Sad News

Mr. Arthur Harrelson of Grayson, LA passed away at 3:30 AM on Monday December 29, 2008. Arthur is the father of Chosen Witness bass singer Greg Harrelson. Mr. Harrelson was a born again believer of Jesus Christ and we rejoice in that fact but we still ask that you pray for the Harrelson family during this difficult time of loss. You may email Greg words of encouragement by sending them to:

gregh AT chosenwitness.com

Fantasy Football Woes

Well, I'm just gonna whine a little bit. I've been in the same fantasy football league for 4 seasons now. In each of those four seasons I've finished the regular season in 1st place. The first two years I lost in the first round of the playoffs. Last year and this year I made it all the way to the championship game and lost both. I was in a second league this year and I made it to the championship game in that league. And, you guessed it, I lost.

I can't seem to win the big one. Am I headed for a Minnesota Vikings or Buffalo Bills type dynasty who both have been to 4 Super Bowls and lost all four? Maybe I need to consult Peyton Manning who had problems with the big one for a while there but he got it figured out!

Any readers have any advice?

Rodney Brazil Update #4

Well, going home "in the morning" turned out to mean waiting most of the day. Around 4:40 PM Rodney was released and headed home. It's amazing how advanced procedures to do with the heart have come. He'll have about a week to take it very easy and then should be back at it. Thanks to all readers who prayed for Rodney and his family during this very scary time.

Rodney Brazil Update #3

The final procedure went well. The blockage was repaired. He is staying overnight for observation and going home tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers and continue to remember he and his family over the next couple of weeks as he recovers.

Rodney Brazil Update #2

We were just told that the procedure revealed a 99% blckage of the front ventricle of his heart. They are now performing angyeoplasty (sp?) now and will be putting in a stint. The doctor said that Rodney was a massive heart attack waiting to happen. More to come after procedures.

Rodney Brazil Update #1

Been a waiting game. Just started procedure. Should take about an hour.

Prayer request for Rodney Brazil and Family

My wife's brother learned late yesterday that he has an abnormality in the front part of his heart. His cardiologist called him personally at home to share this information. The doctor told Rodney to be at Vanderbilt medical center in nashville today, 10/10/08, for an arteriogram. Nashville is about a two hour drive from his home in Pikeville, TN. The doctor wanted him at Vanderbilt in case he needed to do more extensive procedures or even surgery. Rodney is 33, his son Dylan is 7, daughter Elayna is 4 and his wife Ashley is ?? (didn't think I was going there did you?). Rodney is a pastor and a man of strong faith, even still, this is a very trying time for him and his family. Please lift their names to the Lord in prayer. The procedure is scheduled for 5 pm today. I will post updates as they are available.

NQC 2008 Summary

So much for the nightly updates. Since I was working during the day each day and attending the convention at night I just didn't get the time fit in to post each night.

My wife and I had been discussing the past several years that we were concerned that NQC was going down hill. We just didn't seem to enjoy it as much each year. This year brought some of the enjoyment back and that was exciting.

I believe NQC 2008 was the best NQC in the last 7 or 8 years. I much liked the variety that was placed throughout each evening with instrumentals, speakers, comedians and groups working together on songs. The sound in Freedom Hall wasn't the best in could be but it was much, much better than in past years.

If I had to pick a group that stood out this year it would have to be the Booth Brothers. Those guys are definitely riding a wave right now. Great sound, great stage presence and great song selection. My wife mentioned that Michael seem to have a heavy heart this week. He was his usually witty self but just seemd to be carrying an extra burden. We have no idea what it might be or if that is even the case. It's just an observation.

As for quartets, Triumphant seems to still be the top of the list. They are not necessarily my personal favorite but if you look at it from a technical point of view they are about as close to perfect as I've ever seen and heard.

It was a thrill to see Mark Bishop back on the main stage. One song he did was the story song I Got Here as Fast as I Could. It's a great story and delivers a great message. I thought how fitting it was because Mark did get back to the main stage just as fast as he could!

I enjoyed seeing the Lesters on stage with a complete family group. What a great tradition is being carried on by that family.

