And So It Begins...

Earlier today, President Obama signed an executive order striking down a rule that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion services.*

"Not even waiting a week, the new administration has acted to funnel U.S. tax dollars to abortion providers overseas," Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia, said in a written statement.

I'm not surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised. It's a political ping pong match. Reagan started the policy in 1984 to prevent tax dollars from being used in international abortion clinics. Clinton canceled it as one of his first acts as President in 1993. It was reinstated by President Bush in 2001. Now it's Obama's turn.

Whichever party is in power either cancels or reinstates the order, depending on their ideals. That's one of the reasons I'm a huge fan of Reagan and, yes, even a fan of George W. Bush. They upheld the rights of the unborn.

With one stroke of a pen, President Obama ordered the execution of thousands, if not millions, of unborn children. And he's using our tax dollars to fund it.

(*Source: CNN.com)

Mixed Emotions

Our nation has a new president. To be honest, I still have mixed emotions.

HERE'S WHAT I'M HAPPY ABOUT:

• I’m very proud of our country. I’m glad that we, as a nation, have finally moved past the bigotry and injustices suffered by African Americans in the 60’s. That period is a blight, a stain on our heritage. We should be embarrassed by it, thankful it is behind us and determined to never repeat it. Our country has proven that ANYONE can hold the highest office in the land and, therefore, the world. We should be very proud of that.

The fact that I didn't vote for Barack Obama had absolutely nothing to do with the color of his skin. Nor did I vote out of some blind allegiance to a particular party. I cast my vote (as I always do) based on character, principle and ideology. He did not receive my vote simply because I have fundamental ideological differences with his views and policies. I would never let something as petty as the color of someone’s skin decide my vote.

• No hanging chads. The '08 election was, for the most part, problem free. The nation spoke very clearly. We went to bed that night knowing the outcome. (Heck…most of us knew the outcome before repeats of “Everybody Loves Raymond” came on at 10:00 pm). Nothing like the debacle of 2000. No recounts. No lawsuits. We had a president. (A little aside, here. The electoral vote would lead us to believe that 2/3 of America voted for Obama. Not true. There were 57 million people who voted against him). He may not be the one I wanted but, like it or not, he is now my president. And Scripture says that governing authorities are instituted by God. That doesn't mean God puts them there because they are His favorite or because He approves of their character or behavior. Rather, it means that He allows them to hold positions of leadership for some greater purpose which we may or may not see or even understand.

I will always respect the office of President of the United States even if I do not necessarily respect the individual holding the office. Otherwise, I'd be no different than those who spent the past eight years trashing President Bush.

• Finally, I’m thankful many still said 'no' to same-sex marriage. While Obama's victory was a major defeat to conservatism, several faith-backed state initiatives passed, including ballot measures banning same sex-marriage in Florida, Arizona and California. This could nullify the California Supreme Court's decision earlier this year allowing same-sex marriage. In my view, that’s a good thing and a big 'win'. I'm sure my liberal and homosexual friends will disagree. And that's fine. They are welcome to espouse their opinions on their own blogs. But here’s the thing…God, not society, has defined the boundaries of marriage. Marriage was, after all, His idea. It has always been between one man and one woman. Period. It is not a sliding scale subject to the whim of the Hollywood elite or any other special interest group.

HERE’S WHAT I’M CONCERNED ABOUT:

• Obama's inexperience. Before hitting the campaign trail, he was an active member of the Senate for roughly six months. (Who becomes CEO after working for a company only six months?) Prior to that, his best resume credit was "community organizer". He's never led a town, never governed a state. Now he is the leader of the free world. Pardon me for being a bit concerned.

• He is still a radical extremist. Last February, the whole world learned that Barack Obama had spent twenty years in a racist church where 9/11 was cheered, anti-White racism was spewed and Louis Farrakhan was honored with an award. Obama distanced himself from his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, when the news broke, as if this revelation was a shock to him. Obama said he didn't agree with Wright's views. But, seriously...who in their right mind would attend a church for twenty years while listening to views every week that he disagreed with? Obama was either sleeping in the pew or he stayed because he agreed with the views expressed from the pulpit.

• Many of the people who voted for Obama cannot even articulate his policies and views. They say they wanted “change”. Good grief. Everyone wants change for the better. We're going to get change, alright. It's called socialism.

Some Obama supporters apparently feel it's acceptable to break the law while demonstrating their support. Check out the flag in this photo.

The U.S. Flag Code clearly states: §176. Respect for flag. (g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.

