Our kids and Lance and Tiffany's kids

You're Not Alone

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of Passage? His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.



He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!



Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone.

A Message From Gracyn

Hi everybody it's Gracyn. I havent written in a while because I had to have my surgery. As you know it went really well. After surgery it hurt quite a bit but I feel much better now. I'm doing really good with my medicine and everything else. Thank you for praying that God would provide me the perfect heart and He sure did. I thank him that I am feeling so healthy and my biopsy went good. God has taken care of me and I might get to go home on Monday. Please keep praying. I am really happy to know I will be going home soon. Love, Gracyn

Daily Verse

A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

Proverbs 15:5 (New International Version)

Sportsmen's Devotional Friday

A Daily Study of God's Word for Christian Sportsmen April 24, 2009

Today's Photograph....A Good Day On The Water (Janet B)

Bible Study Verse
Proverbs 27:1-2
Don't boast about tomorrow, for you don't know what a day might bring. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth - a stranger, and not your own lips. (HCSB)

Thoughts
In the charter boat business, one day you might be a hero with full limits. The next day conditions change, the fish don't bite, and you struggle. You can spot a rookie guide from a mile away when he struts around the dock with a cooler full of fish and proclaims himself as the greatest. As usual on a tough day, he tucks his tail between his legs and mopes. The truth of the matter is, we all have great days, good days, average days, slow days, and downright poor days. The veteran guide knows this and keeps his cool and confidence when things are going good or when it is tough to get a bite. (Bink G)

Action Point
Proverbs was written as a practical guide to everyday living. The above scripture instructs us to be humble in our successes, because the next day the wind may be blowing 25 knots from the southwest or the fish may not be hungry. Nobody likes the clamor from the self-righteous. If you must boast, boast in the Lord, even if you only have a few fish to clean.


Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
When fishing conditions are tough, it is even more important to know your tides and moon phases. The fish may only bite for an hour that day, so you better be there when they feed

Health

Remember to eat as natural as possible. Our bodies don't recognize or know how to break down the elaborate chemicals in modern foods. Copy and paste this link in your browser. It relates to artificial sweeteners.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/;_ylt=AvL7kxbdgWbcsrLLjnLlkZ4azJV4?rn=3906861&cl=13088937&ch=4226723&src=news

Sportsmen's Devotional Wednesday

A Daily Study of God's Word for Christian Sportsmen April 22, 2009

Today's Photograph.... The Right Spot At The Right Time (Will D)

Bible Study Verse
Acts 9:1-2
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them-both men and women-back to Jerusalem in chains. (NLT)

II Corinthians 10:3-4
We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. (NLT)

Thoughts
There are certain days of year when the weather, the tide, and the moon align creating perfect fishing conditions. Fishermen reap great harvests. However, angler's zeal to be in the right spot at the right time sometimes causes rifts among us - frustrations that lead to anger or conflict on the water. We might say words we regret.

Before Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he had no problem with anger. In fact, he used it well. he was "eager to kill". But God had a different purpose for Saul. When He met him, He changed him. Saul became Paul. A man driven with a spirit of hatred is replaced with a man of Holy Spirit led compassion. A drastic change only possible from a living God. Later, when Paul confronts problems within the Corinthian church, he does so with composure. His calculated, Christ led approach succeeds and ultimately leads to a Christian movement that consumes all of Rome. (Will D)

Action Point
As Christian hunters and fishermen we might be tested by circumstances on the water or in the field. How will we deal with the conflict? Like Saul of Tarsus or like Paul? A Christ led approach to tenuous situations can show others how Christ lives in us - quite possibly leading to a change in them.


Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
When fishing crowded areas, a good rule of thumb is to stay two to three casts away from the nearest boat

Proverbs 29

29 A man hating sharp words and making his heart hard, will suddenly be broken and will not be made well again.

2 When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.

3 A man who is a lover of wisdom is a joy to his father: but he who goes in the company of loose women is a waster of wealth.

4 A king, by right rule, makes the land safe; but one full of desires makes it a waste.

5 A man who says smooth things to his neighbour is stretching out a net for his steps.

6 In the steps of an evil man there is a net for him, but the upright man gets away quickly and is glad.

7 The upright man gives attention to the cause of the poor: the evil-doer gives no thought to it.

8 Men of pride are the cause of violent acts in a town, but by wise men wrath is turned away.

9 If a wise man goes to law with a foolish man, he may be angry or laughing, but there will be no rest.

10 Men of blood are haters of the good man, and evil-doers go after his soul.

11 A foolish man lets out all his wrath, but a wise man keeps it back quietly.

12 If a ruler gives attention to false words, all his servants are evil-doers.

13 The poor man and his creditor come face to face: the Lord gives light to their eyes equally.

14 The king who is a true judge in the cause of the poor, will be safe for ever on the seat of his power.

15 The rod and sharp words give wisdom: but a child who is not guided is a cause of shame to his mother.

16 When evil men are in power, wrongdoing is increased; but the upright will have pleasure when they see their downfall.

17 Give your son training, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your soul.

18 Where there is no vision, the people are uncontrolled; but he who keeps the law will be happy.

19 A servant will not be trained by words; for though the sense of the words is clear to him, he will not give attention.

20 Have you seen a man who is quick with his tongue? There is more hope for a foolish man than for him.

21 If a servant is gently cared for from his early years, he will become a cause of sorrow in the end.

22 An angry man is the cause of fighting, and a man given to wrath does much wrong.

23 A man's pride will be the cause of his fall, but he who has a gentle spirit will get honour.

24 A man who takes part with a thief has hate for his soul; he is put under oath, but says nothing.

25 The fear of man is a cause of danger: but whoever puts his faith in the Lord will have a safe place on high.

26 The approval of a ruler is desired by great numbers: but the decision in a man's cause comes from the Lord.

27 An evil man is disgusting to the upright, and he who is upright is disgusting to evil-doers

Shooting House

This is it. The new shooting house that we built this past weekend. It took two whole days and we think we did pretty good for novice builders.

