By The Howitzer

I hope you never pass me on the road when I am in a country frame of mind cause county music make me cry. I know I am supposed to be tough but some of those songs are geared to rip your heart out (if you have one, men). One of my favorite memories as a child was cleaning the house every Saturday jamming out to the old school twang. Even then there was more to the genre than just old dogs, children and watermelon wine. But, these days the writers of these songs are trying to connect at a heart level with the fans. Tim McGraw describe today’s country this way, “some say that it’s too country, some say it’s too rock n roll, but it’s just good music if you can feel it in your soul.”

Whether you are talking about love, parenting, your heritage or just plain life there is something that occurs in the heart as you allow yourself to feel deeply about the things you love. Most men just check their emotions at the door “because real men don’t cry”. Or do they? I find it refreshing to coach my son’s sports teams. Not only do I get to spend some great quality time with him, but I also get to connect with real life through the eyes of young boys who are trying to deal with some of their first bouts of winning and losing and understanding who they are. You miss a lot from the other side of the fence. In the dugout there is a lot of thing going on that is shaping the next generation of men. Someday they won’t be able to wear their emotions on there sleeves but when you are 7 or 8 it’s ok to cry if you lose the city championship. I wish I was a kid again.

Don’t believe me try some of these on for size (Some are samples some are full songs.  By the way you can listen to the whole song if you have a LALA.COM account):

Things change http://lala.com/z4YUI

Just To See You Smile http://lala.com/zboh

Southern Voice http://lala.com/zb7q

Another American Saturday night http://lala.com/zDCF

He Didn’t Have To Be http://lala.com/zDCF

I Don’t Know Why They Say Grown Men Don’t Cry http://lala.com/zboh

There is a God http://lala.com/z3c0

I Hope You Dance http://lala.com/z3c0

Something Worth Leaving Behind http://lala.com/z3c0

You’re Gonna Miss This http://lala.com/zeiE

Big Idea: There something wrong with you if you cannot connect emotionally with things that speak about valuing the things you love: God, friends, family and life.

Something’s been bothering me for far too long.  It’s a question some of my friends and I talk about from time to time, but mostly we just ignore it.  We ignore it, push it down.  But it keeps popping into my mind lately.

How am I supposed to reconcile these two pictures?

The first is a picture of my house.  It may be smaller or bigger than your house, but I guarantee that your house doesn’t look like the second picture of the destruction caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti.

How do I reconcile the fact that I have so much while others have so little?  That just because I happened to be born in America, my life is easy compared to those in numerous countries around the world.

Reconciliation

What about this word, reconciliation?  For the longest time, I didn’t understand the concept in the framework of the church.  I’ve heard since I was a child that Christ is the reconciliation between God and man.  I just nodded as if I understood what that meant, never really taking the time to figure it out.

In my job as an accountant, I reconcile things all the time.  Bank statements, balancing the books, financial reports — all have to be reconciled to make sure they are accurate.

The process of reconciliation is largely understanding the differences between two things and seeking to make the differences as small as possible.

I do this in my job everyday, but somehow in the rest of my life, it’s not so easy.  I’m here, someone else is over there.  I live in one house, they live in the other.  I have plenty, while they have little.  That’s just the way its supposed to be, right?

I know the answer is a resounding “no”, but it’s only recently that I’ve been able to verbalize what I’m supposed to do.  After all, how can I make a difference?  How can my family make a dent in the inequities I see in the world?  Should I feel pity  sadness  guilt?

I finally realized that I shouldn’t be concerned as much with the how big the gap appears to be between the two pictures above, but instead should focus my energy on how to shrink the gap between the two.  If I focus on the size of the gap, I’ll do nothing.  If I focus on just making a difference, however small, suddenly I can start moving. It’s only through a process of reconciliation that I can hope to make a difference.

It won’t be easy. Reconciliation requires me to:

Go where I don’t want to go and talk to people who are different from me.

Give more than I want to and consume less than I need.

Care more, judge less.

Watch less, do more.

Time to get to work . . .

