More Good News....

...I finished my portfolio!

They Have Arrived....

Good News...

...for we people with VISTA.... Windows 7.0 will come out next year

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/cnet/20081028/tc_cnet/83011386031007686456

Starting the Siding on the Church

Thanks to Dad and Rev. Paul Houseworth for helping out.

Thank You's from the Bulletin

Most of the time I forget to add church bulletin items in my blog. This week with so many helping out I want to make sure and thank everyone again for their help. Of course nobody likes praise. At least that is what I have found. The hardworking humble servant does not want praise because it goes against his character, and the slacking servant does not want to hear praise for the hardworking servant because it hurts his foolish pride. Never the less at the risk of offending everyone I have always made it a policy to thank everyone that helps in some way around the church every week. It is my trademark. So with that.....from the bulletin:

I want to thank everyone who helped out around the church the paste two weeks. It was extra busy with the amount of work I had with my schooling and I appreciated everyone that helped out. Thanks to Buddy and Lisa Carr for donating the LVL beam for the platform renovation. Blaine Cosner, Jim Gurnee and Roy Shumate helped out as well. Special thanks to Jim Gurnee and Rev. Paul Houseworth who started the siding project. Wayne Drury stopped by to for a few hours Friday. Tom Rodgers worked on the outside water lines, helped get the siding material, and assisted some with the siding on Friday. Roy Shumate provided the scaffolding that we will be using to do the high part. Paul Klien cleaned up after everyone. Andy Crouch did some work on the rental house for us. Larry Miller kept the live stock fed while we were away Friday and Saturday. May the Lord bless each and every one of you for your help in this on going project. Our goal is to have the church sealed up for winter and the platform area opened up for the Christmas program.

Thanks to My Congregation

I want to express my gratitude to the best bunch of people anywhere! It is not very often you find people that are so gracious, love you the way you are, and put up with you the way they do. It makes me want to live here forever. For the past 5 weeks they have done something special every Sunday morning for their pastor. I have heard of other pastors getting special treatments during Pastor Appreciation Month, but this year they out did everyone else and themselves. I am not sure they will be able to top it. They were not doing it because they felt obligated, they did it from their heart and put a lot of love and thought in to it. They have been planning these past 5 Sundays for almost 5 months. I am not sure who all was involved, but special thanks to Peg Shauberger and Ilene Randall for heading up the "taking care of the pastor" committee. My heart was touched each service as they did something out of the ordinary for us.

These three poster boards show pictures from our childhood. They secretly met and talked to our parents to get pictures and information to put this display together.

For more pictures see my wife's blog entry: http://gurneejourney.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-good-shepherd-we-have.html

George is Back Home!

George had several tests including a stress test. Everything came back great! He will undergo more tests at a later date. Kendra helped me do my calling today. She loves riding around with Daddy, and Daddy is so proud of his pretty little girl.

Dinner at Marcella Mooney's

Marcella had us over for Sunday dinner for Pastor Appreciation. It was not the same with out Tom picking around on his guitar, but we sure enjoyed our visit. She knew I loved stir fry and General Tso's Chicken with fried rice.

Marcella with a picture she had taken with her grandaughter Emily.

Thanks so much Sr. Mooney for your kind hospitality!!

Dirtbikes in Keepville....

I heard them coming...

...and heard them leave: Jake - CR125, Kenton - CRF70, and Joey - CRF150

Prayer Needed

George Randall was hospitalized with heart related problems following a visit to his doctor this morning. He is resting comfortably and awaits testing in the morning. Pray that they will find the problem.

Here is a picture of George talking to me yesterday at church.

The Picture ....

...that my dear kind sweet loving wife should have posted.

Interesting Pic

As I was uploading pictures, I found this one. Kenton was having fun while I took a short snooze. I guess a guy can sleep some times.

Kenton Bags Two More....

While out scouting down at the farm we found two unfortunate squirrels.

Trip to the Farm

We had an enjoyable trip to watch Papa Wallace combine the corn. Kenton was especially excited to be there.

Papa's girls

Papa's boys

Filling up the dump truck.