Friday Sportsmen's Devotional

Bible Study Verse
II Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (NIV)

Thoughts
While visiting my son in Florida, we went surf fishing along the gulf coast. Occasionally, we would catch whiting, pompano, redfish, blues, and Spanish mackerel. One day a stranger approached and visited for at least an hour. Before he left, Dave, a christian with the gift of hospitality, invited us to go fishing in his boat. Our trip turned out to be a great experience. We caught about 75 sand trout and a few black drum along the rubble of a hurricane damaged bridge. When the pelicans noticed all the fish that were being caught, they tried to join us for a free lunch. They actually surrounded the boat and you had to be protective when you pulled the fish out of the water. Between catching fish, observing the pelicans, and assisting in driving the boat, my grandson had an unforgettable day. (Tom L)

Action Point
In Matthew 9:37 Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." (NIV) Attracting the pelicans to our harvest illustrated a good point about attracting workers for Christ.

Marion Jacobsen, in the book, Saints and Snobs, writes strong but true words: "If any group Christians who claim to believe and practice all God has said in His Book will face up to their personal responsibility within the family of Christ, and to the real needs of Christians around them, their church will impress its community with its shinning goodness of God's love- to them and among them. Such a transformation would do more to ATTRACT others to Jesus Christ than to any house to house canvass, evangelistic campaign, or new church facility. People are hungry for acceptance, love, and friends and unless they find them in the church they might not stay there long enough to become personally related to Jesus Christ. People are not persuaded, they're ATTRACTED. We must be able to communicate far more by what we are than what we say."


Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
Before buying live bait to use when jig fishing, try some of the Berkley Gulp baits. They work great, last a long time, and you don't have to rebait as often.- Tom L.

Bio of my childhood hero, Steve McQueen

Early life
McQueen was born Terrence Steven McQueen[5] in Beech Grove, Indiana, a suburban community bordering Indianapolis, in Marion County. His father, William, a stunt pilot for a barnstorming flying circus, abandoned McQueen and his mother when McQueen was six months old.[5] His mother, Julia, was a young, rebellious alcoholic.[8] Unable to cope with bringing up a small child, she left him with her parents (Victor and Lillian) in Slater, Missouri, in 1933. Shortly thereafter, as the Great Depression set in, McQueen and his grandparents moved in with Lillian's brother Claude on the latter's farm in Slater.[5]
McQueen had good memories of the time spent on his Great Uncle Claude's farm. In recalling Claude, McQueen stated "He was a very good man, very strong, very fair. I learned a lot from him."[5] On McQueen's fourth birthday, Claude gave him a red tricycle, which McQueen later claimed started his interest in racing.[5] At age 8, he was taken back by his mother and lived with her and her new husband in Indianapolis. McQueen retained a special memory of leaving the farm: "The day I left the farm Uncle Claude gave me a personal going-away present; a gold pocket watch, with an inscription inside the case." The inscription read: "To Steve-- who has been a son to me."[9]
McQueen, who was dyslexic[5] and partially deaf as a result of a childhood ear infection,[5] did not adjust well to his new life. Within a couple of years he was running with a street gang and committing acts of petty crime.[5] Unable to control McQueen's behavior, his mother sent him back to Slater again. A couple of years later, when McQueen was 12, Julia wrote to Claude asking that McQueen be returned to her once again, to live in her new home in Los Angeles, California. Julia, whose second marriage had ended in divorce, had married a third time.
This would begin an unsettled period in McQueen's life. By McQueen's own account, he and his new stepfather, "locked horns immediately."[5] McQueen recounted him as "a prime son of a bitch", who was not averse to using his fists on both McQueen and his mother.[5] As McQueen began to rebel once again, he was sent back to live with Claude a final time. At age 14, McQueen left Claude's farm without saying goodbye and joined a circus for a short time,[5] after which he slowly drifted back to his mother and stepfather in Los Angeles, and resumed his life as a gang member and petty criminal. On one occasion, McQueen was caught stealing hubcaps by police who proceeded to hand him over to his stepfather. The latter proceeded to beat McQueen severely and ended the fight by throwing McQueen down a flight of stairs. McQueen looked up at his stepfather and said, "You lay your stinkin' hands on me again and I swear, I'll kill ya."[5]
After this, McQueen's stepfather convinced Julia to sign a court order stating that McQueen was incorrigible and remanding him to the California Junior Boys Republic in Chino Hills, California.[5] Here, McQueen slowly began to change and mature. He was not popular with the other boys at first: "Say the boys had a chance once a month to load into a bus and go into town to see a movie. And they lost out because one guy in the bungalow didn't get his work done right. Well, you can pretty well guess they're gonna have something to say about that. I paid his dues with the other fellows quite a few times. I got my lumps, no doubt about it. The other guys in the bungalow had ways of paying you back for interfering with their well-being."[10] Ultimately, however, McQueen decided to give Boys Republic a fair shot. He became a role model for the other boys when he was elected to the Boys Council, a group who made the rules and regulations governing the boys' lives.[5] (He would eventually leave Boys Republic at 16 and when he later became famous, he regularly returned to talk to the boys there. He also personally responded to every letter he received from the boys there, and retained a lifelong association.)
After McQueen left Chino, he returned to Julia, now living in Greenwich Village, but almost immediately left again. He then met two sailors from the Merchant Marine and volunteered to serve on a ship bound for the Dominican Republic.[5] Once there, he abandoned his new post, eventually making his way to Texas, and drifted from job to job. He worked as a towel boy in a brothel, on an oil rigger, as a trinket salesman in a carnival and as a lumberjack.

