I chipped my screen protector with my keys. If it even has the smallest chip, it’s pretty much guaranteed to have a crack that you can’t see until you take it off.

OYB!

Español!

Cleaned the birdbaths and redid the feeders.

Repaired my twirling yard art.

Vacuumed the house. Cleaned the container.

Got gas. Checked the oil.

Went to Chestnut Grove BC in Grayson last night for the annual Gwinnett Metro meeting. I handed out prayer cards, which I called “tickets for a free lunch and tour” to over hundred people. The vast majority of the ministries stood behind their tables and waited for no one to show up. Does that sound like me? No way, Jose!

Saw a lot of friends from the old days there. Hopefully, we’ll meet up again soon with their “ticket!”

Some new pastors joining the group.

One of the guys at the meeting was with the International Mission Board from Tennessee. It was kind of weird because he hadn’t served in any country overseas. He knew my old buddy Alan Duncan from Kenya. I showed him the number I had from Alan and he updated the number for me. I went outside and immediately called and left a VM for him.

Nice chat with my Mom on the way home. Always a blessing.

Lots of competition this week. We’ll see how it shakes out during the weekend. Lots of people take a break then, but it’s the finals.

Did some prep for the Hives show last night. I wanted to learn a little Swedish! And of course the names of all the band members.

Fascinating fly brain!

OYB!

Made sandwiches and banana smoothie for J.

Español!

I went to Joey and Selma Blackmon’s house to pick up some gloves they got for the kids at the mission. They are such a blessing!

Had a good talk with my buddy Todd Harrison yesterday. I was concerned because it didn’t seem like I’d been getting his donations to the mission. I was right! The card got hacked and the web site stopped getting the correct amount. I’ll have a meeting with him on Tuesday to get that squared away. AMEN!

Picked the girls up at the bus and took them to Taco Veloz!

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework.

The girls enjoyed doing some artwork.

I went downtown Atlanta last night to see one of my favorite bands, The Hives. Such a great show! It was at the Tabernacle, a church my father-in-law used to pastor!

It’s a super cool venue. They left the organ pipes.

The Hives dress in all black and white. My calculus shirt fit right in!

I was right in the middle next to the stage. I got to interact with the lead singer numerous times! He liked to come down into the crowd.

The band was super tight. Terrific live show. I’ve probably been to at least a hundred concerts over nearly fifty years. This one was definitely right at the top.

A show to remember for sure! It was the last date of their N. American tour. They said that Atlanta was the best. I can believe it! The crowd was super loud. My ears are still ringing.

I normally would stay after the show and eventually meet the band. Because of being downtown, I didn’t feel comfortable doing that and catching MARTA back to Chamblee. Just didn’t feel safe to me.

Got home around midnight. Fun!

I have a picture of me and Jimmy Carter. I think he may be the best ex-president ever.

Looks like I may need more prayer cards than I first thought.

I used to love these cinnamon rolls. They’ve changed how they do the frosting now.

OYB!

Español!

PBJs for J.

Good talk with Anthony.

Also made J a banana smoothie.

Mileage!

Picked up mail at the office, processed it and deposited the checks.

What kind of weird bundt cake is this?

Took the girls out for pizza then went to Azalea to help the kids with their homework.

Actually, Everly was pretty sad and didn’t eat pizza. I got her a chicken sandwich on the way to Azalea. She felt better after that. It’s hard to know the answer to the Eternal Question: Where do you want to eat?

Talked to my Mom on the way home.

Lot of smart students this week.

I’m in the big tournament in the highest league in the largest language learning community in the world. In the semi-finals I came in third.

N. Carolina got hammered by Helene. I could have been us!

Friends of ours from our Pooler, GA days that lived in Boone, NC. I hope they’re OK.

Big chlorine gas fire in Conyers, about thirty miles away from us. Fortunately, the prevailing westerly winds blew almost all the chemicals in a different direction.

I always enjoy reading this blog by Eric Barker.

OYB!

Had a good talk with Bradley Isbell from Servant Life this morning. His organization organizes mission trips for churches. I’m in the process of being one of the locations they send teams to.

Before I talk to someone, I do research on their background. I like to know what they’re interested in, if they have kids . . . stuff like that. I do a similar research on the organization. What are their core values? What are they really interested or into?

My buddy Ben Birdsong introduced them to me and basically set up Bradley to call me. I had a nice chat with Ben today, mainly about fund raising.

Also talked with Steve Parr about the meeting on Thursday. He told me that all the ministry tables were booked, but he was fine with me going from table to table with photo cards letting them know what Whirlwind Missions is all about.

Made PBJ sandwiches for J.

Checked on tickets for the Hives concert I’m going to on Wednesday night at the Tabernacle. So cool because my Father in law used to be the Pastor there when it was a church.

Took the girls to the Dragon Wok. I thought it was pretty good. I liked the blue light in the bathroom.

I noticed what must be a type of network antennae on the end of the building at Azalea. They have what looked to be very sophisticated cameras attached to them.

Helped the kids at the Mission.

Penelope’s facial expressions were cracking me up.

