Well, our baby boy Ben is engaged to be married, and I just happen to have a pic of the couple here. Ben told us last week that he is engaged, and we thought it would be several months before the wedding, but we get a call within a week, saying that they are planning a December wedding!! This was a bit of a surprise to his mother and to me, but we think a lot of Sarah, and we wish them all the best.
This pic was taken at Ben's graduation, so it is a little over a year old, but neither one of them has changed too much since then. Both Ben and Sarah are working in the DC area, and are involved at Capitol Hill Baptist Church: http://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/ so you can check out this website and learn why they like it so well. The wedding however, will be in Richmond, VA, so it will be a little shorter drive than if it were in DC. I should mention that Ben and Sarah met at Camp Willow Run, the same place where Pat and I met just a few years ago. (This camp is an inter-denominational Christian camp for children and youth near Littleton NC, and not just a place to meet your future spouse.) Please note the link to Camp Willow Run on this website. Again, I should say that I am very happy for Ben and Sarah.

Bike riding

I logged 25 mi. on Saturday, riding from the house to Salem Lake, where I took the Salem Creek Trail to Old Salem and then back. I gave my wife a bit of a scare as she didn't think I would be gone for 2.5 hours. It is a good thing she didn't know that a cyclist was killed Sat. AM by a hit-and-run truck driver in Winston-Salem. (The pic is of my older son David, since I don't have one of myself at the lake.) It can be a little risky riding on the road, and I prefer to ride on the path which is reserved for hikers, runners, cyclists and sometimes horeback riders. Just think, if I could quadruple that daily mileage, I could approach the daily logs of those who ride the Tour de France! I know, I know, they do a few more hills and valleys, but I was just sayin'...It is hard to believe we aren't gonna see Lance ride anymore...who will win it next year?

Leaving Textiles

We have this young guy working for our commission dye and finishing company who is leaving, not just this company but the field of textiles. That is not all that surprising. What is however, is he is going to work for the DEA. He will be an agent, and carry a gun, and the whole nine yards. He seems a bit mild-mannered for this sort of thing, but he has been pusuing this for two years, so he has had plenty of time to think about it. He is single at this time, and that may be a good thing for his would-be wife. He will be doing some intense training for a period of time, and then he could be assigned anywhere in the US, except this area.

Lock--In

Well, for the third year in a row I have enjoyed, (and I use that term loosely,) helping with the youth lock-in at our Kernersville Y. We had 68 youth there which is about twice the number we had last year, and I don't see how we could possibly double that number next year. We started swimming, at least some of us, and I was challenged to a swimming race by a middle school girl. I know what you're thinking...that I lost. No you are wrong. I did win, but I might add that I don't do the challenging anymore since my cousin Mary Beth beat me in two races a couple years ago.How do you like the form of this young man? I don't know who he is and he was not one of our youth. I was looking for some swim pics and just happened to run across this one.

How do you like the form of the young man in this pic? I don't know who he is, and he was not one of our youth. I was looking for some shots of swimmers and just happened to run across this one.

We also played some gym games, and a lot of hide and seek, not to be confused with the movie starring Rober De Niro.

We did have a time of singing some praise and worship choruses and a few of the youth shared their testimony. We need to follow up with those who do not know Christ as their Saviour.
We had a great time, although the older I get, the harder it is for me to make it all night. Pray for our youth as well as all of the ones we had Friday night who may not have a church home.

Israel's borders

My wife was wanting to know something for her 5th and 6th grade Sunday School class, and that is the original borders of Israel, compared to the present day borders. I didn't have that info handy at the time (when she needed it,) but I do have it now. This was provided to me by Jerry Fugate, a former Minister of Music and adult Sunday School teacher of Oaklawn Baptist in Winston-Salem. The red lines show the original borders and the black lines show the more-or-less present day borders The info on the original borders was obtained from Numbers 34 and Deuteronomy 34. As you can see, some ground has been lost and some gained. There is increased interest in this subject since the Israelis have been forced to move from the Gaza strip.

We took the risk...

We took the risk to get away for the weekend, even though there may have been a chance that we couldn't get gas after coming home. We went to the lake for some swimming, boating and on Labor Day, I did get one ski in the water. Getting it up out on top of the water was a little more difficult, but I did succeed. The number of boats out on the lake was down from what we would normally expect. Some folks were trying to conserve fuel, it seems.
I have included here a shot of something that looks like it could be real fun, but I don't think that I will try it myseft. Maybe this is what those Top Gun types do in their spare time? Crossing that wake could be trouble, and watch out for those afterburners!

Labor Day Thoughts

Well, we have a holiday weekend coming up. Some of us were thinking of getting away for a few days, but now with the possible gas shortage, we are re-thinking the idea. We might need to save our gas so that we can get to our jobs next week. It makes me wish I lived a little closer to work, so that I could ride my bike, but still it just isn't safe on the highway and if you have to travel in the dark. Hmm...Maybe a small motorcycle...