Military service
In 1947, McQueen joined the United States Marine Corps and was quickly promoted to Private First Class and assigned to an armored unit.[5] Initially, he reverted to his prior rebelliousness, and as a result was demoted to Private on seven different occasions. Additionally, he went UA by failing to return after a weekend pass had expired. He instead stayed away with a girlfriend for two weeks, until the shore patrol caught him. He responded to his captors by resisting them and as a result spent 41 days in the brig.[5]
After this, McQueen resolved to focus his energies on self-improvement and embraced the Marines' discipline. He saved the lives of 5 other Marines during an Arctic exercise, pulling them from a tank before it broke through ice into the sea.[5] He was also assigned to an honor guard responsible for guarding then-US President Harry Truman's yacht.[5] McQueen served until 1950 when he was honorably discharged.

Acting career
In 1952, with financial assistance provided by the G.I. Bill, McQueen began studying acting at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse.[5] He also began to earn money by competing in weekend motorcycle races at Long Island City Raceway and soon purchased the first of many motorcycles, a used Harley Davidson. He soon became an excellent racer, and came home each weekend with about $100 in winnings, which is around $775 in 2007 dollars adjusted for inflation.[5][11]
After several roles in productions including Peg o' My Heart, The Member of the Wedding, and Two Fingers of Pride, McQueen landed his first film role in Somebody Up There Likes Me, directed by Robert Wise and starring Paul Newman. He made his Broadway debut in 1955 in the play A Hatful of Rain, starring Ben Gazzara.[5] When McQueen appeared in a two-part television presentation entitled The Defenders, Hollywood manager Hilly Elkins (who managed McQueen's first wife, Neile) took note of him[12] and decided that B-movies would be a good place for the young actor to make his mark. McQueen was subsequently hired to appear in the films Never Love a Stranger, The Blob, and The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery.
McQueen's first breakout role would not come in film, but on TV. Elkins successfully lobbied Vincent M. Fennelly, producer of the Western series Trackdown, to have McQueen read for the part of a bounty hunter named Josh Randall in a new pilot for a Trackdown companion series. The Josh Randall character, played by Robert Culp, was introduced in an episode of Trackdown, after which McQueen filmed the pilot episode. The pilot was approved for a new series now titled Wanted: Dead or Alive, on CBS, in September 1958.
McQueen would ultimately make this role his own and become a household name as a result.[5] Randall's holster held a sawed-off Winchester rifle nicknamed the "Mare's Leg" instead of the standard six-gun carried by the typical Western character. This added to the anti-hero image of an offbeat-looking hero infused with a mixture of mystery, alienation, and detachment that made this show stand out from the typical TV Western. Ninety-four episodes, filmed at Apacheland Studio from 1958 until early 1961, kept McQueen steadily employed in television.
At 29, McQueen got his most significant break when Frank Sinatra removed Sammy Davis, Jr. from the film Never So Few, and Davis' role went to McQueen. Sinatra saw something special in McQueen and ensured that the young actor got plenty of good shots and close-ups in a role that earned McQueen favorable reviews. McQueen's character, "Bill Ringa", like the characters he would come to play, brought a new kind of "cool" to the screen and was never more comfortable than when driving at high speed — in this case at the wheel of a jeep. John Sturges directed this film and then used McQueen in The Magnificent Seven a year later and as the lead in The Great Escape in 1963.
After Never So Few, director John Sturges cast McQueen in his next movie, promising to "give him the camera." The Magnificent Seven (1960), with Yul Brynner, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson and James Coburn, became McQueen's first major hit, and led to his withdrawal from his own successful television series, Wanted: Dead or Alive. McQueen's focused portrayal of the taciturn second lead catapulted his career.
McQueen's next big film, 1963's The Great Escape, told the true story of an historical mass escape from a World War II POW camp. Insurance concerns prevented McQueen from performing the film's widely noted motorcycle leap, which was instead done by his friend and fellow cycle enthusiast Bud Ekins who resembled McQueen from a distance.[13] When Johnny Carson later tried to congratulate McQueen for the jump during a broadcast of The Tonight Show, McQueen said, "It wasn't me. That was Bud Ekins." It was this film that established McQueen's box-office clout.
In 1963, McQueen starred with Natalie Wood in Love With The Proper Stranger. In 1966 McQueen appeared in a prequel as the titular Nevada Smith, a character from Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers who had been portrayed by Alan Ladd two years earlier in a movie version of the novel. McQueen also earned his only Academy Award nomination in 1966 for his role as a ship's mechanic in the film The Sand Pebbles.[9]


Steve McQueen in Bullitt.
He followed his Oscar nomination with another successful film, 1968's Bullitt, which is perhaps his most famous film featured an unprecedented (and endlessly imitated) auto chase through San Francisco. McQueen did all his own stunt driving with the exception of the Chestnut Street flying jumps (with Bud Ekins again doubling McQueen) and the gas-station crash gag (Carey Loftin doubling McQueen).[6]
McQueen starred in The Thomas Crown Affair with Faye Dunaway in 1968 as well as The Reivers in 1969. McQueen also appeared in the 1971 car race drama Le Mans. He starred in The Getaway with future wife Ali MacGraw and played the leading role in Junior Bonner in 1972, and in 1973's Papillon.
By the time of The Getaway, McQueen was the world's highest paid actor. After 1974's The Towering Inferno, co-starring with his long-time personal friend and professional rival Paul Newman and reuniting him with Faye Dunaway, McQueen did not return to film until 1978 with An Enemy of the People playing against type as a heavily-bearded, bespectacled doctor, in this adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play. The film was little seen. His last films were Tom Horn and The Hunter, both released in 1980.