A newfound interest of mine is NASCAR. To be honest, I have never had much interest in a bunch of overgrown teenagers racing around an oval track. With the exception of some fantastic wrecks (where no one seems to get hurt) I never really understood the NASCAR junkie. That is until my son realized that one of the drivers had the same birthday as him. So, we began to watch his favorite new driver: Jeff Gordon. It seems that Jeff is pretty good and is always in contention so it’s kind of fun watching a winner.

It’s funny how your perception of things changes when you have a dog in the fight. Now we watch this rush of adrenaline through the lens of the #24 car. And we have come to understand that all NASCAR fans do the same thing. Everybody has their favorite driver. As we continue to connect with the sport, we realize that there is something intoxicating about watching cars race around at 190+ miles per hours and our heroes are completely addicted to speed. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to be bump-drafting the car in front of me at those kinds of speeds. The frenetic pace must be staggering.

The closest I get to that kind of pace is in managing my schedule. It seems that my life’s engine revs pretty good as well. It’s been said that life is a vapor and is as fast as a warm breath on a frigid morning. We are here for a moment and then gone. We all have been given 70-80 laps around the track and then pass the checkered flag at the finish line and hope that we have finished well. Some have their races extended and some get taken out the race early.

Life is extremely fast and if we are not careful we will caught up in the adrenalin of busyness. Ever pressing forward, life passing by at the speed of light. How do you combat this? How do you slow it down? The key to slowing down your life is not necessarily gutting your schedule but instead making sure that what you are doing is important. Let me give you 5 ideas to slow life down.

1) Take advantage of early mornings and late nights. There are two consistent quiet periods on either side of each day that are underutilized and are great in slowing things down. There is not much competition for your attention from 5-7am or from 10-12 pm. Most of us can take advantage of one of these. For me the early slot is better because I turn into a pumpkin at 9:00 o’clock at night. Using these time periods will slow you down by giving you time that normally gets wasted. Some people say they wish there were more hours in a day and it’s possible you may be able to redeem a few more in this way.

2) Develop a hobby that is advancing your strengths and interest. We all have gifts and interests. For most parents we put those on hold for the sake of the kids (which is a terrible example for the children). You have heard the guy who says, “I love golf and I could be pretty good at it but I just don’t have time.” What a waste. We need to be developing our talents. Most of us don’t have that many anyway so maximize what you do have. When you identify something you have an interest in, figure out a way to engage with it. Don’t let it consume you, but if you will develop yourself you will slow things down by feeling a sense of accomplishing something very important. You may not get more time but you will enjoy how you are spending it if you build in some hobby times.

3) Focus on spending time with your family. If there is one thing that will simplify your schedule it to say no to outside things and spend more time with your family. Even if the schedule is NASCAR like, meals together, games played on family game nights, even TV watched will slow down your life. The only thing that I do not want to be said about me at my funeral is having my family say I was too busy for them. To say yes to family times is to say no to other competing values and will slow the focus of your life down. And at the same time it will help you gain insight into the strengths and interests of your most important relationships.

4) Cultivate a habit of taking a nap. There is no empirical data that supports this hypothesis but I know from 47 years of experience that nothing brings new perspective and energy than a good ole nap. If you take advantage of your early morning and late nights you will need it. Years ago I learned a valuable lesson from Bobb Beihl in how to deal with fatigue. If you are feeling like you are on the edge of burnout, see how quickly you can get in an extra 10 hours of sleep on top of your regular sleep schedule. A rested spirit can deal with the demands of the day much better than an exhausted soul.

5) Develop a Race Plan. Do you have specific goals in each of the major areas of your life? If you don’t you need to check out our life planner. If you think that a race car just puts gas and tires on the car and pushes the gas pedal you may have missed the strategic aspect of racing. Those guys have a plan. You need a plan too.

I am sure that there are other things that help slow things down and if you have an idea leave us a comment. One thing is sure, we cannot continue on the pace that most of live and not take a pit stop occasionally. NASCAR fans know that and we need to build in an occasional stop to change the tires, refuel and talk to your pit crew. If you are going to win you have to take care of business and not let busyness take you out.