The Gaither Vocal Band being back on the stage for the the first time in several years stirred some excitement. I believe the crowd on Friday night was the biggest it's been in years and that GVB was why.

Charley Humbard, president of the Gospel Music Channel, was on stage for a few minutes on Friday night talking about the new partnership between them and the NQC. If anyone knows of specific dates and times when any of NQC will be televised on the Gospel Music Channel please post a comment here and let me know.

We traveled home on Saturday so I can't comment first hand on the awards night.

Great year and I hope I'm blessed to attend many, many more.

NQC 2008 Tuesday Night

There was a bunch of good music Tuesday night although there weren't as many moments that stood out to me as on Monday night.

We arrived early and walked around the exhibit hall before going into the concert. It's good to have the exhibit area back near the main hall.

As for moments from the exhibit hall the only one that stood out amoung the rest for me was when Jacob Kitson, the newest member of Greater Vision, sang "Little Is Much When God Is In It". Power, power, power. That's the best three words I can think of to describe it.

One other time that comes to mind as I type was the Lesters set. They brought out 4 year old Emma Grace Revelle, a 5th generation Lester, to sing with them and it was really good. She stepped right in as if she had been doing it for years and years.

NQC 2008 Monday Night

Loretta and I are excited to be back at NQC this year. This is our 21st straight convention. We have been blessed to be able to attend the convention every year since we were married (including the end of our honeymoon being at NQC 1988).

Monday night has traditionally been quartet night. This year there were a few trios spread in the mix but it was good night over all.

The night began with a couple of instrumentals by what was billed as the "Best Band in the Land". It consisted of Tim Lovelace on piano, Scoot Shelnut on bass guitar, Randy Shelnut on lead guitar, Michael Hopper on drums and a fantastic steel guitar player that I'm sorry to say I didn't recognize). They played a couple of toe tappers and then Gerald Wolfe came on stage and lead the crowd in a couple of class songs. The evening was actually hosted by Brian Lester and Aaron Wilburn. Aaron's comedy was enjoyed throughout the night.

I mention a few of my personal high points for the night:

1. The Mark Trammel Trio brought the people to their feet with their singing of " If Only Just A Few". What a powerful message to any believer but especially to those in ministry.
2. The Booth Brothers singing "This Love Is Mine".
3. The Dixie Echoes entire set was outstanding. "Little Is Much When God Is In It" was delivered with as much power as I've ever heard it sung before.
4. Inspirations opened up with 'Amazing Grace' accapella. Archie's voice was not at it's best but the people didn't care. They were shouting and clapping before the first verse was done.
5. Reggie Sadler came on stage for about 10 minutes with his guitar and took the crowd back to the 50's and 60's with music that he shares as part of his personal testimony.
   
6. Gold City delivered a very good message in "What Children Believe".
7. The ended with Triumphant on stage singing "I Remember The Day". They were joined on stage for the last chorus and a couple of encores by the Perrys.

Mom Update #20

Well I guess this will be my last Mom Update for a while. Mom has now returned to her home. I am so very proud of her and the great progress she has made. Thanks to so many of you for keeping in touch with her with cards, letters and phone calls which helped her progress to this point. Since she's been home she has already returned to full Granny mode by keeping her grandson for a couple of days! We'll now look to next year when she has the other knee taken care of.

Virtual Office ?

I'm going to be setting up a space at home to use primarily for work. There will be occasion when I'll use my cell phone for conversation while I'm working. If any readers know of any products available that would help make that smoother post a comment here and let me know about it.

I'm thinking of bluetooth devices like a headset or even a speaker phone or any other that would make a workspace like this easier.

Mom Update #19

Mom graduated from her outpatient physical therapy last Friday. She go a diploma and everything! She made it through with flying colors as far as her progress. Still dealing with the pain and the soreness that her surgeon said would be there for 3 months following the surgery. The bend of her leg is up to 125 degrees now. That is outstanding! She's now going to be riding her stationary bike daily for continued therapy. When she gets back home you might want to watch out for her. You could see her jogging around town ;)

Mom Update #18

Mom reached another milestone Thursday. She and I went for a ride and she was driving! We didn't go very far but just wanted to see if she felt comfortable driving again and she did. She's by no means ready to take a 2 hour drive but it is a step in the right direction.

