The Jaded & Stonecold Wedding

Just a few pictures of the wedding today, joining Jaded and Bandido Stonecold.

It was a wonderful wedding out at Cindy’s Hog Wild, I hope you didn’t miss it!

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February Chapter Meeting at IHOP

We had our New Life Riders chapter meeting this evening.  As usual, we had a large group, and lots of stuff to talk about. I presented my chaplains devotional, which you can read below if you like.  We had visitors Charles and Linda, and the always faithful Claude.  This new year is certainly starting out with a bang, and lots of activities.  This weekend is Seasons of refreshing and then on Sunday the TMRA General Membership Meeting.  After some good food, and the meeting, we all headed outside for some tire kicking, although I don’t think I actually saw any tires get kicked.  Overall, a good time was had by all.

I Want It Now

You know, we always hear that God can perform miracles, and we have all heard about the miracles that God has done in other peoples lives. So why is it that in my life, God chooses not to fulfill the miracle I ask for, even when I ask over and over again. After all, the bible says in James 4:2, “you do not have because you do not ask God”. That seems clear enough, if I want something, and I believe it is consistent with what God wants for me, then if I ask, God should provide. So what is the deal, and why doesn’t God do what I want?

Well, there actually is an answer to that question, and as is often the case, the answer comes far away in the Bible, in the next verse, James 4:3, which says “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. Ouch! That hurts! What do you mean I am asking for the wrong reasons, I don’t ask for money. All I want is healing, so I won’t chase after my own desires, and instead, will always consider God’s will before my own. I want it, and I want it now!

I know you are always hearing me harp on about how, only the things God does through us are of value to the kingdom, so what is wrong with praying for healing of my will. Well, I think I know the answer to my age old problem. This is the works that james talks about in James 2:18 “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works”. God wants me to voluntarily give up my will to Him, using my own power of choice. To which I say; I can’t do it, because I am too weak! And to this God replies; I made you the way you are, and I gave you free will, so that you could choose to do my will, or choose to do your own will. When you accepted me as your savior, I created in you a new heart and I gave you the Holy Spirit to live inside of you, so now you do have the power to make the right choice. So it is my choice. God, help me to make the right one.

Karaoke at the Meeks (Two Lane Road Riders)

Debbie and I were invited over to Steve and Idolina’s this evening for some dinner and Karaoke. I haven’t participated in karaoke in….(maybe I never have).  Scary stuff till you get into it, thenI think it gets addictive. Anyway Don and Sue were there along with a some of the McCool clan (we missed you Sandra).  The food was BBQ Chicken and sausage, yum! Then it was on to the Karaoke.  No video was taken (as far as I know), but here are a few pics;

The Force – Newsletter Article for February 2012

As it turns out, the Bible is right. I know, what a surprise. Jesus said the first commandment was this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself”. It seems so simple really. I wonder though, when I go out and about in my daily life, do I really believe that? I have often heard that I have to “go out and reach the lost for Jesus”, you know, get out there and pound the pavement like a salesman. I wonder though, whether reaching the lost this way is God’s idea, or mans idea. We are taught as we grow up, that we can get whatever we want out of life, we just have to work for it. Ok, I get it, life is about work and seeking reward for good work done for our employer. So, it makes sense that we would naturally carry over that attitude and training into our life as a “servant” of Jesus Christ. But, I would like to point out that in the verse I quoted above, it doesn’t say anything about doing or going at all, it says only that we are to Love. Love is an interesting word. We usually think of it as an feeling, and so it is, but it is so much more. Ok, in this one short article, I obviously cannot dig deeply into all the senses in which we are called to Love, but I do have one point to make. In John 15:5, Jesus says: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing“. Jesus is saying essentially that He is doing the work through our physical bodies when we are “allowing” Him to work through us, and in the second half, He is saying that whatever “we” do without allowing Him to work through us is worthless (spiritually). I added the spiritually because we all know how to put on our shoes without asking God to doit for us. What we cannot do is save anyone or convince anyone to give their heart to Jesus. Only the holy Spirit can do that.

Finally, I know that many of you have heard me or someone else say these things, probably many times, but I can tell you from my own experience, that “let go and let God” is not a concept that is easily grasped on a truly personal level.

So, may the Force (God) be with you, and may you be in the Force (God), because without the Force (God), you can do nothing!

In all things Praise the Lord!

COC&I Meeting at the VFW with Freedom Dogs for TMRA II

Debbie and I went to the COC&I meeting today. We heard about a new organization that wants to clean up our political house and elect people that really want to protect our freedom and rights according to the constitution, as in Government By, of and For the People.  It is called GOOOH.COM which stands for Get Out Of Our House. We were also there to support TMRA II (Texas Motorcycle Rights Association) by assisting with the Freedom Dog sales.  That part went over real well, we sold out.  Anyway, here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure;

Final Stop the ol’ Texas Stop Sign

Is there anything better than ice cream and burgers?

Fifth Stop, Kay’s Motorcycle Mania in Nolanville

Well, we headed back around 3 pm, and we decided to stop in Nolanville at Kay’s Motorcycle Mania to visit an old friend that we haven’t seen in a while.  It was after 4 pm by the time we got there, but Lisa was still on the job, so we talked for a spell. It was great to see her and get caught up on life.

The shop looks as good as always, lots of shiny parts for all kinds of bikes.  Check it out, it is 8 miles west of IH35 on 190 at the exit marked 439. just cross under the overpass and you can’t miss it.

Don’t ask me what they were laughing at, it was probably me.

Fourth Stop the Taqueria El Mexicano Grill #8, Wonderful!

