’s totally solved yet but at least it’s better than it was.
• Been reading through the Gospels this month…amazing that after now literally dozens of times having read them devotionally in the nearly 17 years I’ve been a follower of Christ how each time you pick up something new.
• Stopped by CFCOG yesterday to drop some stuff off.  Didn’t even think about it, but I just happened to stop by when they were having staff meeting.  So awesome to get to see everyone.
• People of Chambersburg…listen up…having traveled all over the country, I’ve eaten at Sonic plenty of times.  It’s not THAT good to justify sitting in line for 45+ minutes.  Give it a couple of weeks and it will be just like any other Sonic in the country…drive-up, get served right away and then drive away with your 1/2 decent order.
• I find it funny that many of my Facebook friends are outraged that their phone number can now be found on Facebook and are urging everyone to hide it in their privacy settings.  Ummm hello, I went out to get the mail today and what did I happen to receive…the 2010 phone book…with people’s phone numbers in it.  Ah the irony.
• Just for fun last night I decided to get out my Tiger Woods golf game for the Wii and play at St. Andrews since that’s where the 2010 British Open is being played.  I shot a 61…umm think I shouldn’t have played off the ladies tees.  :)
• Just read the following.   Need + Vision= Inspiration.   Need – Vision= Desperation.
• Alright gotta go…our noon appointment should soon be arriving…appreciate your prayers!