She then drove herself to her outpatient therapy session on Friday.

As her surgeon kept reminding her, she faces a rough three months from the day of her surgery. With that in mind, she is still experiencing great discomfort at times but she continues make progress.

Mom Update #17

Mom had her 6 week follow up with the surgeon on Thursday 7/10/2008. He was blown away with the motion she had in her leg and commented that her emotional state was "World Class". He kept talking about how most patients hate him for 3 months after the surgery and mom said "I'm not most people" ;)

She has graduated from the walker to a cane so her ability to move around is definitely getting better. She begins outpatient physical therapy this week. She'll have 3 visits a week for 3 weeks.

It hasn't been a bed of roses for her as she still continues to deal with the expected pain but she is really handling it well.

My Current Favorite Mobile Application

Have you heard of Dashwire? If not and you use a windows mobile cell phone then go check it out. My brother told me about it on the 4th and I really love it! And no, I'm not getting paid to say this I just thinks it's a really good idea and application. The site is http://dashwire.com. You create a free account and you download the application to your phone. Your contacts, text messages, photos, videos, and voicemail can then be uploaded to your private Dashwire web account. You then have easy access to the info from the web. You can even share the photos and videos and other data with others. It provides a great means of backing up your phone data and a great way to transfer all the data to your next phone.

I just think it's a really good app and wanted to pass that along.

Update on Our Fish

In a post back in 2007 titled Our Fish I listed all 10 of the fish Loretta and I have in our aquarium. I'm sad to report that three of those fish have passed on. The three are Passy and Sassy the Chinese algae eaters and Finny, one of the Orange Von Rio Flame Tetras. We've kept this particular group of fish for quite a while now.

We're looking into some tank additions. I'll update you when we add to our fish family.

Mom Update #16

Her knee is now bending up to 112 degrees. She has been walking around some just using a cane without the walker. She has her next follow up visit with the surgeon this Thursday (July 10).

Mom Update #15

She's up to 108 degrees now. She just keeps on improving. Physical therapy isn't letting up at all and she continues to work very hard. This week she will be taking on stairs for the first time. I'm sure she'll conquer them. The pain is still pretty intense following therapy but she is managing it well.

Mom Update #14

Still way ahead of the curve! Mom has reached a bend of 106 degrees. That's way ahead of the standard goals. She is still doing really really good. Of course it comes with a price as she continues to have pain but as she gets stronger that pain will fade away. She's working her arms too using the walker so you probably don't want to challenge her to an arm wrestling match any time soon ;)

Fantasy Football starting to gear up

For the fourth year running I'm going to be the commissioner for a free fantasy football league. Free means totally free, no cost at all to play. There's also no money for winning either, just bragging rights.

The 2008 League of Champions is registered and ready for sign up. We had ten teams in the league last year and had a great time with it. It's a private league in that it's not open to just whoever might come along to sign up. I'd like to keep to folks I know or who are one step away (who know someone I know).

If you've never tried fantasy football and wondered what it is all about this league would be a good way to start learning.

If you'd like to participate just drop me an email or post a comment here on the blog and identify yourself and I'll get you the information you need to get signed up.

PS: Let me give a shout out to last years league champions the Polar Bay Penguins!

Boy, you warriors are good

I just got a call from my employer asking me to be back in the office first thing Tuesday morning! Yall prayer warriors got down to business. I would like for you to continue to pray from my job situation as this could be temporary with the struggling economy. I am however praising His name for this news.

Calling in the prayer warriors

I've had a good run going of posting about Mom's progress but this one is on another subject.

Back in January I posted 2007 in review and in there I talked about being

"anxious to see what's in store in 2008. I feel that it is going to be a breaking free kind of year. Breaking free from a lot of the bondage that has led to the tough times in 2007"

I still am very interested to see what's going to take place. I certainly didn't expect what happened this past Friday to take place but it did. This past Friday I was laid off from my job.

