Back to the Giant Sandbox

My time in the states is over =( It was way too short. I've already decided I'm taking a month next time (December).

I'll be traveling the next couple of days and not sure if I'll have internet access along the way, so see ya'll on the flip side.

Google Search

Last Wednesday, Feather Iron told me about Site Tracker. It has tons of really cool features like showing how many hits a day your site averages (I'm at 68 as of today...that's very humbling), how long they stay, and how many pages they visit. It shows you where in the world the visitors are (in the last few days I've had visitors from all across the US from Cali to NYC, Canada, Taiwan, England and Sweden...that's the only foreign country one I know who it is).

The neatest feature is it shows you how they came to your site. Most are from friends who have me linked to their site. However another big source is Google searches. I've had them come to the site by searching for the words rants, tiger and lifesong. I had an old friend who I haven't seen or talked to in over 3 years drop in by googling my name...I can't hide...lol

The coolest one though was the following search, "What does God mean by 'not even a hint of sexual immorality.'" It took them to my Personal Purity Commitment post. How amazing is that!!! They may have gotten way more than they bargained for, but how powerful is our God that He even uses Google to bring people closer to His will. I wish he or she would have left a comment, but ultimately my prayer is that something in that post challenged him or her to walk closer to God in the area of sexual purity!

Tuition's Never-Ending Cycle

"Here's how it works: People who want to go to college complain to their representatives in Washington that higher education is too expensive. Politicians, in turn, boost aid to get the petitioners' votes. Colleges, because they know students can now pay it, then raise their tuition to get more money to conduct research, pay higher salaries, and build nicer amenities to attract the now better-healed students. But then the people who complained originally are priced out of college again ... and the cycle repeats."

- Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute

In God We Trust!

On the 50th anniversary of our national motto, "In God We Trust," we reflect on these words that guide millions of Americans, recognize the blessings of the Creator, and offer our thanks for His great gift of liberty.

From its earliest days, the United States has been a nation of faith. During the War of 1812, as the morning light revealed that the battle-torn American flag still flew above Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key penned, "And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust!'" His poem became our National Anthem, reminding generations of Americans to "Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation."

On July 30, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the law officially establishing "In God We Trust" as our national motto. Today, our country stands strong as a beacon of religious freedom. Our citizens, whatever their faith or background, worship freely and millions answer the universal call to love their neighbor and serve a cause greater than self.

As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of our national motto and remember with thanksgiving God's mercies throughout our history, we recognize a divine plan that stands above all human plans and continue to seek His will.

-President Bush

Shameless Plea to Vote for Me =)

Hey everyone. I'm a day late on this due to my trip to DC as the voting started yesterday, so I have lots of ground to make up if I have a shot at winning.

Anyway, I've made the finals for Random Blogs on the Blogs of Summer list. You can vote for me here. You can only vote once, so every vote counts. I'm currently 63 votes out of first place with one day of voting left to go. I think it ends on Saturday, so please go now and help me make a late comeback =)


Editor's Update: Well it appears I have lost my first blog poll pretty handily...lol Oh well life moves on (Lincoln did lose several races in his life before becoming President!...before anyone asks, I have no desire whatsoever to ever run for President!!!).

Once again though the timeless principle that better ideas don't automatically lead to winning (the winner's site was about Sweden...now come on!!!...lol). It's all about the grassroots and considering how bad the winner kicked our tails, he/she obviously put in a lot more ground work than the rest of us did.. I'll live to fight again!!!

What's This Have to Do With Education Again?

"At its biennial convention July 19-22, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) adopted an official position against the war in Iraq, calling on U.S. officials to 'withdraw all troops, bases and military operations in a rapid and timely manner and to put a stop to the unending military presence that will waste lives and resources, undermine our nation's security and weaken our military.'

"...The union also approved a resolution vowing to 'monitor the condition of human and trade union rights in China' and 'demand that the Chinese government extend to all Chinese citizens their basic human rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of religion.' Other resolutions encouraged members to boycott Wal-Mart because of the retail giant's alleged anti-union efforts and reiterated the AFT's longstanding support for abortion rights."