And they will pass through the land hard pressed and famished and it will turn out that when they are hungry they will be enraged and curse their kind and their God as they face upward- Isaiah

I am working my way through Isaiah and being challenged by the circumstances there. Judgment is fast approaching the nation of Israel and we get a back-stage pass as to what is going on in the mind of God as He unveils His judgment to His prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is a pre-exilic prophet, meaning that he prophesied before the nation was taken into exile. Unbeknownst to the Israel they will soon be carried away by two invading nations. First the Assyrians will dominate the northern kingdom and then the Babylonians will overcome the southern kingdom. The horrors that await them are overwhelming and they don’t know the half of it. The thing that challenges me is that God loves them as much as He loves me but they have pushed Him too far and they will reap an incredibly difficult set of consequences.

The thing that challenges me is that God loves them as much as He loves me but they have pushed Him too far and they will reap an incredibly difficult set of consequences.

The exile of Israel is a picture of the frailty of man. We think we are indestructible but we are but dust. We think we are in control but are just one phone call from our knees. We thing our will is strong but we are one betrayal away from depression. Sometimes I like to portray myself as not caring what people thing but the reality is that self-protection and self-preservation is the only mode that guards against the absurd behavior of people around me. As a modern prophet who sings on the country radio says, “God is great, beer is good and people are crazy”. Most people are only partly to be trusted. Including myself.

The passage above is a great example of that. Isaiah reveals the reality that as soon as people are hard pressed (in this case hungry) they will curse both God and king. Man is frail and there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t spin it. You can outthink it. You can’t out maneuver it. The bootstraps that we pull ourselves up by are too short. Our strength is weakness and tomorrow we die. We are completely and totally in need of assistance and I refer not to a burgeoning, intrusive, big brother governmental system. We need help from above. LET’S JUST HOPE WE HAVE NOT COMPLETY PISSED HIM OFF AND ARE DESTINED FOR EXILE. GOD HELP US!

Photo by Professor Pigg

I think it’s part of the human experience to just go through the motions. It’s really easy to do . . . sort of like the default position on the meter by which we measure life.

You get up at the same time every day. You go to bed at the same time every night. You play the same games with your same children. You cook the same food or eat at the same restaurants. You watch the same TV shows, you check the same favorite sites on the web.

You just put it on cruise control and slowly motor through life. It’s simple, it’s easy, and — to be totally honest — it’s a bit of a waste of time.

But then the unexpected happens, often something we would have preferred to live without.

A loved one dies unexpectedly. The doctor has bad news about our latest checkup. The bottom falls out of our business.

Something unexpected happens and suddenly the big squeeze occurs.

What do I mean by the big squeeze? Just that life has those moments when suddenly we’re the grape being squeezed in the wine press . . . it’s in those moments that we learn just what it is that we’re holding inside.

I’ve seen people whom I felt were fragile and immature suddenly — when squeezed — demonstrate an entirely new level of faith and trust in God.

And watched others that had my undying respect suddenly turn into vindictive, mean-spirited individuals when life — and, at least by deductive reasoning, God — dealt them a curveball.

Like I said, such moments cause the big squeeze in our lives, and we’ll quickly learn what comes out.

Simple put, if we are walking through life depending on the living water, when we’re squeezed, I believe the water turns to wine and those around have their lives enriched by our reactions, our faith, even our battle with our circumstances.

But if we’re just going through the motions, relying on the mundane and the commonplace to keep us moving forward, the big squeeze will reveal us for what we really are — dry, dusty vessels lacking the essential elements to quench either our thirst or the thirst of the hurting souls around us.

And if you wait until the squeeze occurs, you don’t stand a chance. If you’re to produce anything in the winepress of life, you had better begin to drink from the living water now . . . every day, through Bible study, and prayer, and routine worship of our awesome God.

If not, when the squeeze comes, your dry bones will crack and nothing of value will come out. Perhaps you’ll admit a stench, or an odor, or a foul string of off-color language . . . but there will be no wine.

Are you ready for the squeeze?