Missed roles
McQueen was offered the lead role in Breakfast at Tiffany's but was unable to accept due to his Wanted: Dead or Alive contract (the role went to George Peppard).[5][14] He also turned down Ocean's Eleven,[15] Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (his attorneys and agents couldn't agree with Paul Newman's attorneys and agents on who got top billing),[5][14] The Driver,[16][17] Apocalypse Now,[18] California Split,[19] and Dirty Harry and The French Connection (McQueen didn't want to do another cop film).[5][14]
He was also the first choice for director Steven Spielberg for his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. According to Spielberg on a documentary on the Close Encounters DVD, Spielberg met McQueen at a bar, where McQueen drank beer after beer. Before leaving the bar, McQueen told Spielberg that he could not accept the role because he was unable to cry on film.[20][21] The role eventually went to Richard Dreyfuss.
McQueen expressed interest in starring in First Blood when David Morrell's novel appeared in 1972, but the producers eventually rejected him because of his age.[22][23] He was offered the title role in The Bodyguard (opposite Diana Ross) when it was first proposed in 1976, but the film didn't reach production until years after McQueen's death.[24] Quigley Down Under was in development as early as 1974, and both McQueen and Clint Eastwood were considered for the lead, but by the time production began in 1980, McQueen was too ill and the project was scrapped until a decade later, when Tom Selleck played the starring role.[25]

To his dismay, McQueen was never able to own the legendary Ford Mustang GT that he drove in Bullitt, which featured a highly-modified drivetrain that suited McQueen's driving style. There were two cars used for filming. According to the October 2006 issue of Motor Trend Classic, in its cover story on the film, one of the cars was so badly damaged during filming it was judged to be unrepairable, and scrapped. The second car still exists, but the owner has consistently refused to sell it at any price. The owner plans a "minimal restoration" to make the car roadworthy, yet still retain the original patina.

Personal life
McQueen's height is disputed. He was officially listed as 5'10", but some people, including film critic Barry Norman, have said McQueen's height was in fact only 5'7". He had a daily two-hour exercise regimen, involving weightlifting and at one point running five miles, seven days a week. McQueen also learned the martial art Tang Soo Do from ninth degree black belt Pat E. Johnson.[5] However, he was also known for his prolific drug use (William Claxton claimed he smoked marijuana almost every day; others said he used a tremendous amount of cocaine in the early 1970s). In addition, like many actors of his era, he was a heavy cigarette smoker.
McQueen served as one of the pallbearers at Bruce Lee's funeral in 1973. Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee taught McQueen's son Chad Taekwondo and Jeet Kune Do, (respectively). Later on, McQueen persuaded Norris to attend acting classes.
After Charles Manson incited the murder of five people, including McQueen's close friends Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring, at Tate's home on August 9, 1969, it was reported that McQueen was another potential target of the killers. According to his first wife, McQueen then began carrying a handgun at all times in public, including at Sebring's funeral.[28]
McQueen had an unusual reputation for demanding free items in bulk from studios when agreeing to do a film, such as electric razors, jeans and several other products. It was later found out that McQueen requested these things because he was donating them to the Boy's Republic reformatory school for displaced youth, where he had spent time during his teen years. McQueen made occasional visits to the school to spend time with the students, often to play pool and to speak with them about his experiences.
After discovering a mutual interest in racing, McQueen and his Great Escape co-star James Garner became good friends. Garner lived directly down the hill from McQueen and, as McQueen recalled, "I could see that Jim was very neat around his place. Flowers trimmed, no papers in the yard ... grass always cut. So, just to piss him off, I'd start lobbing empty beer cans down the hill into his driveway. He'd have his drive all spic 'n' span when he left the house, then get home to find all these empty cans. Took him a long time to figure out it was me".[9]
McQueen was conservative in his political views and often backed the Republican Party. He supported the Vietnam War, was one of the few Hollywood stars who refused numerous requests to back Presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy, in 1968, and turned down the chance to participate in the 1963 March on Washington. When McQueen heard a rumor that he had been added to Nixon's Enemies List, he responded by immediately flying a giant American flag outside his house. Reportedly, his wife Ali McGraw responded to the whole affair by saying, "But you're the most patriotic person I know."
McQueen commanded such celebrity status in the United Kingdom that when visiting Chelsea Football Club to watch a match, he was personally introduced to the players in the dressing room during the half-time break.
Barbara Minty McQueen in her book, Steve McQueen: The Last Mile, writes of McQueen becoming an Evangelical Christian toward the end of his life.[29] This was due in part to the influences of his flying instructor, Sammy Mason and his son Pete, and Barbara.[30] McQueen attended his local church, Ventura Missionary Church, and was visited by evangelist Billy Graham shortly before his death.[30][31]
Hobbies
· Was an avid dirt bike rider. (see BSA Hornet)
· Was to co-drive in a Triumph 2500 PI for the British Leyland team in the 1970 London-Mexico rally, but had to turn it down due to movie commitments.
· Owned and flew a 1931 Pitcairn PA-8 biplane, once flown as part of the U.S. Mail Service by famed World War I flying ace, Eddie Rickenbacker. It was hangared at Santa Paula Airport an hour northwest of Hollywood.