The economy and slow sales at the company where I've worked for the past 11 years finally took it's tole on my position. Finding myself in the job market is very new. There are possibilities of deals coming through and me being called back soon. But there's also the chance of never being called back.

I know many people are very well prepare for financial issues like being laid off. I'm not one of them. I must be back working and having a cash flow as soon as possible. The world of Information Technology that I've worked in for the past 21 years has changed drastically and right now it is in a big slump.

I don't want to sound whiny but I do just want anyone who reads this to add my job search to their prayer list. I know prayer changes things and I know everything is gonna be all right. The more prayer warriors I have in my army the better.

I have been told by many people over the years that I seem to have "the patience of Job". Well, now is a good time for me to exercise that patience as I actively wait to see what's in store. By actively wait I mean that I'm not just going to be sitting in a recliner waiting for a phone call. I'm going to be getting my resume out and networking to see what opportunities I can try and be considered for. The patience comes in when contacts have been made and I'm waiting to see just what the Lord has in store.

Thanks for the prayers.

Mom Update #13

It's been a week now since she's been at our home with the home health care coming out and assisting her with her physical therapy. She is still progressing well. There have been a few days this week where she has had more pain than in previous days but she is still remaining tough and pushing through it. She and Loretta had a pretty active day on Wednesday as the therapist came out, the nurse came out, we had an air conditioning service man that came out, Alabama Power decided to choose that day to replace our meter with a newer one and the phone seemed to ring much more than normal on that day. They both came through smiling though :)

Mom Update #12

Mom had her 2 week follow up appointment yesterday with the surgeon that did the knee replacement. She also had a post-op appointment with our family doctor for him to look over things like the medications she was on and help us coordinate exactly what she should be taking at this point. Mom pushed herself hard to get out and make those two appointments but she did great. Did a bunch of walking. She even got a round of applause from the surgeon when he saw that she had reached his 6 week goal of bending the leg 90 degrees in only 12 days.

She has begun to read over emails, she had around 300 hundred waiting on her (that's not including spam). If you sent her one she'll get to it in the next couple of days I'm sure.

She wanted me to thank all of you that have kept the prayers going and that kept a steady flow of cards coming her way through our mailbox.

Mom Update #11

Mom was discharged from the rehab facility this morning. We've made the move from there to our home in Alabaster. She is still doing very good and still making progress. Home health care will be coming out to our home three days a week to continue her therapy. She'll be back in the email swing at normal pace now that she's with us.

Mom Update #10

I probably spoiled most of you by posting updates every day. Mom has gotten into a good routine of going through therapy daily and she continues to do well and improve daily. She up to bending her leg 90 degrees now. At this point we're not sure if she's going to be at the rehab facility another week or if she's going to move on to our house. I'll let everyone know when that decision is made and it should be today or tomorrow.

She sends thanks for the prayers and for the cards she's received.

Mom Update #09

Mom had another good day today. We were on the road singing Sunday and Chris sat with her much of the day. Today mom got to take a shower. She made it through that fine. She had a tough workout today in rehab with a therapist and she came through it with flying colors. She has a follow up visit with the surgeon on June 12.

Keep praying and I'll keep the updates a'comin'.

Mom Update #08

Mom day started out really good today. She was able to get into the beauty shop at the rehab facility and get a shampoo and style. That made her feel much better. Therapy went good today also. She got her first taste of the Contiuous Passive Motion machine today. Her leg is strapped into it and it slowly bends it back and forth. She's gonna have it for 6 hours a day in 2 hour blocks.

Some of you have ask about her getting email. I took a laptop up there tonight so she can read her email now over a dialup connection.

She gets a break from therapy on Sunday so she'll rest then.

Mom Update #07

Mom is now settled in to the rehab facility. Before leaving the hospital though she had therapy once more in the gym there. Today she bent her leg to 85 degrees. That's really, really good for three days after surgery.

It only took about 30 seconds for Mom to have folks laughing at the new facility. She went down the hall in her U of A duds proclaiming "Roll Tide" to passers by.

PS: This is my first attempt at posting to the blog from my cell phone. I hope it worked ok.