Editors Note: Greg blogs at http://gsykeslight.blogspot.com

One of my all-time favorite stories in our family history didn’t happen to me and I wasn’t even there.  15 years later, despite my tendency to exaggerate stories, I have yet to tell this story as if it happened to me or I was there.  That’s remarkable for me.

Anywho, it was the summer of 1995 and Heidi and I, who had been married one year, led a group of college students on a 6 week trip to Ukraine.  We had a great time and felt a connection with the Ukrainian students that we met there.  One afternoon, after we had been there a couple of weeks, Heidi was with her translator.  Her translator Anya was about 18 years old.  They were walking together and Heidi said, “I want to learn Russian.”  Without missing a beat, Anya said, “No you don’t.”  Heidi argued with her.  Then Anya said, “You don’t want to learn Russian.  You want to speak Russian.”

What a statement.  Heidi and I use that when talking to people all the time.  So often what we want is the result but we are unwilling to do the work.  We don’t want to lose weight, we want to be thin.   This most recently came up in my mind as I was dealing with one of my girls.  One of them had a friend over and her dad pulled into the driveway.  As I tried to call my daughter and her friend, they ignored me, again and again and again . . . You’ve been there right?

I’m trying to be cool.  I don’t want to embarrass her in front of her friend.  On attempt number 6, she finally comes out loaded with mediocre excuses as to why she didn’t come and couldn’t even acknowledge me.  I held off for the 60 seconds or so until her friend was gone.  Then I gave the talk about respect (again) and how we act the same with our friends here as when they are not (again) and about making excuses instead of apologizing (again).  (Anyone ever tempted to record the speeches and play them back while they sleep so maybe it will soak in subliminally?)

After putting her to bed, I walked away thinking (again) how hard this is.  How constant this is.  There are no breaks from parenting.  You always have to be attentive.  You are constantly shaping behavior, molding a heart, encouraging, rebuking, consoling.  It can be emotionally exhausting sometimes.

I want to have great kids.  I want them to be awesome young ladies that go into the world and become incredible women.  However, if I want to have great kids, that means I have to raise great kids. There’s not even a Rosetta Stone shortcut.

Charlie Blogs at http://www.cloften.com

I like talking about you, you, you, you usually.  But, occasionally I want to talk about me. – Toby Keith

I heard one of my favorite country songs again a couple of days ago about a self-centered conversationalist. You know the type! Every conversation is about them. Take my friend Freddy (not their real name). A 20-minute conversation with them consists of 19 minutes of listening and 1 minute of escaping. Heaven forbid that I might have had something to say especially since I made the call. But, Freddy doesn’t care. Freddy thinks that everyone was given 2 ears to listen to their every problem in life. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Freddy and I like talking Freddy, Freddy, Freddy, Freddy usually. But, occasionally I walk to talk about me.

“Most of us are so wrapped up in our own stuff that we don’t want to mess around with the crap that people all around us are dealing with.”

I don’t think that I am the only one who feels that way (am I ?) In fact, I am sure that I am not the only one that is going through some major challenges that they would like to work through with a friend. That is if they could find someone who would engage with them in and around their concerns. But most of us are so wrapped up in our own stuff that we don’t want to mess around with the crap that people all around us are dealing with. With all the stuff that is going on in our culture we may be in a very unique place to build friendships, encourage someone else and have a real ministry in the lives of others. But to do so you have to become a Master Question Asker. Sometimes, to be in a place of influence you just need to listen to someone else instead of always hogging the spotlight in your conversations.

Consider my friend John (that is his real name). John is a pastor and it is kind of his job to make sure everybody is doing ok. As a result, he asks a lot of questions (how else would he find out). The thing I like about John is that I think he is really interested in my answers. Contrasted to Freddy who ask questions to transition into another personal expose. I enjoy being the topic of conversation occasionally. I like being able to actually communicate my opinion on a topic or share about a real concern of mine. I am probably your typical guy who doesn’t really know how I feel about a topic till I start sounding it out. Self-discovery and self-revelation spills out a sentence at a time.

What am I trying to say?