Marriages
McQueen was married three times. He married Manila-born actress Neile Adams on November 2, 1956 (divorced 1972), by whom he had a daughter, Terry (born June 5, 1959; died at 38 on March 19, 1998 as a result of hemochromatosis, a condition in which the body produces too much iron destroying the liver), and a son, Chad McQueen (born December 28, 1960 and now an actor—as is his grandson, Steven R. McQueen, born 1988). McQueen has 3 other grandchildren: Chase (born in 1995) and Madison (born in 1997) to Chad; and Molly Flattery (born 1987) to Terry.
On August 31, 1973 he married his Getaway co-star, Ali MacGraw, with whom he had a passionate but tumultuous relationship (she left her husband, film producer Robert Evans, for McQueen). They were divorced in 1978. His third wife was model Barbara Minty, whom he married on January 16, 1980, less than a year before his death.

Death
McQueen died at the age of 50 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, following an operation to remove or reduce several metastatic tumors in his abdomen.[32] He had been diagnosed with mesothelioma (a type of cancer associated with asbestos exposure), in December 1979, and had traveled to Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, in July 1980, for unconventional treatment after U.S. doctors advised him that they could do nothing to prolong his life.[33] Controversy arose over McQueen's Mexican trip, because McQueen sought a very non-traditional treatment that used coffee enemas, frequent shampoos, injection of live cells from cows and sheep, massage and laetrile, a supposedly "natural" anti-cancer drug available in Mexico, but not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. McQueen was treated by William Donald Kelley, whose only medical license had been (until it was revoked in 1976) for orthodontistry.[34] Kelley's methods created a sensation in both the traditional and tabloid press when it became known that McQueen was a patient.[35][36] Despite metastasis of the cancer to much of McQueen's body, Kelley publicly announced that McQueen would be completely cured and return to normal life. However, McQueen's condition worsened and "huge" tumors developed in his abdomen.[34] In late October 1980, McQueen flew to Ciudad Juárez to have the five-pound abdominal tumors removed, despite the warnings of his U.S. doctors that the tumor was inoperable and that his heart would not withstand the surgery.[37][34] McQueen died of cardiac arrest one day after the operation. Shortly before his death, McQueen had given a medical interview in which he blamed his condition on asbestos exposure.[38] While McQueen felt that asbestos used in movie soundstage insulation and race-drivers' protective suits and helmets could have been involved, he believed his illness was a direct result of massive exposure while removing asbestos lagging from pipes aboard a troop ship during his time in the Marines.[39][40]
A memorial service was presided over by Leonard DeWitt of the Ventura Missionary Church.[29][30] McQueen was cremated, and his ashes spread in the Pacific Ocean.[41]
Posthumously, McQueen remains one of the most popular stars, and his estate limits the licensing of his image to avoid the commercial saturation experienced by some other deceased celebrities. McQueen's personality and trademark rights are managed by GreenLight, LLC, A Corbis Company. In 1999, McQueen was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Memorabilia
The blue tinted sunglasses (Persol 714) worn by McQueen in the 1968 movie The Thomas Crown Affair sold at a Bonhams & Butterfields auction in Los Angeles for $70,200 in 2006.[42] One of his motorcycles, a 1937 Crocker, sold for a world-record price of $276,500 at the same auction. McQueen's 1963 metallic-brown Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso sold for $2.31 million USD at auction on August 16, 2007.[1]
The Rolex Explorer 2 Reference 1655, is also now so-called Rolex Steve McQueen in the horology collectors world.
Steve McQueen was also a sponsored ambassador for Heuer Watches. In the 1970 movie Lemans, McQueen famously wore a blue faced Monaco 77BB which has lead to its cult status with watch collectors. Tag Heuer continues to promote their Monaco range with McQueen’s image. [43]

Song References
"Steve McQueen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, and is the lead track on her album C'mon C'mon.
Sammy Hagar mentions Steve McQueen's name in his 2008 song "Loud" in reference to McQueen's love for racing

Charlie Daniels

For Gun Owners

If you've read this column for very long you know that I rarely ever ask anybody to support any cause, but there is an emergency developing in this nation and as usual the media is ignoring it and I feel it is urgent to get the word out.

There is currently a bill making it's way through Congress, it is called H.R. 45: Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 and it is designed for no other reason but to restrict gun ownership and make it difficult and expensive to buy ammunition.

In my humble opinion the milksops on Capitol Hill are trying to slip this one through without attracting any attention.

If you are a gun owner, as I am, and believe you have a Constitutional right to own firearms, as I do, and don't trust the Congress of the United States to protect that right, which I don't. I'm going to ask you to take just a few minutes of your time and do what I'm doing.

I am writing to every Congressman and Senator who represents Tennessee, where I live, and asking them some simple questions.

I am going to do it with hard copies through the regular mail but you can do it by email if you want, although I think the actual letters have more impact and then if and when they answer you have an actual signature.

It's really a very simple letter to make your representatives declare themselves on this issue, here's what I'm writing.

Dear Congressman/Senator whoever:

I am extremely concerned about the climate in Washington concerning firearms control.

In this day of rampant crime, home invasion and potential terrorist attacks, We The People need to know what our elected officials are thinking on the subject.

So I ask, with all due respect, and please don't parse or elaborate, a simple sentence or two will suffice. Where do you stand on gun owner's rights, and do you or will you support H.R. 45: Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009?

Anxiously awaiting your honest response.

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

The reason for doing this is to make the people we hire to represent us take a stand one way or another, and at least we'll know who the enemy is.