Mom Update #06

Mom's therapy session in the gym yesterday was outstanding! A goal after knee replacement is to get where you can bend your leg to a 90 degree angle. That usually happens by bending it a little at a time and gradually over time reaching the goal of 90 degrees. Mom bent her knee all the way to 83 degrees yesterday! The first first time she went to the gym for therapy. She is just doing wonderful.

She'll leave the hospital today and check into Shelby Ridge Rehab Select. The norm is to stay at a skilled nursing facility like this for 3 weeks but she is doing so good that the talk is she may only be there 1 week.

I had several comments yesterday about how Mom just looks and sounds like Mom so soon after the surgery. Let me remind you...she is one tough cookie ;)

Mom Update #05

Mom rested very good last night. It was a very quiet night with just the normal nursing interruptions. Sometimes I wonder if so many interruptions are really what's best for a patient. The one I really couldn't figure out was when my grandmother was in the hospital once and I was staying with her. She and I were awakened by a nurse saying she had come to give my grandmother a sleeping pill! They woke her up at 2:30 AM to give her a sleeping pill!

Sorry for the tangent...mom is doing very good. She got up this morning and replaced the hospital gown with her stylish Bama shorts and shirt. She said "it sure seemed easier to get up this morning than it did yesterday morning...progress, progress. She again walked around the room a little. Everyone involved continues to comment on how good she's doing. She will probably have a trip to the gym this afternoon for her first therapy there. I report how that goes later.

Mom is going to take a little detour from the hospital to mine and Loretta's home. Tomorrow (Friday) she is going to be going to Shelby Ridge Rehab Select which is a skilled nursing facility that's less than 3 miles from our home. She will be there a week and then evaluated and maybe come to our house after that one week. This gives her more one on one time with a physical therapist and gets her further down the recovery road than coming straight to our house and having home health care coming only 3 days a week. We had been told (by a doctor) that her insurance would not cover the skilled nursing facility but that was misinformation.

So now another group of people is going to get to see my mom letting her light shine as she does everywhere she goes.

More to come...

Mom Update #04

Mom is still doing very good. The pain did come on last night but she used her pain medication pump and it controlled it nicely. She got up out of bed this morning and walked over to a chair putting weight on the new knee for the first time. She sat up for about two hours before laying back down. This afternoon she got up again and this time walked all the way across the room to the door and back to the bed. This was really good for the first day. There are still no complications and things are progressing very well. She goes to the gym in the morning for physical therapy so please pray specifically for this.

As I'm sure many who are reading this can imagine she is keeping the doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, food workers, physical therapists...everyone around her smiling and laughing.

More updates to come.

Mom Update #03

FROM Tuesday May 27, 2008
=========================
Mom is resting comfortably tonight. She's had no pain so far. When asked to grade her pain level on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most severe she said "zero, it's not hurting at all"! So far she hasn't taken any pain medication. I'm sure it will kick in but I'm just blown away that she hasn't experienced any pain at this point. She will be getting up on the knee in the morning so say a special prayer for her then.

Some of you have ask for an address for mom. Currently she is in room #-### at St. Vincent's Birmingham.
That address is:

EMAIL ME FOR ADDRESS

She'll be going home (to Neal and Loretta's house) either Friday or Saturday. She'll be there during her rehabilitation (6 weeks or so). Her address there will be:

EMAIL ME FOR ADDRESS

If you're receiving this and you don't even know what I'm talking about, I'm sorry. It just means I got a little click happy. If you've seen enough updates just reply and let me know and I'll take your address off the list. Otherwise I'll send other updates in the next couple of days.

Thanks so much for the thoughts and prayers.

Mom Update #02

FROM Tuesday May 27, 2008
=========================
Mom's total knee replacement surgery was completed about 1:50 PM. Doctor said it went "smooth as glass" with no complications. There was a delay at the beginning because of some equipment not being prepared that should have been. Once started though the procedure went fine.

He said she would get the bad knee of the month award because her knee was so bad, bone rubbing bone. He removed one bone spur that was the size of a golf ball.

She'll be here (St. Vincent's) until Friday or Saturday.

Thanks for the prayers!