- CNS News, 7/25/06

Go Vote!!!

Frequent visitor and commenter, Little Miss Chatterbox, has been nominated in the Blogs of Summer for best political blog. Go show her some Cajun Tiger friends and family love by voting for her here.

MySpace

Well I finally bit the MySpace bullet. I started a site on there back in Kuwait on my way home for leave and you can view it here. It is another great way to find and keep up with my friends around the country and world. I have no intentions of falling into the trap of adding anyone who request it, so only people I know are on my friends list.

MySpace is blocked at the office in Iraq, so I'm not sure if I'll have access via my laptop when I get back, but no worries, this site isn't going anywhere. All I'm doing as far as blogging on MySpace is posting links to this page.

So, anyway, if you have MySpace and you are a friend, and I haven't added you yet, please surf on over and send me a friend request.

Also Ellesugirl gets all the credit for all the sweet LSU graphics and stuff as she totally hooked me up as you will see. =)

Should Be Common Sense Law

The Senate is scheduled to debate a bill this week, Child Custody Protection Act - S. 403. The bill would prevent the taking of minor girls across state lines for an abortion without parental notice. You would think this is a common sense law and should pass 100-0.

That's where you would be wrong. Minors aren't allowed to get a tattoo without parental consent, but libs will fight tooth and nail to allow a minor to be taken across a state line to have an abortion without their parent's knowledge. That is just plain idiocy.

All the usual suspects are objecting to the bill and trying to add amendments to create loopholes. The biggest one is by Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) that would make an exception if it were a clergy member. If you have any idea how easy it is to be a "clergy" member, you would be shocked, yet this is the smoke and mirrors that the left tries to use to pass under the table in order to keep abortion on demand in even the most common sense cases.

I truly pray that there are enough Senators with backbone and common sense to reject all amendments to this bill and pass it as is.

Big Fish

Big Fish

Went fishing with my dad, paran, and cousin yesterday. Unfortunately my unlucky fishing streak continues as we didn't have a good catching day, 9 total. I didn't catch any =(

However my cousin caught the monster I'm holding above. It is a 34", 25lb red that was a major fight to get in the boat.

All in all it was a great day on the water. One day I'm going to have one of those fishing days where everyone limits out!!! I'm not giving up!!!

40 Days of Prayer

Dan has posted about a very important challenge coming up starting Aug. 1. Children's Cup is asking for people to pray for 40 days starting on the 1st for the children of Africa.

Closure

Two Thursday’s ago I received a letter in the mail from Cheryl. It basically ended all hopes of any future relationship. I went to Texas Monday night to get some closure on my end due to a few open questions. While I wasn’t able to talk with her, I did find the closure I was seeking.

As raw and painful as this is and will be for some time, I have no doubt that God has used and will continue to use this for His glory. Thanks so much to everyone who has been such great encouragement for me over these last 6 months.

The biggest lesson since the engagement being called off and now this is that actions have consequences and you reap what you sow. Actions that I did in secret have caused lots of public pain. No matter how you try to avoid it, you will reap what you sow, more than you sow and others will be affected as well.

I’m definitely reaping the results of the bad seeds planted in my past. However, that isn’t the end of the story. God is so faithful. The good seeds that I’m planting now have already started to take root and the harvest will be 100-fold!!! What has been taken will not only be returned, but it will be doubled…Job 42:10.

If you leave any comments, please refrain from any comments negative towards Cheryl or her dad or I will have to delete them. Thanks in advance for honoring that request.

Home Sweet Home!!!

Mom & Dad's House

My Little Peanuts - Chloe and Owen

I made it home last night after three very non-eventful flights. My layovers in London and Chicago both only allowed me enough time to get off the plane, walk to the next gate and then load the new plane. Total flying time was 18 hours from Kuwait.

