It keeps getting better

Recently, Randy Stufflebeam asked my friend, Bryan Evans, to run with him on the state ticket as the candidate for treasurer. Great choice, Randy. If you're registered to vote, and an Illinois resident, you can help get these guys get on the ballot in November by downloading a petition here. Be sure to read the instructions before you start having people sign. Have fun!

Constitution Party Convention

As I mentioned previously, Laura and I attended the State Convention for the Constitution Party of Illinois on Saturday. We had a great time, got to meet some cool people, and, more importantly, got excited about standing up for what we believe in. Maybe your values are consistent with those of our party. You can find out by reading the platform here.

At the convention, we got to listen to the bylaws, which were voted on for approval. Not super-exciting, but definitely interesting. The afternoon was the good stuff. We nominated Randy Stufflebeam (shown with me in the second picture) as our nominee for Governor of Illinois. We got to listen to keynote speaker, Cal Zastrow, (shown with me in the first picture) who is the chairman of the Constitution Party of Michigan and the chairman of Michigan Citizens for Life. Cal was not only inspiring, but gave us practical tools to use to build the party. Today, with the news of the Republican and Democratic nominees for Governor, we are excited to be able to tell the people of Illinois that there is a candidate who is 100% pro-life running this fall, and his name is Randy Stufflebeam.

Many folks volunteered to run for office at this convention as well. It looks like I'm going to be joining them. Details on my candidacy are coming later. I will say that I will likely be running as a "flagpole" candidate. This is a person who simply gets their name on the ballot for the purpose of giving the party more credibility in the eyes of the voters. Sorry, but their probably won't be any yard signs or anything like that.

We've been excited about the different things that God has brought into our paths during this season of life. With the passing of my mother, my stepfather, and my daughter Hannah, there has been a great deal of grief, and it is easy to just stop and do nothing. We have been active, however, and forward looking, and we're being used to touch others' lives. Thanks for praying.

I meant to post this on Wednesday, but I couldn't get the pictures to upload until today.

Busy weekend

Laura and I have a busy weekend ahead. We'll be looking at more houses. I have this feeling that the Lord is going to lead us to the right place, we're just going to "know" when we've found the right one. I hope my feelings serve me well in this endeavor.

Tomorrow, Laura and I will be attending the 2006 State Convention for the Constitution Party of Illinois, which will be happening in Peoria. I've actively supported this political party since 1996 am glad that the Lord led me to a party that I can throw my support behind with a clear conscience. Randy Stufflebeam is running for governor of Illinois, and we'll be making him our official candidate tomorrow. Cool stuff.

Any dreams I had of relaxing on the love seat and watching Sky Angel this weekend have wilted. It'll be worth it.

Doing well

Gideon is doing much better these days. Thank you for praying. He's also moving up in the development department, and it's exciting to see him doing more stuff and becoming more aware of the world around him. And one thing's for sure: I'll be really glad when he is too big for the outfit in this picture.

Many new developments

Well, what can I say? Life goes on, and we have many things and many friends to be thankful for. Laura and I are in the midst of looking at houses in Bloomington-Normal, and we're leaning toward moving sometime soon. While dealing with Hannah's loss, this has been something that has been reasonably positive and has kept us forward-looking.

In our church, we have LifeGroups, frequently called cell groups or home groups, where folks from the church get together in a home to worship together, pray for each other, study the bible, and fellowship. Our LifeGroup is going through some changes currently, and we feel that God is wanting to split us into 3 separate groups this year. As the Lord leads, Laura and I will likely be starting our new group in the next month or two. I look forward to this fresh start of sorts.

Gideon has been sick most of this week, and it's affected our sleep and health as well. Feel free to pray for us in that regard.

This week I went back to work, and the transition has gone pretty well. I am so thankful for the extended family we have at Samaritan Ministries. With all due respect, Hannah's transition would have definitely been a much more difficult situation at one of my previous employers.

Today's recommended website: Time Changer
I watched it with Silas yesterday.

Very pleased

I couldn't have been more pleased with the visitation and funeral/celebration services for my daughter Hannah. Hannah obviously affected a lot of lives and continues to do so. We have been bombarded with love the last two weeks in the form of flowers, meals, fruit baskets, cards, money, visits, phone calls and a host of other ways. If you have a picture of Hannah taken with your camera, and have doubles, we would be happy to take one of them off your hands. Thanks to everyone who participated. I talked with people I haven't seen in several years, which was a huge deal to me. Truly there is not enough that can be said about this whole event. The Lord continues to work in people's lives and has opened some doors. More to come...