Finally I got my turn...

Kenton dreaming of shifting those gears.

Playing some air guitar to some "corny" music.

A video of running the combine.

Another OOPS...

OOPS John McCain.....

Something You Need To Watch

http://jonearls.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-video-of-john-mccain-as-pow.html

http://www.facebook.com

I was invited to start a facebook page. In about a few hours I had over 50 friends. Wow!

Another Pastors Appreciation Service

Our church has been so kind to us. We don't deserve the thoughtfulness that have been placed into the last 4 weeks. We never expected to be so generously doted upon. Thank you so much for the generous love offering, the lovely candle holder, and the newspaper article. Thank you to who ever has been so loving to us as your pastor.

Peg Shauberger presenting us with a gift and card.

The newspaper article gave me a big head. I guess I have alot to live up to now.

Squirrel Problems?

Call 1-800-Kenton-Gurnee.

After sneaking up on another black squirrel and not being able to get a shot we kept sneaking through Squirrel Paradise. Another gray squirrel hopped up in front of us and quickly made his way through a top and spooked a deer that snorted and ran off. As it ran it flushed a blue heron of the bank of Conneaut creek that flapped its way and circled around till it landed safely upstream a couple hundred yards. OK we have seen all we are going to see. Kenton can't get the 12 gauge up and get ready for a shot in time. I was thinking about all of the school work waiting back on my desk, I was thinking about the Sunday morning message, I was thinking about the 1/2 mile walk out of the woods and the drive home, I was thinking about everything and frustrated with my little hunter.

"Kenton! I worked so hard to sneak you up onto 2 squirrels and never pulled the trigger after I hollered pull the trigger 20x's."

He looked up at me with eyes that showed his disappointment in not getting the shot and yet a little hurt from me being so impatient. Patience is what we learn hunting squirrels. He did not want to go home. I did. Then I didn't when I realized that my study could wait and be done whenever. The hunting could not wait, but must continue.

We walked another couple hundred feet and it was his hand squeezing mine hard. We hold hands and signal each other with a hard squeeze if we see a squirrel. This brought both of us to a frozen position with both our feet in mid air over a small log we were crossing. I could not see the squirrel as hard as I looked, but his face showed that one was hopping around just ahead. We decided that it was on the bank on the other side of the ravine. We took about 20 minutes to go about 1oo feet. No squirrel in site.

As we slowed eased up the other side of the ravine our hearts stopped. The squirrel was sitting on a branch 20' away. His tail was flipping and he was scolding the intruders of his land. I slowly handed Kenton the Mossberg 835 12 gauge. He slowly raised and squeezed the trigger. The squirrel ran away through the brush like he had just been shot at. (OK that was lame and corny) How could he have missed at such a close range? We went around the bend in the ravine to where the squirrel had disappeared. NO SQUIRREL.

Wow how does that happen? We looked around and started to leave when Kenton said "Dad you never leave an animal lay, we have to find him." "You missed he ran away!" Well long story short we retraced the shot pattern and went to where the squirrel was last seen. It was laying there under the leaves right where we had walked past several times. He picked it up and I snapped the first few pictures....


Then he grabbed my hand and said "There is another one." Actually there were two running around. He steadied the gun. I told him to wait just a little. It kept coming closer and the other one ran right up behind it. "

"SHOOT" ......BANG!.....and two more squirrels went from Squirrel Paradise to Squirrel Heaven.

With all 3 that he bagged within 5 minutes time.

Proud Daddy and one Happy Boy!

A Special Surprise

Dad and his sister Tamara planned a big surprise for Granny. The last time we had seen her was in 1993. It had been over 15 years. She flew into Cleveland on business and called us to meet her for dinner. The big surprise was that Granny did not know what we were doing. Dad, Mom, and Granny stopped by to get some pictures before leaving for Cleveland.

Granny was born in 1920.

4 Generations

Here was the special surprise! If you listen carefully you can hear Tamara say Hi Mom....but Granny did not catch on until she told her who she was. Many times during the dinner Granny would start crying.

Aunt Tamara and I.

Aunt Tamara and Dad