HERE'S WHAT I EXPECT:

• When churches stand on the Word of God and speak out against tough issues, it will soon be regarded as hate speech. Tony Perkins, president of the powerful Washington-based lobbying group, the Family Research Council, predicted dark days ahead for the conservative Christian movement. "We are going to see, I think, unprecedented attacks against our faith through measures like the hate crimes [legislation] to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act," he said. "We're going to see attacks on innocent human life through the Freedom of Choice Act, trying to erase all the gains that have been made in the pro-life movement. And I think even our freedoms are going to come under attack."

Isn't it ironic that our friends on the left who place such a premium on 'tolerance', are tolerant of everything except the Christian world view? They will tolerate any belief, so long as it doesn't disagree with their agenda.

• If Mr. Obama continues to deal with our enemies by 'talking' with them, I believe we will experience another major terrorist attack on our soil under his watch. I pray that I'm wrong. Talking to our enemies has NEVER worked. We are dealing with extremists who will settle for nothing less than seeing America and her citizens wiped off the face of the planet. I'm not crazy about war, but policies and issues are moot points if all Americans are dead.

Regardless of your opinion of George Bush or his job as President, there’s one thing NO ONE can deny: There HAS NOT been another terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11. And as country artist, John Rich, told President Bush at a recent event, "The last time I checked, Mr. President...you can't bat better than 1,000!"

• Believe it or not, I think history will be kind to George Bush. Look, he hasn't been perfect. Have I agreed with everything Bush did while in office? Nope. (I strongly disagreed with his stance on illegal immigration and how to secure our borders). Did I sometimes shake my head at some of his sound bytes in the media? Yep. Even laughed at them. Has he been our best president? No. But he's far from being our worst. At some point, it became politically correct to bash Bush. He is a good man who loves his country, governed according to his conscience and made decisions that he felt best served the American people. I believe history will prove him to be a better president than many of his detractors give him credit for.

HERE'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO:

• I will pray for our new President. Please join me. Whether you agree with him or not, please pray that he looks to God for strength, courage and wisdom. Pray for the safety of the Obama family. And pray for the overall health of our country.

• I will give him a chance. I agree with my friend and talk radio host, Michael DelGiorno, who said, “Let’s treat Obama better than the left treated President Bush. For crying out loud, they named sewer plants after Bush. Obama is now the President and that should change how we frame our argument. Let’s hold him accountable.”

• I will stay hopeful. The sky is not falling and I'm not bitter. I'm actually hopeful. I hope Obama leads well. I hope our economy turns around soon. I hope there are good days and exciting new chapters ahead for our country. I wish our new President nothing but success. If he is successful, we are successful. Time will tell. Some people have prospered under bad presidents and some have experienced decline under good presidents. I'm going to make my best plans for the future, work as hard as I can to provide for my family and press on. We survived eight years of Clinton. We’ll survive this, too.

Hopefully. Let the rebuilding of conservatism begin.

Psalm 146:3-4 - Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

I'm Bringing Change to Washington!

Check this out. Type your name into the boxes below and then watch your name appear in this commercial. Very cool!

AARP 08 Video

Enter your name to see who can bring real change to Washington. First Name: Last Name:

Dear Mr. Obama

The Bourne Stupidity

I may have watched my last Matt Damon film. I wish folks like this would stop espousing their views and exposing their stupidity. I don't care about your political views, Matt. Just shut up, play pretend for a living and provide me a means of escape for a couple of hours. Stick to what you're good at......which, by the way, is NOT political commentary.

Watch this brief video as he rips Sarah Palin.

Sooo....she wouldn't make a good leader because the great Matt Damon doesn't know anything about her? Assuming he's right and McCain doesn't survive his first term, I'd take President Palin over President Obama any day. Seriously...he's citing her "lack of experience in governance?" Let's see....she's been both a mayor and a governor. Matt's candidate has been neither. In fact, Obama was only an active member of the Senate for roughly six months before he hit the campaign trail. If Obama supporters would like to be taken seriously, they should start by arming themselves with the facts and the truth, rather than propaganda and drivel. They have no room to accuse any other candidate of inexperience.

Summer Olympics

In honor of the summer Olympics, here's a cool video by Paul Hunt. It's not often you see a gymnastic comedy routine.

See The Dark Knight

Tonight, I saw "The Dark Knight" for the second time in 72 hours. I was in Texas on Friday preaching at an Elders' retreat and saw it for the first time at 10:00 am. Our entire family saw it tonight. It is far and away the best Batman film to date. I'm not generally a fan of Heath Ledger, but I must say...he absolutely owns this movie. His performance is disturbingly fantastic! He will go down as one of the great screen villains of all time.