Israel at War

Kira has a great post on a letter from an Arab writing to the Palestinian Arabs concerning Israel and the current conflict. Please go read the whole letter because it is definitely an interesting read. Here is a quote from it:

"The war with Israel is over.

You have lost. Surrender and negotiate to secure a future for your children.

Dear friends, you and your leaders have wasted three generations trying to fight for Palestine, but the truth is the Palestine you could have had in 1948 is much bigger than the one you could have had in 1967, which in turn is much bigger than what you may have to settle for now or in another 10 years. Struggle means less land and more misery and utter loneliness."

Conservative Cajun also has a good post on the whole situation and how the US should react.

Vacation Has Begun!!!

View from my room!!!

My Room!!!

I'm finally on my way home for leave. I have one day here in Kuwait then it is off to London, Chicago and then finally New Orleans. A friend of mine in Iraq (thanks Jess!!!) totally hooked me up. I had no idea that this was even available, but there are a block of rooms available at no cost at the Hilton when you are passing through Kuwait for R&R.

Anticipation!!!

The following is a list of things I can't wait to do the next two weeks when I get home for leave. After the first two, the rest are in no particular order:

1. Obviously I can't wait to see and spend time with family and friends.

2. FOOD!!! CAJUN FOOD!!! After 6 months of eating at the DFAC, the first thing I'm doing when I get home is stopping on the way home from the airport at this little hole in the wall restaurant and get a shrimp poboy. Then of course some good meme cooking...potato stew, red beans, and white beans!!!

3. Being able to shower, shave and use the restroom all in the same room and without having to go outside to get to each of them.

4. Not having to walk everywhere.

5. Being able to breathe without filling my lungs with sand and dust.

6. For the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to the LA humidity. My skin will be sucking up the moisture!!!

7. Going fishing with my dad.

8. Going to my church in Baton Rouge.

9. Sleeping in my own room.

10. Internet that works like it is supposed to.

I'll be out of communication until at least Sunday, so see ya'll on the flip side!!!

Taxes Cut, Deficit--not Sky--Falls

Liberals wrung their hands when President Bush first proposed tax cuts back in 2001. It would ruin the economy and balloon the deficit, they wailed. Now, we are seeing the deficit falling rapidly.

This year's deficit of $296 billion is 30 percent lower than projected just last February. That's a $127 billion decline from that February forecast. Revenues have increased, accounting for 90 percent of the deficit reduction. This is an historic moment and President Bush is right to call attention to the success of his pro-growth economic policies. FRC supported those tax cuts, especially the pro-family portions of the tax package. Now we see that they are working to the benefit of all Americans.

It's not only a victory for President Bush, it's also vindication for Ronald Reagan. When he first proposed massive tax cuts in 1980, Reagan was criticized for "voodoo economics." Later, liberal pundits blamed President Reagan for the deepening recession that began on Carter's watch. But, as Reagan's tax cuts began to work, and America rebounded, he smilingly said: "You'll notice they don't call it Reaganomics any more." Thank you, President Bush, for staying the course.

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

What Satan Meant for Evil, God Used for Good!!!

The Chaplain on base asked me to give my testimony this past Sunday night for Chapel along with a message of encouragement and hope despite trials. Once again, God showed how faithful He is.

God moved in a mighty way. He helped me get through the whole message and even helped me to talk slow enough for everyone to understand me =)

Here are three praise reports so far from the night:

One guy came up to me after and said on the way to chapel he asked God to give him something tonight to help free him from his bondage to pornography on the internet. I mentioned Covenant Eyes in my message and he said he was going install it as soon as he got home.

A female Marine said her ex-husband watched porn on TV every night and eventually had an affair which led to their divorce. She has been struggling with blame and guilt ever since. The Chaplain was able to spend some time with her and help her break free from some of that as well as connect her with some of the other ladies in the group.

One of the worship leaders had been talking to a Muslim translator and he came to the service that night. After the service, he accepted Christ!!! PRAISE GOD!!!

