Amercians Need to Say Thanks

i would like to say thanks for the service of our military men and women across our nation. we should be thankful for their sacrifice and deep love and contribution to the freedom that we share with one another. i think about some of the people who i have contacted today: marty smith, david mcphail, steve packard, shannon sutton, rev. tracey hipps, rev. brett golson, and randy bradford. there are still several that i need to thank. what a wonderful freedom that we have. go share your love with military men and women when given the opportunity.

Thank You Mr. President

there are a lot of people that president-elect obama could thank in his successful campaign for the presidency. he could thank oprah and her legions of fans who follow that religion on a daily basis. the president-elect could thank the african american population for their turn out and support for their man like no other. he could thank the countless young people who turned out in record numbers (i blogged about this in an earlier entry). nevertheless, he needs to thank one person for their indirect endorsement. W. the dubyah was on the down low for a long time but people heard his name everyday in this historic campaign. it might take republicans a while to live this one down. however, the presidency is cyclical and it's time to see what the dems and the new president-elect have to offer our country.

Shadow Ridge Club Championship: You Gotta Read!

this past weekend was the annual club championship at the shadow ridge golf club in hattiesburg. i have recently moved my membership back there from timberton and signed up in time to be a part of this great tournament. it was a two day championship that had 4 flights. my handicap was low enough that it enabled me to be a part of the championship flight. on saturday, i shot a low round of 76 which gave me a two shot lead going into sunday. the second best score was a 78 shot by robert "fluffy" penson. i get up sunday morning feeling nervous as all get out. i go and lead worship for both morning services at PHBC and get to shadow ridge sunday afternoon in time for my 1:02 tee time. it was hard to transition back into that frame of mind, but nonetheless i had to do it. after my long and excruciating round, i felt as though i had not done well enough to win and put my clubs in my vehicle. robert had not finished his round so i stayed at the club house, at the request of the pro, until he completed 18. about 30 minutes later i was told that i was in a sudden-death playoff with fluff. i was cold, clubs were in my truck, and in no shape mentally to do this but it was now or never. i got my clubs out of my truck and went to tee #1 (a par 5). a sudden-death playoff is when competitors go to a particular hole and matchplay until someone wins. it can end on the first hole or several holes later. nevertheless, we drew to see who would tee off first and fluff got the honors. he hits the ball right down the middle. at that point i was scared and i teed off pulling my drive well left so far beyond the hazard on the left that it took 5 minutes for us to find it. after we found it my lie was dreadful. i took out my hybrid and topped it into the hazzard ditch in front of me. this was terrible. fluff proceeded to hit his ball right down the middle up to about the 100 yard marker. i was dropping 3 from the hazard and hitting 4. i took out my hybrid again and hit it short of 100 just behind fluff's ball. i was laying 4 and he was laying 2. in good spirit fluff tells me, "Hit it in the hole." i got my range finder and shot the distance at 106 yards. the golf pro, judd brewer, and troy norton go to the top of the hill to watch where the shots would land. the green was up hill and the pin was tucked back left. in my head i told myself that i needed to get up and down for a bogey in order to have a shot at possibly going on to another hole. however, fluff was in position to birdie and par at worst so my chances were slim to none. so here it goes. i take out my 60 degree wedge and struck it perfectly. it was a blind shot so i couldn't see where it ended up. the pro and troy had the perfect angle and began to shout, "It went in the hole!!!!!". i had holed out for par in the club championship playoff. troy said it hit 5 ft beyond the hole and spun back right into the cup. it was the greatest shot of my life. at that point, fluff had to hit his ball on the green and 2 putt to tie with a par or 1 putt for the birdie and the win. he hit his ball to the front of the green and left himself a hard put up hill and then down. he goes up to the green hits his putt and leaves about a 10 footer to tie. i couldn't bare to watch so i just watched the ground as he putted anticipating that i would hear it go in. there was no sound. he missed it. i was the club champion! greatest golf moment of my life!