1. True friendship is two ways. If one person dominates the conversation all the time you got trouble.
2. True friends ask as many questions as answer questions. People love answering sincere questions about themselves, their opinions and their concerns.
3. If you a not a good question askers you are probably not a good friend or at least your friends probably don’t think you value them.
4. People will put up with Freddy-types for a while but will distance themselves over time. They reason they are called Fast-Freddy is that they lose their friends quickly.

The Scripture says that the heart of man is like a deep well, but a man of understanding draws out our friends and helps them reveal great insights from their inner selves. But you have to ask great questions, listen well and be genuinely interested. Are you a John or a Freddy? I want to be a John. And funny enough, John actually has people ask him questions in return. He who waters others will himself be watered. Well, sometimes!

Photo by shareski

By Greg Primm

It’s been happening quite a bit lately.  I brush my teeth, set the alarm for 5:30 am, read for a bit, fall asleep, and then thirty minutes later — BAM! — wide awake.  Sleep doesn’t come again for several hours.  I’m up.

I stare at a book for a while, surf the internet, read scripture.  But mainly I worry.

Did I forget to finish that report for work? Check my email on the laptop and . . . yep, sent it out this afternoon.

I’m not sure that bill got paid. Better check my bank account real quick. . . of course it got paid on time.

Is the garage door down? I bet I left it up when I took the trash out.  Take a quick peek and . . . it’s locked down tight.

Then the serious stuff comes:

Is my career headed in the right direction?

Do I spend enough quality time with my wife and daughters?

Why come we spend so much money?  And why does the guy down the street seem to be doing better than me financially?

If my spiritual life was better, none of this would even matter.

And so it goes, on and on for the next couple of hours.

This night sleep comes earlier than expected as I read my bible and stumble upon some words that bring peace.  I read them, take a deep breath, turn out the light, and hope the alarm doesn’t go off too soon.

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.  Matthew 6:25-34 (The Message)

Photo credit:   mrjoro

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF OUR NEW PLANNER!

There is an old adage that says, “if you fail to plan then you plan to fail”. There is an even older adage that “without a vision the people perish”.  With the pace of life that most of us live, a lack of clarity in the key areas of life will leave us frustrated and at best semi productive.  We all have dreams of a life that is perfectly operating on all cylinders, yet for most of us we are not even sure what that means.

The curse of our times is that we have become accustomed to the tyranny of the urgent and have learned to accept the fact that we can’t get it all together.  At ReadyAimLife, we say that you do not have to be a prisoner to the whims of the people and circumstances around you.  Nor do you have to be a prisoner to your past.  Life is a precious gift and we need to live it to the full.  The opportunity before you in this planner is to develop a conceptual and practical GamePlan for your life that is principally sound, and extremely measurable.

ReadyAimLife Mission- Our mission at ReadyAimLife is to focus on living the life God intended.  Jesus said that He had come that we might have a fulfilling, abundant life.  We believe that there is life that is abundant and full and it is what God intended for you to live (John 10:10).  We call that LIVING LARGE. We don’t have it all figured out, but we’re trying to improve everyday. Please join us as we learn together.

ReadyAimLife Model- We have identified 6 core areas that each of us deals with daily.  This ReadyAimLife GamePlan is geared to help take you through a process that will help you clarify how you are doing in these essential areas of life.  It is our conviction that living large comes from having a clear plan that is both God-centered and very practical in nature.

ReadyAimLife Process- Our process is pretty simply.  We think you need to evaluate where you are (Ready Yourself), then you need to devise a plan to get you to the next level (Aim for your goals) and lastly execute your plan (Live it out).  It looks like this.

• Ready- Evaluate Your Life, Area By Area!
• Aim- Develop a GamePlan!
• Life- Execute your GamePlan!

There is a story about a sign in Alaska that was designed to help the travelers deal with the harsh road conditions that said, “choose your rut carefully because you will be in it for the next 200 miles!”  Developing a life plan is a lot like that.  Your personal plan for your life will determine what you try to do with your life.