I loved "Batman Begins" but this movie is better.

A word of warning, though. It is rated PG-13, but I would not recommend it for young children. It has some graphic violence and is intense at times. Christopher Nolan and his brother have written a great screenplay. It's a complex story, well-directed. It is quite a roller coaster ride that throws in a few surprises along the way. Overall, a great popcorn movie. Can't wait for the next one.

I was excited to hear that this film has already set the box office record for an opening weekend gross, surpassing Spiderman-3.

Here's a fun side note: Last summer, I sent some photos to Christian Bale on the set of "DK" and asked for some autographs for our family. A couple of months later, I received everything back signed by Mr. Bale -- while he was filming the Dark Knight!

Sorry it's been a while since I've blogged. It's been busy at the Harris house. We've been painting the interior of our house and Emily and Amanda have resumed cheerleading.

I'd appreciate your prayers. I leave Monday morning to lead worship for two back-to-back weeks of camp.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad. Miss you...

What I Wish I Was Doing

I wish I could have spent time on Thursday in the greeting card aisle at Walgreen's picking out just the right birthday card for my dad. I would have written a nice note and mailed it on Friday along with a gift.

I wish I was making a phone call today to wish my dad a happy birthday and see if he got my package. Even better, I wish I was driving to his house to hug his neck and wish him a happy birthday in person. Above all, I wish I had just one more chance to kiss his cheek, tell him I love him and explain again how grateful I am to be his son.

As you probably know, my dad has been in Heaven since 1995. He was born on this date 78 years ago. Instead of calling him, I'll call my sister and my mom to tell them I love them and that I'm thinking about them today.

I believe I developed my love of country music from my dad. I have fond memories of riding around in his truck with him when I was a boy listening to 8-track tapes of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Don Williams and Tom T. Hall.

My dad taught me my very first guitar chord when I was 12. It was a "G". A small gesture that would literally change the course of my life.

To celebrate his birthday, I'm going to participate in "open mic night" tonight at the world-famous Bluebird cafe, where I'll sing an original country song. He would absolutely love the fact that I now live in Nashville.

Yes, I still miss him. But the Bible says that 'we don't grieve as those who have no hope' (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Because of dad's faith in Jesus, I know that one day I will see my dad again. I will hug his neck again. I will give him another kiss on the cheek and tell him I love him. And I'll have the chance to say one more thing...

"It sure is good to see you again"!

Happy Birthday, Dad. Love you. Miss you. I'll be thinking about you tonight when I play a "G".

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad

Worst Album Covers...Ever!

I saw these this morning and laughed out loud. The Chicago Tribune ranked the 50 worst album covers of all time. Here are some of my favorites along with my comments...

I wish my brother, George, was here...

(You mean there was a 'volume 1'?)

sadly, what came next was foster edwards' funeral

after the guitar player mistook him for a mouse and

beat him to death with the les paul.

the drummer was a real ass...

after being excommunicated from the amish order for the use of electric instruments, the 'electric amish' replaced their drummer and released their first protestant album...

wayne was gunned down by the east coast rap mafia.

although this was his one and only release,

this brave pioneer paved the way for Willie Tyler & Lester.

danger, will robinson! danger!

shortly after this underground release, wayne newton

landed a record-setting sansabelt endorsement!

roger saved money by using old mug shots for his album cover

i'd rather not...

looks like someone's trying a little too hard to

convince the world that he truly is heterosexual

the macabre musical of 'freddie the friendly serial killer'

these gals truly can read music...

unfortunately, 'ole slim went bankrupt after unsuccessfully defending
lawsuits from both leo sayer and neal schon of 'journey'

tina turner hair - check; mr. t cross - check; mork from ork suspenders - check; rick james glasses - check; steal name from famous alien - check; grow prince-like mustache - check;

have aunt celia make me some rockin' seashell pants - check!

ah, the good 'ole days. nothing scars quite like

watching the old man play with his organ.

this bought each of these kids an extra five years

on the therapists' couch

the cast of 'a mighty wind'?

and my personal favorite...
(i really had to mullet over)

If you'd like to see all 50, click here.

More Useless Facts

Here are a few more totally useless factoids...

• A ' jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

• February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

• There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.'

• If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.

• Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

• Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.

• Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

• A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.

• The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet.

• In Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in the late 50's thru early 70's, there was a dentist named 'Dunat Yelle'.

• There are 293 different ways to make change for a dollar.

• With your hands on your keyboard's home row, the longest word you can type using only your left hand is: "stewardesses". The longest word you can type using only your right hand is "lollipop".

• Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
  

• According to Beatles producer George Martin, Neal Hefti's catchy composition of the 1960's "Batman" Emmy-winning theme song inspired George Harrison to write the hit song, "Taxman."

• George Washington died the last hour of the last day of the last week of the last month of the last year of the 18th century.

• A full moon always rises at sunset.

• Bill Gates' first business was Traff-O-Data, a company that created machines which recorded the number of cars passing a given point on a road.

• acetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetenjackqueenking. Excluding the joker, if you add up the letters in all the names of the cards in the deck (Ace, two, three, four,...king), the total number of letters is 52, the same as the number of cards in the deck. Spooky, huh?
  

• At a jet plane's speed of 1,000 km (620mi) per hour, the length of the plane becomes one atom shorter than its original length.

• Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

• The World's Record for the longest Monopoly game ever played was 1,680 hours long. That's 70 straight days!

• The longest Monopoly game played in a bathtub was 99 hours long.

• Q: What was the occupation of Charlie Brown's father? A: He was a barber.
  

• According to Scientific American magazine: if you live in the northern hemisphere, odds are that every time you fill your lungs with air at least one molecule of that air once passed thru Socrates lungs.
  

• The numbers on opposite sides of a die always add up to 7.

• The book of Esther in the Bible is the only book which does not mention the name of God.

• During his or her lifetime, the average human will grow 590 miles of hair.

• 75% of the people who read this will hold their thumb up to their nose to compare the two.
  

2008 ACM's

As I watched the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night, I have to admit that I was very disappointed. And I'm a BIG fan of country music. The night had its share of glitches.

For starters...the audio mix was HORRIBLE! I don't know who was mixing it for on-air, but they should have held a production meeting after the broadcast and fired them! During the live songs, you could barely hear the band. And poor 'ole Rodney Atkins sounded terrible. Can't lay that one on the bad mix....he just sounded flat throughout his entire medley. Maybe he was having trouble with his in-ear's.

Garth Brooks had a false start with his song. Reba's decision to join Brooks and Dunn for their song "Put a Girl In It" seemed impromptu. It came off that way, too. Even King George didn't sound that great.

A good friend of mine who works in the country music industry (and by the "industry", I mean "the business") once told me that the ACM's are extremely political. I believe it. Some of the awards were laughable and disappointing.

"Stay" got song of the year? Gimme a break. I mean...on one hand, I admire a song that breaks the traditional rules and becomes a radio hit with absolutely no drums on the track. Props to Sugarland for having a big hit with just an acoustic/vocal performance. That rarely happens. But does the Academy really expect us to believe that "Stay" was a better song than "Don't Blink" (Kenny Chesney) or "Moments" (Emerson Drive)? C'mon!! As a songwriter, I was extremely disappointed. It all seemed very political.

And Miranda Lambert put out the "Album of the Year"? Really? Seriously? Better than Brad Paisley's '5th Gear' and Rodney Atkins', "If You're Going Through Hell"? I'm not even a huge RA fan, but let's face it...his debut record has spawned 4 stinkin' # 1's!

The highlight of the evening for me was when Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood performed the Eddie Arnold classic, "Make the World Go Away". My only complaint was that it was too short. Here it is, in case you missed it.



I'm glad Carrie Underwood got Female Vocalist of the Year. Well-deserved. In the near future, I hope to see Mr. Paisley holding the trophy for Entertainer of the Year.

Fun, Useless Information

I stumbled upon this stuff today and thought I'd pass it along. Here is some fun, useless knowledge to impress your friends, neighbors and coworkers around the water cooler.

Fun Facts:

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only... Ladies Forbidden". Thus, the word 'GOLF' entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S.Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work? Alaska.

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness? 28%. (now get this...) The percentage of North America that is wilderness? 38%.

The cost of raising a medium size dog to the age of eleven is $6,400.00.

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour is 61,000. (I thought this would be higher)

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. (I wonder what stupid people have?)

The first novel ever written on a typewriter? Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Each King in a deck of playing cards represents a great King from history:
Spades = King David
Hearts = King Charlemagne
Clubs = Alexander the Great
Diamonds = Julius Caesar

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

It is virtually impossible to lick your own elbow.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th -- John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace.

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat
name requested?
A. Obsession.

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and
laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey.