Where is Jeff Bower?

does anyone know where jeff bower is? i heard he is still in hattiesburg living at the country club. i definately haven't seen him since his resignation. however, i have heard his name brought up on occasion recently. especially since southern miss football is treading waters it hasn't seen in some time. can you believe that this web site is still up? www.coachbower.com the eagles face the prospect of not going to a bowl game for the first time since i can't remember. with all that being said, our new coach must be feeling some pressure. larry fedora, unproven and inexperienced, came in to replace jeff bower making about double in salary. there have been some catchy sound bytes, talk about change, and publicity out the wazoo! i really believe that most fans were expecting an immediate improvement. after all, the eagles were returning nationally leading running back damion fletcher, shaun nelson and bringing aboard 5 star recruit deandre brown. however, in the mean time i believe that the nasty bunch defense has disappeared. defense at one time was what southern miss was notorious for. it seems in coach fedora's scheme that we just need to out score our opponents. in all seriousness, our defense is very young. however, i believe that in conference USA, our squad has to be more competitive than loosing to marshall and utep. i don't know if i ever remember losing 3 home games in a row much less 2 home conference games. people as of late have wondered about the whereabouts of jeff bower. do think that people are regretting their decision. i must say, you get what you ask for. coach fedora is going to be asking for more time. the million dollar (fedora's salary) question is how much time will they give him?

Travis Cottrell Christmas in Stores NOW!

i had the wonderful opportunity to sing on travis cottrell's new christmas album that is due out in october. we recorded the project at ocean way studios near the campus of belmont university in nashville. brown bannister, who produced the project, is the most known producer in ccm. he has worked with amy grant, steven curtis chapman, third day, and many more. travis recruited several of his friends to be a part of his christmas choir that performed for 5 tracks on the album. we had a great time that weekend. there were a couple of well known personalities in the choir such as denver bierman of denver & the mile high orchestra and angela cruz formerly of the well known legendary group truth. the album is getting some wonderful reviews and CCM magazine even hailed the choir as being "magnificent." check out this link http://www.ccmmagazine.com/reviews/music/11582483/archive2/for more info. and don't forget to pick up your copy today!

Younger Voters Going with Obama

it looks as though most young voters in america are going to side with senator obama. two students from belmont were interviewed this morning on fox and friends and stated, for the most part, that they identify more with obama than mccain. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that in the debate last night, john mccain looked like an old man. just look at the way he walked, the shrugging of his shoulders, his raspy voice, etc. all of these factors will convince younger voters that he is not their representative. is that shallow and naive? absolutely. is it reality? you better believe it. young people today do not look at the issues as much as they look at the presentation. what's on the surface most times takes precedence over what is deep in the well. the republican party has to be wondering how mccain ended up being their representative. it all plays into the fact that nearly every break has gone obama's way. if it were a football game, obama would have recovered every fumble and turned it into points on the board. john mccain - your time is ticking away (not in the sense of age....but it could be) and you are about to lose this election. the question is whether or not young people will truly turn out to vote. what matters is will they vote in states like nevada, florida, michigan, pennsylvania, and other swing states. this is where this election will be won.

I Lost By 1 Stroke!

the final score was Dennis Sennsing 82, 82 = 164, Brad Day 80, 85 = 165. it was a close one. i came in second and i probably deserved it. i didn't play well the last day and it caught up with me. i play a little draw on my drive (most of the time) and the course had 90% dog leg rights (see pic above). though it didn't set up with my game i can't use that as an excuse. in golf you have to be ready mentally from the first shot to the last and that day i didn't do good enough preparing myself. nonetheless, my wife heather still thinks i should go to nationals in hilton head, sc. we will see. on a good note, i finished the season as the overall points leader in my flight and received an awesome trophy (will post pic later). this has been a great accomplishment for me in my first year of competitive golf. i hope this will give me some momentum in local tournaments in the future.

AGI State Finals - Grand Bear Golf Course

this weekend begins the finals for our amateur golf tour that i have been participating in since march. it has been a wonderful experience for me and i have been fortunate enough to remain the leader in the B flight (hcp. 11-14) all season. my lead should secure me to be the points leader by the time the weekend is over, however anything can happen. my real goal is to win the 2 day tournament this weekend at grand bear in order that i might have my way paid to nationals at hilton head, sc. the state finals will be a combined 2 day score total to determine the winner in each flight. i happen to love this golf course and believe that it will have been the nicest we've played all year next to dancing rabbit in choctaw, ms. looking forward to the challenge. the course is not easy and the competition is fierce. sounds like great motivation!