Mom Update #01

FROM Tuesday May 27, 2008
==========================
Just wanted to let you know a status on Mom.

She got to the hospital at 8 AM and they immediately took her to a holding room to get ready. They had problems getting her IV in and wound up call an anesthesiologist (sp?) to do it. Around 10:15 AM they came and got her and told her they were taking her to surgery. We sat in the waiting area awaiting the call to tell us they had actually began the surgery. About 12:30 PM we hadn't received that call and we went to the desk and ask about her. They called the OR and checked and they said that they were about to start. Wow, quite a long wait after taking her back. They said it would be a good idea for us to get lunch then. We went down and had a quick lunch and when we walked back into the surgical waiting area they were calling for a member of the Champion family. It was now 1:20 PM. I was told then by an OR nurse that they were starting right then. She said "they brought her up here way too early". We kind of had that idea ourselves.

Will send another update when we know more.

American Idol 2008 thoughts

I came away from the first night of performances by the top 12 completely blown away with Chikezie's performance. I thought he was hands down the best of the night.

My personal favorite in the competition, Kristy Lee Cook, hasn't been well received so far as is evident in her bottom two showings. I hope she's able to pick it up some with her country sound and run with it.

I'm not too fond of them doing the Beatles theme for a second straight week. That in itself hurts an artist like Kristy Lee. Maybe she can dig one out and put a good country twist to it.

I thought David Archuleta had his first bad performance of the season. Vocally I do think that he is in a league of his own so I'm sure he'll bounce back,

dg_Quotes - I'm sure the list will grow

One of my co-workers has some pretty good quotes from time to time. So much so that we started a white board at the office to collect them. Some are quotes that can be appreciated more by someone in the software development line of work. Here's a list of some we've collected so far:

2007-06-06

I didn't remove that functionality, I just haven't implemented it yet.

2007-07-10

It's not built in, it's automatic.

2007-07-10

You gotta read the web dude!

2007-10-30

It's all working, there's just a couple of things that aren't.

2008-01-23

We must move on. If we don't, we'll stay where we are.

I'm beginning to think that he is the Yogi Berra of software development!

2007 in review

I'm just not a very talkative person. One glance at this blog and you can guess that. I've always been quiet; the guy that just sits back and mostly listens. Sometimes it's perceived as a good trait. A listener can be a good thing, especially when someone else needs to do a bunch of talking. It can also be perceived as just not caring enough to say anything. That's seldom the case with me. I just probably think too much before I speak. I want to believe that I know what I'm saying is spot on truth. That just leads me to being quiet in a lot of discussions.

Well, enough of the rambling about being quiet...see a conflict here?

2007 has been a tough year in my life. I don't mean tough as compared to what others go through. I just mean tough as in what I have previously faced in my life. There is the physical well being of my wife that has been a roller coaster ride this year. It hurts so much to see her struggle and suffer. There has been my job that has been trying and demanding more so this year than any other. There are financial issues that weigh heavy on my mind. There is the responsibility as a Christian to carry one anothers burdens (Galations 6:2) and I have felt a heavy load due to people that I am close to having a trying year themselves.

It's not been all bad though. There have been good moments this year. Back in January there was a wonderful birthday weekend spent in Destin, FL that was arranged by my wife. There was the Chosen Witness reunion back in March. There have been several rounds of the card game "Hands and Feet" throughout the year that proved to be much fun. Of course the trip to NQC in September is always refreshing. Friends coming together to help paint my mom's house. It does something to my heart to be on the receiving and the giving end of such a project. My wife and I spent a weekend in Nashville, TN in December for Christmas. It was a very enjoyable time (in spite of the fact that she was sick during it).

I'm anxious to see what's in store in 2008. I feel that it is going to be a breaking free kind of year. Breaking free from a lot of the bondage that has led to the tough times in 2007.

I was drowning in self pity one day talking about mistakes I had made and a friend pointed out a very special truth to me when she asked "does God not forgive us when we make mistakes"? I responded "yes, He forgives". She then ask "will he not restore us by giving us another chance when we have failed"? I responded "yes he does restore and give second chances". Through these truths I am very anxious to see what's in store for 2008.