It was busy, but not overwhelming.

Talked with friends of mine in Georgetown, TX. They were concerned for us after the storm.

Keep going.

It’s been cloudy most of the times I’ve tried to see it lately.

Love this quote.

Chat GPT said this is a picture of how it sees humans and AI.

Really?

This sounds good to me.

Shots from Horizon Forbidden West.

OYB!

Español!

My lightning tattoo Ashley gave me at the party.

Fun chat with my buddy, Anthony.

Big pine tree fell over at Stone Mountain from the storm.

Watered my plants.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called, “A One. The One.”

Helene was so destructive!

Español!

OYB!

Sent a text to a friend of mine. I’m trying to set up a meeting with him. He’s super famous and very busy. He’s had over a billion views on YouTube.

Had a great time at Everly’s party!

She and Penelope got wrapped up like mummies.

Lots of presents!

I saved all my presents till everyone had left.

I called my health insurance man to set up a time to have our conference about coverage for 2025. Aetna is out of the Medicare business.

Cleaned my back door area.

Keep going.

Got in touch with Steve Parr about the Gwinnett county metro meeting of churches. I hope to be able to represent Whirlwind Missions there.

We made it through the night with no loss of power! Helene veered off to the East and missed us!

We got seven inches of rain in two days. Wow. Over 4″ yesterday.

I got my Covid shot today. Also ordered tests from the government.

Here are my favorite apps for tracking weather. Zoom Earth and Ventusky.

I learned how to record from my phone today. There’s a button you can push from the control panel.

Here’s what I recorded from Zoom Earth.

I thought this was funny. If the Waffle House closes, then everyone evacuates!

Such a grifter.

OYB!

Español!

I beat Horizon Forbidden West today. One of my favorite games ever. So beautiful. Here are some shots from the end credits. You get to ride dinosaurs!

Cool little polypores.

K and I went to her sister Ann’s house to take her some food. Her power is out. That’s not zesty.

I put my plants back out in the yard and cleaned the driveway and deck. Lots of leaves and branches.

Cleared off the street in front of my house as well. Blew the leaves in to my yard.

Kathy didn’t have the right card to get her Covid shot. I generated some info for her.

Just keep going.

Hurricane Helene sounds like it’s going to be bad news.

It’s getting close to land and we’ve already had over 3″ of rain at my house.

I moved all my plants up against the house so the wind wouldn’t hurt them as much or blow them off the railings.

I covered my in ground banana plants.

OYB!

Español!

I tried to order groceries, but the pick up method was full. Never seen that before. There really weren’t many cars either. I went to Walmart and got some snacks to eat myself.

Maybe I overdid it?

I also filled up my car with gas.

Went to the Post Office to buy stamps and get the newsletters in the mail.

Hard competition.

Enjoyed playing Horizon Forbidden West today.

These big storms are really problematic. Hurricane Helene is headed straight for us. Thankfully, we are three hundred miles inland.

Heavy rain here already.

OYB!

Called my buddy Ben Birdsong about his one year streak and some mission opportunities.

Español!

Checked the oil in K’s truck and added 1/2 quart.

Blew the garage and part of the driveway.

There’s a guy riding a super loud motorcycle around our neighborhood. Time for that to stop. County said we need to get the police involved.

Poured down rain in Doraville.

Saw this word on the back of a truck. Never seen it before.

K and I picked up the girls at the bus and took them to DQ for lunch and ice cream cake!

Don Cheto.

Even with the bad weather, I still had a good group of kids show up for help. I did the labels for the newsletters and stuffed the envelopes while I assisted them. I still need to get stamps on them tomorrow and get them in the mail.

While I was at the mission, we found out that school was closed on Thursday and Friday. Ashley said she was taking off to be with the kids. I’ll see them again on Saturday for the birthday party.

Just keep going.

Looks like big weather developing in the gulf will bring us some much needed rain.

OYB!

Español!

After studying Spanish, I wrote my newsletter.

Made sandwiches for J. She’s not feeling well.

Refilled hummingbird feeders.

I had a couple of chips in my windshield. I tried to repair them. Didn’t work very well. It works better for cracks than chips. Still looks pretty good. Cleaned up with super glue solvent.

Blew leaves from the driveway and deck. It’s that time of year!

Don Cheto.

Picked up the girls from the bus, took them to Taco Veloz. It’s Everly’s birthday week, but I give both of them at least one present each.

We enjoyed the churros!

Everly made a beautiful bracelet with the kit that my Mom gave her for her birthday.

Helped the kids at the mission. The middle schoolers were acting pretty crazy.

Picked up checks at my office, processed them and deposited them on the way home. Thank you, Father!

Talked to my Mom on the way home. I thought this little cart might help her with her groceries. We’ll talk about that soon.

I’ve enjoyed wearing my $100 shirt. I resewed the top button. They put it on the wrong side of the fabric to hang correctly.

Produced and printed my newsletter and the labels. I’ll take it to get copied tomorrow on the way to the mission with Kathy. We should be able to do all the labels and get the letter in the mail tomorrow if all goes well.

Keep going.