"Soul Men" starring, Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, and......Brad Day!

i got the chance to be in a movie called "soul men" back in february of this year as a result of my friendship with todd dubose. todd lives just outside of shreveport, louisiana which in the movie capitol of the south. todd has been an extra in several movies as of late and got to be good friends with a casting director from los angeles. to make a long story short, this casting director needed a fake trombone player to play for sam jackson and the late bernie mac's band in the movie. what's funny is that the brass musicians are supposed to be high school band students. the guy to the left of me is 18 and the guy to my right is 19. i'm a young 33. nonetheless, todd contacted me and the rest is history. i jumped on the opportunity and got to meet the sam, bernie, and the director malcom lee. little did i know that i would end up in the trailer of the movie. pause it on 1:13 of the trailer and you will see me with the trombone in my hand right behind sam jackson (we are on a first name basis). i'm in a couple of other parts of the trailer for that scene (you'll see me dancing with the trombone). anyway, it was fun and it will come out in theaters on nov. 7th. and will probably have a little added hype now that bernie mac and issac hayes have passed since making it. for a bigger version of the trailer you can go to http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/imdb/vi1462632473/

Ole "Miss McCain" Debate

as of now, senator mccain is not planning on attending the debate at the university of mississippi. i believe it is honorable for the senator to stick to his guns and put his country first during our country's financial issues. however, i have a hunch he will show up. if senator obama had agreed to suspend his compain as well i really don't believe there would be a debate on friday night. that's why i don't think mccain is going to let the illinois senator steal his thunder. obama has pledged to be there whether his opponent shows up or not.

what i have to ask myself is whether i would rather have the two candidates in washington or in oxford. i really believe that they can do both. not only that, but i believe amercians would rather hear from them on the issues at this time. i don't really know what they can do in this crisis other than to obey their commander and chief and meet with him to be in on the discussions of the bail out. nevertheless, we live in a small, technological, accessible world today and the debate will not factor into the dismissal of the issues we are facing. the candidates can have their cake and eat it too. the cake might not taste that good, but you know what i mean.

i have to believe that somehow things will have worked themselves out before friday in order for mccain and obama to bless ole miss with their presence. after all, they have spent 4 million dollars preparing the campus for this occasion and you know that rebels can't afford losing that much money that could have been used to recruit new football talent.

Brett Favre & Monday Night Football - Not the Same Anymore

i am sorry for all of the brett favre homers but......those monday night football days are over. yes, i'm talking about the good ole days when brett favre weant from being a great player to achieving

"legend" status from his ultimate brown noser john madden. i tuned in just for a bit to see if the magic was still there and at times you saw the signs of what once was. nevertheless, i hope he is having fun. i guess playing for a bad team and getting beat bad on monday night football is better than sitting at home with a 10 million dollar payoff from his former team while he could be sharpening up his golfing skills. i hope you have fun, brett. it's going to be a long season.

Ponta Creek? More Like Ponta Lake!

ponta creek golf course is on the naval base in meridian, ms. it was also the sight of our last regular season amateur golf tour event. my decision to go there was nearly one that was game time. about 9:30 on friday night i decided that it would be good to play that tournament before state finals in order to maintain my points lead in B flight. i made arrangements with the tour director to tee off early in order that i might get back to the southern miss game that afternoon (what a disappointment). what i didn't realize until i got there is that it was going to be raining the entire time. and when i say raining, i mean raining. the tour director paired me with troy norton who has won our flights tournaments on several occasions. well.....to make a long story short i shot 8 over for an 80 in the worst conditions i have ever played in. it was good enough to win with second place coming in at 83? i'm not sure. check the web at http://www.amateurgolftour.net/ for tournament details. what sealed the day was my chip-in birdie on a 195 yard par 3 at hole number 18. it won me a $54 dollar skin and pays some of my way toward state finals at grand bear on oct. 4, 5. by the way, my good friend randy bradford scored a hole-in-one on the par 3 number 14! what a great shot! i wish i would have been playing with him. congratulations randy!