Charlton Heston was a great American and a proud gun owner, which didn't sit too well with some the Hollywood crowd. I have no way of verifying it but I heard that when the Rodney King riots started in Los Angeles some of Mr. Heston's detractors were calling him wanting to know if he had an extra gun they could borrow.

It's funny how fast idealism bows to self-preservation when push comes to shove.

This is serious, folks; and I cannot sound the alarm loudly enough. I urge you to at least hold elected officials responsible or one of these days we'll wake up and only criminals and terrorists will have guns.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

Daily Verse

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4 (New International Version)

SportsmensDevotional.com

Today's Photograph.... Spring Clean Your Tackle Box (Tom B)

Bible Study Verse
Acts 22:16
"And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." (NIV)

Thoughts
"And now what are you waiting for?"

Around this time of the year many anglers take inventory of their fishing equipment. Some call it spring cleaning-sorting out different lures by type, color, and size; replacing fishing line on reels; checking rod guides for broken or missing ceramic inserts-just a general cleaning, replacement and reorganizing of your fishing tackle.

If the fishing season hasn't already begun where you live, it soon will be prime time to be out on the water. Reorganizing fishing tackle while you are out fishing is too late. (Tom B)

Action Point
"Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." Just as we get ready for this year's fishing action, take stock of your life. What needs to be thrown out, bad habits maybe? What needs to be repaired in your life...broken relationships or promises? What needs to be cleaned up, your thought process? Maybe you need a complete "restart". Throw everything out, start over, reorganize your priorities, or maybe even an acceptance of Jesus as your personal savior.

Remember that Jesus Christ is the master of life reorganization. Trust in him to help restore your life. Clean up your personal tackle box.


Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
Inspect hooks and split rings on your different lures. Check for rust, especially if your baits are used in saltwater. Run a hook sharpening stone on the hooks to make sure they can provide a good, solid hook set when the fish strike. Don't forget the split rings that many lures have. I have had split rings break at the most inopportune times.

Rookie President

Thomas Sowell-March 31, 2009
Someone once said that, for every rookie you have on your starting team in the National Football League, you will lose a game. Somewhere, at some time during the season, a rookie will make a mistake that will cost you a game.
We now have a rookie President of the United States and, in the dangerous world we live in, with terrorist nations going nuclear, just one rookie mistake can bring disaster down on this generation and generations yet to come.

Barack Obama is a rookie in a sense that few other Presidents in American history have ever been. It is not just that he has never been President before. He has never had any position of major executive responsibility in any kind of organization where he was personally responsible for the outcome.

Other first-term Presidents have been governors, generals, cabinet members or others in positions of personal responsibility. A few have been senators, like Barack Obama, but usually for longer than Obama, and had not spent half their few years in the senate running for President.

What is even worse than making mistakes is having sycophants telling you that you are doing fine when you are not. In addition to all the usual hangers-on and supplicants for government favors that every President has, Barack Obama has a media that will see no evil, hear no evil and certainly speak no evil.

They will cheer him on, no matter what he does, short of first-degree murder-- and they would make excuses for that. Even former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan has gushed over President Obama and even crusty Bill O'Reilly has been impressed by Obama's demeanor.

There is no sign that President Obama has impressed the Russians, the Iranians or the North Koreans, except by his rookie mistakes-- and that is a dangerous way to impress dangerous people.

What did his televised overture to the Iranians accomplish, except to reassure them that he was not going to do a damn thing to stop them from getting a nuclear bomb? It is a mistake that can go ringing down the corridors of history.

Future generations who live in the shadow of that nuclear threat may wonder what we were thinking about, putting our lives-- and theirs-- in the hands of a rookie because we liked his style and symbolism?

In the name of "change," Barack Obama is following policies so old that this generation has never heard of them-- certainly not in most of our educational institutions, where history has been replaced by "social studies" or other politically correct courses.

Seeking deals with our adversaries, behind the backs of our allies? France did that at Munich back in 1938. They threw Czechoslovakia to the wolves and, less than two years later, Hitler gobbled up France anyway.

This year, President Obama's attempt to make a backdoor deal with the Russians, behind the backs of the NATO countries, was not only rejected but made public by the Russians-- a sign of contempt and a warning to our allies not to put too much trust in the United States.

Barack Obama is following a long practice among those on the left of being hard on our allies and soft on our enemies. One of our few allies in the Middle East, the Shah of Iran, was a whipping boy for many in the American media, who vented their indignation at his regime-- which now, in retrospect, seems almost benign compared to the hate-filled fanatics and international terrorism sponsors who now rule that country.

However much Barack Obama has proclaimed his support for Israel, his first phone call as President of the United States was to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to whom he has given hundreds of millions of dollars, which can buy a lot of rockets to fire into Israel.

Our oldest and staunchest ally, Britain, has been downgraded by President Obama's visibly less impressive reception of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, compared to the way that previous Presidents over the past two generations have received British Prime Ministers. President Obama's sending the bust of Winston Churchill in the White House back to the British embassy at about the same time was either a rookie mistake or another snub.

We can lose some very big games with this rookie.

You May Be Sitting on Cash

As I get older my spending habits are becoming increasingly conservative, especially in this economy. There are many ways to save money if you take some time. Take each line item of your budget, hopefully you have a budget and micromanage each item. I saw an article the other day about residual energy useage. To lower your electricity bill, make sure all of your gadgets that use power are turned off, electricity is being used 24/7 to power the clocks and lights on stuff like wireless speakers, cable boxes, DVD players, etc. Definitely make sure lights including porch lights are turned off first thing in the morning.
I have cancelled my XM radio subscription which took about 1 week to adjust to. I take my water to work with me and usually an apple or two for snacks before lunch. This month, we are going to a less extravagant cable package since we don't really even watch 90% of the channnels now. Line by line, tighten up these things.