We all have a personal vision that drives us (this is our rut).  Most of them are unrecorded and drive us and we are not even conscious of them.  We want to help you capture your thoughts very tangibly so that you can begin your journey toward living the life that God intended for you. Will you face setback and not accomplish everything you set out to accomplish? You bet! But will accomplish more with a GamePlan? Oh yeah!

A friend of mine was a basketball player in high school and college and his dad was his coach in high school. His dad used to say, “Son you know that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” I don’t know about you but I would rather fail trying to accomplish something great than to play it safe and never attempt anything. Take the shot! Even if it is from half court. You might make it and be a hero.

Are you ready to start the adventure?  There is a rugged landscape out there and only the most hearty will make it.  Grab your compass, some provisions and your thinking cap and let’s begin the journey that could help you get it all together.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF OUR NEW PLANNER!

by The Howitzer

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott ridin’ the trail alone?  Whatever happened to Gene and Tex, and Roy, and Rex, the Durango Kid?  Oh, whatever happened to Randolph Scott, his horse plain as could be?  Whatever happened to Randolph Scott has happened to the best of me. – The Statler Brothers

Such are the musings of the Statler Brothers as they pondered the demise of their heroes in the movies.  They longed for a greater day where we were inspired by our American idols rather than voted on who sings the best.  In short where have our heroes gone?

Today is the 50^th birthday of one of my heroes.  His name is Eugene Brannum.  These days he goes by Rory but he will always be Eugene to me.  I met him as a brand new believer as he recently had relocated from Dallas to NW Arkansas to assist in a college ministry that I was just getting involved with in the early 80s.  Over those early formative years of my Christian life, Eugene seemed to cross my path a lot.  He was my first discipleship group leader in my first summer training project.  Shortly, thereafter we would be roommates in an outreach to international students at the University of Arkansas.  My first mission exposure overseas would come at his tutelage and when I got married he was one of the guys who stood up for me.  I can still remember the poem he wrote for my rehearsal dinner.

Roses are red, violets are blue.  Tim’s getting married, Terri is too!

That captures Eugene in my mind: involved, funny, leading the way, providing opportunities for others, caring for people and concerned.  My wife still tells a story of how she learned to listen from him.  It seems there were at a party where there were a lot of people milling around.  They were in a conversation about something and people kept coming by and speaking to him.  But, with laser beam focus he continued to listen to what she had to say.  To Eugene if you were saying something to him that was the most important thing going on.

The thing that I appreciate the most about Eugene is that he is one of the first guys who rolled up his sleeves and attempted to disciple me (which by the way is no picnic).  I can still vividly remember being pulled aside (on numerous occasions) and being treated to one of his famous “Rebuke Sandwiches”.  A rebuke sandwiched between two positives.  These were on the menu if you were in need of instruction.  They might go like this:

Tim, I want you to know how impressed I am with all your contributions that you are making around the house and your attention to detail.  You are definitely one of the key guys and we would not be as efficient as we are without your leadership.  HOWEVER, YOU ARE DRIVING EVERYBODY CRAZY WITH YOUR LEGALISTIC ATTITUDE TOWARD THE HOUSE DUTIES.  But again, I think that just goes to show how involved and concerned you are about things going right around here.  Thanks for the concern, but you MIGHT WANT TO LIGHTEN UP A BIT.

How can you be offended by that?  In fact, I still remember how after I figured out what he was doing enjoying a good “Rebuke Sandwich” every now and then (and I am not one to be interested in having my flaws pointed out).  But, I appreciate someone who is willing to risk the relationship to give input in a positive reinforcing way that invites me to change and reach my potential.  In fact, Eugene was one of the first guys who pointed out to me that I had potential in my Christian life by spending time trying to groom me.  Thanks!

There are hundreds of stories that I could tell but I will share some of those for later.  For now I wanted to honor one of my heroes on his birthday.  HIS 50^TH BIRTHDAY.  Let me share a birthday poem I have written for the occasion.

Roses are red, violets are blue.  I’m getting old, Rory is too.

Happy Birthday Eugene!  May the Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you.

The Statler Brothers wondered where all the heroes have gone.  One of them just moved back to Dallas: RORY EUGENE BRANNUM.