Flash A-AHHHHH; The Theology of a 4 yr. Old

Andrew and Brad are sitting on the bed having a great father and son moment watching Flash Gordon on a Monday night. Brad thinks back to his childhood in 1980 watching Flash at the movie theater. He views it differently now, but through Andrews eyes. However, it wasn't as much through Andrews eyes as he throught when Andrew asked, "Daddy?" "Who is the Saviour of the Universe?" Brad ponders knowing that Andrew has just listened to the soundtrack performed by Queen repeating that Flash is the Savior of the Universe. Responding like a good Christian Dad, Brad tells Andrew, "Jesus is the Saviour of the Universe." With a dissapointed look, and knowing the answer to the question before Brad responded, Andrew exclaimed, "Flash is the Saviour of the Universe." "Jesus doesn't beat up the bad guys....only Super Heroes do."

HAZZARD COUNTY

first of all, i didn't hit my ball there. what i did do was put my life at risk and give some of my golfing friends some of the greatest entertainment they had ever witnessed. i was on my way to saving bogey on the number one handicap at Timberton Golf Club.....hole #5. i happened to be walking that day and pushed my push cart to the top of the green. as i was spotting my ball, i felt a good swift gust of wind just to turn around to see my push cart and all of my golf clubs sailing into the mote that you see in the pic above. i did not hesitate. i calmly took of my socks and shoes and proceeded into the most horrible scene to recover my equipment. i happened to be accompanied by russ foxworth, marty smith, and shawn clinton. each of them bit there tongues as they looked on in awe and astonishment. as they helped pull my cart and bag up, i asked them to confirm that we had retrieved all of my golf clubs. they were disheartened to let me know that my STRAIT WEDGES were still in this horribly scary scene. so, i continued to feel with my feet, my hands, and any other appendage that would aid in my effort. about the time i was in full search, shawn clinton made me aware of something near by that i was hoping not to see.....a snake. needless to say, i got out only to get back in and finally acquire the precious strait wedges.....52, 56, & 60 degrees to be more specific. what a day. just in case you are wondering, i did finish my round!

"Back" to the Future

man! i wish i had the back that i did just a couple of years ago. i got up this morning and then i got down. i was pitiful and helpless just trying to see if i could pull myself up. the sciatic nerve had reared its ugly head again. i could have really just gotten back in the bed and took a pass on the day. however, i am stubborn so i committed to work the thing out. it took me about 30 minutes but finally i was able to brush my teeth and make my way to the shower in order to benefit from one of the greatest inventions of all time.....the hot water heater. it, along with Jesus, allowed me to start my day the way i had originally planned (besides getting to the office 15 minutes late). so, i hope this day holds something special because it probably should have never got started. can you imagine if marty mcfly had never had the courage to get out of bed and go to the twin pines mall that night to see what doc brown was fixing to unveil. well, i got out of bed and i hope to see something as exciting today!

"Born" Identity

no, not the movie. just wanted to get your attention. isn't it interesting in today's time that we as churches are still trying to determine who we are? identity can be realized in several different ways. one of those ways is to realize the overall makeup of a church. this is one reason that we see so many different "types" of churches. though each church is made up of different kinds of people, there are some churches that are top heavy in terms of generational makeup. just look around your particular church and you will find that your church is made up more of young people, median aged people, or senior adult people. this point is not exclusive due to the fact that there are some churches who have a very broad based make up generationally speaking. another way that identity can be realized in the church is based upon the personality of the pastor and staff of a church. usually the type of ministers that churches call to be on staff is due in part to the fact that they are representative of who they are or either who they want to become. sometimes identity is realized in the type or style of worship services that takes place at each campus on a weekly basis. often times when pastors and staff can't put their finger on the identity of the church, they try to do worship in ways that will please everybody and in the end pleases nobody. i call it schizophrenic worship. there is nothing worse than having a church with a split personality that is perpetuated by leadership who can't discern who their church really is. however, it is just as dangerous for leadership to force an identity on a church that is not really representative of who they are. some leaders try to act out upon their personal preferences without considering the overall makeup of the church. that is not to say that churches do not change over time. however, pastors have to have the wisdom and insight in order to assess each individual situation while identifying when the time is right to make strategic moves and changes. every local church is born with an identity to help reach out to their specific communities that are different than other communities abroad. the question is whether or not leadership will be able to capitalize on these personality traits when it comes to ministering to their communities.

communities will change and so will our church make up. will we be ready to determine when these changes take place in order to have an accurate understanding of who our church is or will we be another product of church schizophrenia?