Big stuff now. To free up some cash for my friends who are homeowners, right now is the best time since maybe 2002 to refinance your home. Interest rates are near 4.75% for a 15 year mortgage. Consider this ONLY if you plan to STAY in your home long enough to recoup the closing costs.(usually about $3000, the cost is added into financing so you don't have to come up with that much cash.) Rule of thumb is that it make dollar sense to refinance if you can get a .75% or better interest rate. We are talking FIXED rates. Stay away from variable rates. You can save over $100,000 over the life of your mortgage by going from 30 to 15 0r 20 years.
We are currently refinancing our house from 5.5% to 4.75%. We are reducing our term from 20 years to 15 years, taking $30,000 equity out of our home to become debt free (except house) and to do some projects to improve the place(new office in the garage, paint the deck, landscaping,etc.)
All this will cost us an extra $168 a month. We will be freeing up about $1000/mo cash that would normally go to debt payments. So think about equity in your home right now. It's a good time. Remember this is not free cash. This is a loan to yourself so if you pay off credit cards, cut them up, throw them away and close the accounts or you will be tempted to reuse the cards.
Call your trusted mortgage company and ask for a "good faith estimate". Tell them that you want to reduce your term or pull some equity out or both and you want their best fixed rate with "NO POINTS", this is the cost of a lower interest rate. They will be happy to work with you. My "good faith estimate" was emailed to me within 5 minutes.
Email or call me if you have any questions. Remember to be a good manager of your money. That's our responsibility to our Lord.
Savings are our servant...Debt is our master. Savings allows us to give and help our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Remember, God loves you and so do I. - BradCole

If God Made it, Eat it. If Man Made it Spit it Out

This is more than a diet, this is a lifestyle choice. It's natural and in God's plan for us to get old but not to get old AND fat. Obesity is as detrimental to health as any drug or alcohol. In today's society, processed foods are king. Food companies spend millions of dollars marketing processed junk to people. Zero nutrition. This keeps you hungry AND in a constant state of malnutrition. These are just chemical fillers. Most foods and drinks have HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (which is poison, in my humble opinion) as the second largest ingredient. My solution to this problem is to buck the trend and not do what everybody else does. I still eat according to what I call "The Lord's Diet", not General Mills or Hamburger Helper's diet. For optimum health, God created all of these colorful plants, fruits and vegetables, each having its own disease fighting substance (phytochemicals). It's what makes apples red and spinach green. These chemicals are cancer and cholesterol's worste nightmare. These foods are high in fiber which makes them digest slowly, keeping you full and satisfied longer. They also maintain blood sugar level. Blood sugar peaks and valleys will eventually wear out the pancreas and cause you to become diabetic in your old age.
For best health, pick the most colorful of the fruits and vegetables and eat them RAW. Yep RAW. Most beneficial enzymes are lost at high temeratures. Fiber is also cooked out.
Note: The only vegetable that can be made BETTER by cooking is the tomato. Lycopene in the tomato becomes more absorbable through cooking. So cook away at the tomatoes and eat colorful, crunchy fruits and veggies and watch your weight fall and your energy rise. Throw in a little exercise and you'll live to be so old that you crap your pants and aggravate everyone in your family. Don't forget lean meats, baked or broiled. By the way, speaking of crapping your pants, you will know that your diet is right when your doody is "S shaped".. Sorry but I had to mention that, in keeping with my reputation. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Remember, God loves you and so do I.- BRADCOLE

Sample diet below:
How to Lose Weight With the Raw Food Diet
by Kathleen Milazzo

How to Lose Weight With the Raw Food Diet

How to Lose Weight With the Raw Food Diet
Introduction
Losing weight with the raw food diet is easy just by virtue of the type of foods that you eat on it. There are no processed or bad fat foods on it so most of what you are eating are fresh fruits and vegetables. Your protein comes from beans and legumes so you don't have to worry about fatty meats. The raw food diet is meant more for health rather than weight loss although the two are very much connected. Follow the raw food diet, as in the steps below and you will be able to drop those pounds with some regular activity and healthy foods.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You'll Need

* Fresh fruits and vegetables
* Nuts
* Seeds
* Beans
* Grains
* Legumes
* Dried fruit
* Seaweed
* Unprocessed organic or natural foods
* Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables
* Purified water
* Young coconut milk

Steps
1
Step One
On the raw food diet at least 75 percent of the foods you eat must not be heated more than 116 degrees. 116 degrees is the temperature of the hot air that is used to dehydrate foods to dry them. Drying foods yourself means that there is no added sugar.
2
Step Two
Eat mostly raw or dried fruits and vegetables with some grains, seeds and legumes. These are foods that have no or low fat so just by eating these foods you will drop weight. Avocados are high in fat, however they are high in the good fat and cholesterol.That serves two purposes. The first is that they don't add to the bad fat, but even better than that is they help to rid your body of the bad fat. While you still need to limit this high fat food, your body will be slimmer and healthier by eating it.
3
Step Three
Because eating these foods raw is encouraged and most fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides, you are encouraged to only eat foods grown organically.
4
Step Four
Some vegetables are considered negative calorie foods. What that means is that it takes more caloric energy to eat and digest them, than you get from them. That will help to drop weight also.