Q. Which day are there more collect phone calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day.

In Shakespeare's time; mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...
"goodnight, sleep tight."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "Mind your P's and Q's."

~~~and finally~~~

At least 75% of the people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

Dark Knight Posters from Germany

Here are a few new posters that have surfaced in Germany.






71 days and counting...

imdb reports that the Heath Ledger Joker action figure sold out within minutes yesterday at the Toys R Us in downtown NYC. They sell for $9.99 and are already going for $55 on eBay.

Playing Saturday, May 10

I'll be playing in a Writer's Round on Saturday, May 10 @ the Listening Room Cafe in downtown Franklin, TN, with my good friend, Tonja Rose. The show starts at 9:00 pm. Come on out and join us. Reservations are recommended.

New Dark Knight Trailer

Here's the new trailer for "The Dark Knight". I went to see 'Iron Man' and saw this during the previews. After it was over, I think I peed a little...

The Longest 88 Minutes of My Life

So I went to see the new Al Pacino movie, "88 Minutes", recently.

In addition to Pacino, it featured Amy Brenneman ("Judging Amy"), William Forsythe, Alicia Whitt, Leelee Sobieski and Neal McDonough. None of them are slouches, but this proves that even great actors can't salvage a 'sucky' script.

Pacino plays a Seattle pyschiatrist who receives a phone call telling him he has only 88 minutes to live. It could have been very effective if they had used a real-time, "24" kind of feel, counting down from "88" from the moment he received the call. For a man with apparently limited time on his hands, Pacino lives with no real sense of urgency after receiving the phone call. The whole thing was poorly written, overacted and slowly paced. Some things just don't add up.

And for the love of Mike, it seemed like half of the film's plot was delivered via cell phone conversations! What the heck did writers do for exposition before cell phones? Oh, I dunno...maybe they wrote credible dialogue for the actors to use while they actually INTERACTED WITH EACH OTHER?

This film was easily 88 minutes too long and it was, by far, one of the worst Pacino movies I've ever seen. And I normally love Pacino. But this one stunk! Sorry, Al. It should have gone straight to DVD.

My advice? Stay away. You'll spend 108 minutes of your life and have nothing to show for it.

Injured.....Injured Bad

This kid makes me laugh. Check out this insurance commercial...

Can You Duet?

Two of my very good friends, Joey Martin and Rory Lee Feek, will be contestants (if that's the right word) on the new CMT reality show, "Can You Duet"? The show debuts this Monday, April 14, immediately following the 2008 CMT Music Awards. It will then air on Fridays at 8/7c.

They were one of 25 duets who made the show out of the more than 2,500 duets who auditioned.

The show, by the producers of 'American Idol', is designed to find country music's next great duo. Rory is one of the best songwriter's in Nashville (some of his hits include "Some Beach", "The Truth About Men", "Someone You Used to Know", "How Do You Get That Lonely" and "The Chain of Love") and Joey is one of the best country singers you'll ever hear!

I've had the privilege of playing guitar in Joey's band in the past. They have a great marriage, a compelling story and they are flat out some of the finest folks I've ever met. Please watch and cheer them on!

Clink here to watch their audition video.

13 Years in Heaven

This date always makes me a bit melancholy. Thirteen years ago today, my life changed dramatically when, at the age of 64, my dad traded this temporary 'tent' for his eternal home in heaven. I still miss him every day.

I've met a lot of people in my life who did not enjoy a good relationship with their earthly father. Thankfully, I've never been able to relate to that emotion because I had a very strong relationship with my dad (and my mom). That's not to say that we always saw eye to eye on everything or that I never gave him reason to worry. He was full of love for his family, common sense, country wisdom, laughter, a great provider, a wonderful example, gentle when appropriate, firm when necessary and always quick with a word of encouragement and support. I learned my greatest lessons about unconditional love from my dad. He wasn't perfect by any means, but he was a great man.

It's not overstating it to say he was one of the finest men I've ever known. In addition to being my parent, he was also a close friend. I was proud to have him stand with me as my best man at our wedding. I miss having him to consult when I have a big decision to make. I miss hearing him say, "I love you, son", at the close of every phone call. But I am most sorry that my girls are growing up with no memory of their "Pa Paw". I've assured them they will meet him one day in heaven and they'll have lots to talk about. My, how he loved his grandchildren.

I got my appreciation of country music from my dad. I remember riding around in his truck when I was a boy and listening to 8-track tapes of Don Williams, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. He would absolutely love the fact that we now live in Nashville.

Our twin girls were born roughly one month after dad went to heaven. The joy of their birth was tempered by the reality that he was missing from the celebration. At least I did get to tell him that we were having two more girls before he died. Although confined to a hospital bed and weak following a heart attack, he smiled when I told him.

They say time heals all wounds. I'm not sure about that one. At best, I think time helps you deal with that kind of loss, but I don't think you ever fully get over it....until heaven, that is.

I sure am looking forward to heaven.