Another Nuno Video from Extreme Concert

this is some amazing footage that i shot of nuno playing "midnight express" at the house of blues. he is playing a washburn acoustic guitar and i happened to get the pick after he played this. comment, if you will, regarding this guitar master class.

Re: Okatoma

well, it was quite a day. i got about 2 hours sleep last night and got up at 5:30 a.m. to head to okatoma for my amateur golf tour event that i blogged about a couple of days ago. i scored an 83 w/ about 8 missed 4 footers. however, it was good enough to take home 3rd place and retain my points lead. troy norton won our flight on a scorecard playoff w/ Robert Vinson, each of them scoring an 82 respectively. nevertheless, i was so exausted that i went home and trimmed the hedges and mowed the lawn when i got back. for some reason i feel too exhausted to sleep. i must give props out to my friend david rogers in above pic (minister of ed. @ Main Street in Hattiesburg) who shot an all-time low of 68! unbelievable! he almost scored his age!

Extreme @ House of Blues, NO - 8/18/08

this is video footage of the rock band Extreme that i shot at House of Blues in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. jim barnes and myself enjoyed the music of Extreme, Kings X, and Rock'n Roll Fantasy Camp. i'll put up some more pics later. the concert was great. what i want to know is how Nuno still looks so freakin' cool? i think i'm going to start working out.

Okatoma

well it is another weekend to participate in my amateur golf tour. we will be competing at the Okatoma Golf Club in Collins this weekend. i have participated in this tour since march and i am happy to say that i am currently the point leader in my flight. needless to say, that might not be the case after Saturday but i certainly hope that it will. i have been fortunate to either win or place in my flight each week but one. there have been about 13 events, however i have only played in 8 of those. we have exactly 3 tournaments left before nationals which take place at Hilton Head, South Carolina. i really want to go but i am not sure if i will or not. a lot of that will depend on whether i win the last tournament at Sardis, MS. The winner of the final major tournament will have their registration payed for nationals. the rules kind of changed a bit. in the beginning, we were told that whoever won their flight (most points) at the end of the year would have their nationals registration ($200+) payed for. to give more incentive for people to keep playing, the tour director changed it to whoever wins the final tournament. looks like i better start practicing and post a good score this weekend. http://www.amateurgolftour.net/

Hurricane Andrew

though the name of this hurricane has been officially retired, my son Andrew sometimes sweeps through our life in and out like a hurricane. Andrew officially turned 4 yesterday and it seems like my little boy is not a baby anymore. i started watching some old videos from when i documented hurricane Katrina and then i saw Andrew. i was like, was he really this little? and then it hit me - my little boy is growing up before my very eyes and i can't even remember what he looked like, talked like, and lived like the year before. it's almost as though little hurricane Andrew is blowing in and out so quickly that these cycles of life blow through and leave you before you know it. he is already a star wars junky and i must take some credit for that. his cuteness however can only be credited to his mommy.

Gov. Palin

tonight i will be watching Gov. Palin deliver the most important speech of her life. this will probably be the speech that most swing voters are interested in since most of us know little or nothing of this governor of Alaska. people will most likely be looking at whether or not she would really qualify to be our president or if John McCain actually picked her to gain enthusiasm from his party as well as independents out there in order that he may attain the presidency. much can't be said from the democrats regarding her inexperience due to their own candidates lack of experience. of course we know that McCain already thought this through so he decided to run on her good looks, gender, and all the Hillariates that are looking for someone to place their votes. it should be and interesting speech and i will be looking on as well as most Americans who are interested in the direction of our country.