Sportsmen's Devotional

Today's Photograph.... Enjoy His Creation (Will D)

Bible Study Verse
Matthew 28:2-3
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. (NIV)

Thoughts
Easter. Springtime. Arguably the best time of the year to be outdoors. Fish are spawning, flowers are blooming, and life is in full stride. But what season are you in? Are you still in winter; dormant, cold, and reluctant to go outside? Perhaps you are already in summer; fuming over something - easily angered. Maybe you're convinced your life is falling apart; a seemingly endless and tumultuous down-hill spiral like leaves falling from the autumn trees. (Will D)

Action Point
Jesus paid our debt on the cross that day. Three days later He was resurrected; a miraculous event symbolizing the new life God offers us. Faith in Christ gives us warmth in our coldest days, His Spirit can cool us when the tribulations of this world test us, and when it seems nothing can catch us in an overwhelming fall, Christ can and does. Walk outside. Soak up the sun. Examine the bloom of life all around that our God has created. Know that Christ is by your side no matter your "season".


Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
Spring time is a weather battle between winter and spring. Prefrontal fishing can be exceptional. Take necessary precautions and heed weather forecasts as lightning fatalities are most common in the spring and summer months. (NOAA)

This posting thanks to Bonnie Blackwell (Note Verse 24)

Isaiah 65 (New International Version)

Isaiah 65
Judgment and Salvation
1 "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
I said, 'Here am I, here am I.'

2 All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations-

3 a people who continually provoke me
to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
and burning incense on altars of brick;

4 who sit among the graves
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat;

5 who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me,
for I am too sacred for you!'
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.

6 "See, it stands written before me:
I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
I will pay it back into their laps-

7 both your sins and the sins of your fathers,"
says the LORD.
"Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
the full payment for their former deeds."

8 This is what the LORD says:
"As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes
and men say, 'Don't destroy it,
there is yet some good in it,'
so will I do in behalf of my servants;
I will not destroy them all.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.

10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek me.

11 "But as for you who forsake the LORD
and forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

12 I will destine you for the sword,
and you will all bend down for the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer,
I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me."

13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry;
my servants will drink,
but you will go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.

14 My servants will sing
out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out
from anguish of heart
and wail in brokenness of spirit.

15 You will leave your name
to my chosen ones as a curse;
the Sovereign LORD will put you to death,
but to his servants he will give another name.

16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land
will do so by the God of truth;
he who takes an oath in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the past troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my eyes.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 "Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.

19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

20 "Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach [a] a hundred
will be considered accursed.

21 They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
the works of their hands.

23 They will not toil in vain
or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
they and their descendants with them.

24 Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,"
says the LORD.

THOMAS SOWELL

Recently I posted on Facebook that Frederick Douglass and Thomas Sowell are two of the authors I admire most. Sowell is a senior fellow of the Hoover Institute at Stanford University. In 1990, he won the Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute. In 2002 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for prolific scholarship melding history, economics, and political science. Below is his latest column.

Random Thoughts
Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Random thoughts on the passing scene:

I am so old that I can remember when music was musical.

Now that the federal government says that it will stand behind the warranties on General Motors' automobiles, does that make you more likely or less likely to buy a car from GM? If you were a rising young executive with a promising future, would you be more likely or less likely to go to work for a company where politicians can fire you?

We have become such suckers for words that politicians can spend our tax money like a drunken sailor, provided they call it "investment." At least the drunken sailor is spending his own money but people look down on him because he doesn't call it "investment."

Barack Obama seems determined to repeat every disastrous mistake of the 1930s, at home and abroad. He has already repeated Herbert Hoover's policy of raising taxes on high income earners, FDR's policy of trying to micro-manage the economy and Neville Chamberlain's policy of seeking dialogues with hostile nations while downplaying the dangers they represent.

We seem to be moving steadily in the direction of a society where no one is responsible for what he himself did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did, either in the present or in the past.

The famous editorial cartoonist Herblock could write as well as draw. In one of his books, he said something like: "You too can have the soothing feeling of nature's own baby-soft wool being pulled gently over your resting eyes." I think of that every time I see Barack Obama talking.

It has long been said that uncertainty is the hardest thing for a market to adjust to. No one can generate uncertainty as much as the government, which can change the rules in midstream or come out with some new bright idea at any time, as the current administration has already demonstrated.

We have now reached the truly dangerous point where we cannot even be warned about the lethal, fanatical and suicidal hatred of our society by Islamic extremists, because to do so would be politically incorrect and, in some European countries, would be a violation of the law against inciting hostility to groups.

Perhaps the scariest aspect of our times is how many people think in talking points, rather than in terms of real world consequences.

Barack Obama's favorable reception during his tour in Europe may be the most enthusiastic international acclaim for a democratic government leader since Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich in 1938, proclaiming "peace in our time."

How a man who holds the entire population of a country as his prisoners, and punishes the families of those who escape, can be admired by people who call themselves liberals is one of the many wonders of the human mind's ability to rationalize. Yet such is the case with Fidel Castro.

What does "economic justice" mean, except that you want something that someone else produced, without having to produce anything yourself in return?

Perhaps the way President Obama will reduce the deficit is by making more presidential appointments of people who will pay the back taxes they owe, in order to get confirmed by the Senate.

Liberals seem to think that they are doing lagging groups a favor by making excuses for counterproductive and self-destructive behavior. The poor do not need press agents. They need the truth. No one ever said, "Press agents will make you free."

If I were Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, I would not sign any long-term lease on a home in Washington.

Socialists believe in government ownership of the means of production. Fascists believed in government control of privately owned businesses, which is much more the style of this government. That way, politicians can intervene whenever they feel like it and then, when their interventions turn out badly, summon executives from the private sector before Congress and denounce them on nationwide television.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36

Light

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:13-16 (New International Version)

First Post

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Thanks for sending me this Candis.

Brad