Thanks to everyone who was praying for me. Your prayers were definitely answered!!! As the title says, what satan meant for evil, God used for good!!! Gen 50:20

One Year Anniversary of Blogging

Wow...I can't believe it has been a year since I started blogging (it was actually yesterday, but didn't have a chance to post so I'm doing it today).

What a year it has been. I can definitely say it has gone from some of the highest highs to some of the lowest lows. Through it all, God has been faithful!!!

Below are links that recap some of my posts that were significant over the last year as well as some with the most comments. Enjoy the year in review:

First Post

Dodgeball Tournament

Kazakhstan De-Brief

Rekindling

Katrina

I'm an Uncle...again

Rita

Broken Leg

My Lifesong

She Said Yes!

Last Grandparent

The Adventure Continues

What a Difference a Day Makes

Engagement Called Off

Psalm 32

In Iraq at Last

Blessings of Brokenness

Growth

Wherever You Are

Final Four Geaux Tigers!!!

No Excuses

Sandstorm

Desert Experience

One Step Closer

Good Riddance

Personal Purity Commitment

Kazakhstan One Year Later

Pure Desire

Hmmm...that was a very interesting exercise. As I stated above, I was going to include some of the political posts with the most comments, but that just didn't seem fitting. So, this has instead turned into a review of my life over the last year. The year saw lots of great times as well as lots of tears.

I can say without one hint of doubt that I'm closer to God, my family and my friends today than I was one year ago. Through the struggles and victories God allowed this past year, others have come closer to God and their families. What more can one ask out of life. I can't wait to see what the next year holds in store for all of us!!!

No Consensus???

Wait, you mean a claim made by AlGore isn't true? In his "documentary" he claims that the "debate in the scientific community is over" in regards to global warming. Here is a great rebuttal to that claim.

I've Arrived...Well, Not Really

My new living quarters

My new room

After being in a tent for nearly 6 months, I finally got a trailer!!! The tents are only supposed to be temporary and for transitions, but due to the amount of people here, there aren't enough trailers for those who aren't temporary.

The wait was definitely worth it though. No more sand/dust everywhere, no more showers in a tent, and only one roommate instead of 7 =)

New Links

I've added two new blogs and removed one.

Kurt, my cousin, came close to being added to lefty blogs, but blood is deeper than politics, so he is under the family blogs. He doesn't post much on his blogger account due to having MySpace, but he comments frequently on this site under the pen name CrummyWaterTowr.

Pondering American is a conservative LA Cajun and well, one can never have to many of those on his site =) I've taken a quick tour of his site and it has lots of great info.

I've removed House Diggity from my Iraq blogs b/c apparently he has left Iraq and took his site down. I'll try to find another good Iraq blog to take his place.

Don't Let the Door Hit Ya

Here is Cindy Sheehan's latest idiocy. Just like the Hollywood blowhards who claimed if Bush won in 2000 that they would leave the country and of course didn't, I'd be willing to bet anything if given a free ticket to Venezuela, Sheehan would stay in the good ole USA.

The Right Path

89 New American Citizens!!!

What an amazing thing to do on the 4th of July. Today, 89 LEGAL immigrants participated in a naturalization ceremony and became US citizens. Not only did they do it the LEGAL way, but they have already and will continue to put their life on the line in defense of the new citizenship they have just earned.

Any kind of amnesty, be it fast track or length of time in America, that rewards ILLEGAL immigrants with the same privileges these new Americans fought for and will possibly die for is a slap in their face as well as everyone else who follows the LEGAL paths to citizenship.

Happy Birthday America!!!

There aren't any flags flying here on Camp Victory being it isn't American soil, so some have had to be creative in flying Old Glory for the 4th. Here is a pic of Nancy's contribution to that creativity.

I'm Back

Apparently the storms in DC two weeks ago, effected the internet here in Iraq, so I was unable to get to my site for about a week. Then blogger decided to be difficult and my site was down for another week. All that to say, I'm back and will catch up some posts I've been wanting to do in the next few days.