The food was great, and the service was great. Thank you Ladies!

 

Ok, We Arrived in Waco for Officer’s Training, Third Stop

We we made it to The Church of the Open Door in Waco for Officer’s Training, and none turned into a popsicle, at least not permanently.  Had breakout sessions in the morning for each officer position, and a group session after lunch.

Heading to Officer’s Training, Second Stop Valero

Janice’s hands were freezing, so we stopped to warm her and everyone else on a bike up a bit.  Seems the weather was a bit cooler than we had anticipated, it started at 45 and dropped to 43 degrees by the time we arrived in Waco. Oh, yes and lets not forget about the clowning around with the children’s ear muffs.

Heading to Officer’s Training, First Stop McDonalds

First some breakfast. Notice the colors are ver (very) intense. I am experimenting with my camera, and I think it got carried away.

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TMRA II Meeting at La Palapa this evening

Debbie and I went to the January TMRA II meeting this evening. We had a great dinner before the meeting, held in the back room of La Palapa restaurant on the west frontage road between 290 and IH35. We had a great meeting, with several visitors, and one re-visiting member from years ago. Welcome back! Come join us next month on the 3rd thursday, same place, same time. 6pm for dinner and 7 pm for the meeting.

Oh, by the way, I am shooting in black and white because it is winter and the colors aren’t too great anyway, so I decided to re-discover mono-chrome.

Enjoy!

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First Ride with Debbie’s New Helmet

We went to church today on the motorcycles, even though the temperature was well below what we would have preferred.  We needed to try out Debbie’s new helmet.  So, off to church we went after a quick stop at my favorite restaurant (Mc Donald’s?) for some quick breakfast.  The ride wasn’t bad, we dressed warm, so i wasn’t even cold at all.  I had to strip off a bunch of stuff once we got there, to keep from overheating, but no big deal. After church, we went out for some lunch with out long time friends Jerry and Monica to “A Taste of Ethiopia” in Pflugerville.  I have been to their weekday buffet, but never on a Sunday. Wow, what a spread.  You do like eating with your fingers right?  Well, for me, not so much.  But they brought me a fork on request so everything was fine.

Breakfast and a new Helmet for Debbie

Ok, Saturday morning and no scheduled events today, so we went out for breakfast to It’s a Grind.  First pic is debbie leaving the house, second pic if Debbie pretending to be Tom while leaving the house. I am experimenting with some black and white images as you can see.  The really high contrast one was an experiment.  The next one is Debbie in soft focus.  She likes this one. Finally, off to our favorite BMW shop for some snacks (they always have snacks on Saturday) and for some helmet try-ons.  Debbie has been looking for a new full coverage helmet for about a year, and she finally found one that will work for her.

Chapter Ride to Wild Bubba’s Wild Game Grill

Well, as you can see from the title, we we went all wild on y’all.  Great burgers, made from most any kind of meat you want, except the California veggie kind.  No Veggie burger I on this menu. We had lots of visitors, some new, and some returning. Had some good fellowship and some people even road out to the new F1 race track, such as it is, not completed yet.  So, enjoy, and click for bigger!

January NLR Chapter Meeting

We had our first New Life Riders chapter meeting of 2012 this evening at our usual and favorite location IHOP. Had a good meeting, and finished up with some tire kicking.  Oh, yes, and while we were out kicking tires, someone from IHOP brought our donation jars out to us.  Note the shot of Janice posing with them.  Enjoy!

Calaveras Reservoir Photo Outing

Well, vacation is almost over but I managed to squeeze in a day trip up into the hills behind my daughters home in Milpitas Ca.

Very dry obviously, but still beautiful.

Enjoy

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Calaveras Res

Reflection – UCOA Chaplain’s Moment for December 14th

Christmas time is a joyful time of year, especially for the children. We buy gifts and special treats that delight the little ones, and ourselves as well. For each of us Christmas can be a time of Joy, and also a time of sadness, for lost loved ones, or friends far away. Debbie and I are leaving shortly to visit family in California, and we look forward to the joy of sharing in their lives, even for few days. As some of you know, I lost a friend last week to illness, so for me, this Christmas is a time to reflect, on Gods provision this past year, I still have a job, on His sufficiency to persevere through sometimes difficult circumstances and on His sovereignty to know what is best, even when I don’t. It is also a time to reflect on the Joy I have in knowing each of you. Some of you I know well, and some not so well, but I have a love for each of you, and a desire that you will experience the Joy of Christmas in a special way this year. So I hereby give you my personal blessing, and I pray that God will fill each of you with a joy that only He can.

Attended the memorial Service for Ken Higgins today

Debbie and I drove up to Lampasas after church today to attend the memorial service for a long time “best friend” this afternoon.  The best friend is in quotes because the pastor that gave the sermon at the service talked about how Ken treated everyone he knew as his best friend.  All Ken had was best friends.  Kind of interesting if you think about it.  Ken was a best friend to everyone.  Anyway, it was a great service and I took lots of pictures, far more than I am posting here.  I just hope I didn’t irritate anyone with all my clicking at this difficult time.  As you will see from the photos, Ken was well liked, as the place was pretty much full.  As I looked at the collection of photos at the service, I saw several people that I know, but that I didn’t know that they knew Ken.  So, I apologize to everyone that sees these pics, but didn’t hear about the service.  We will try to do better.

New Life Riders Christmas Party

Second party of the day was our New Life Riders Christmas Party, held at the community recreation center of one of our members.  nice facility, kitchen and meeting room with plenty of seating. We had a good crowd, and had a pot luck.  All I can say is we are really lucky, cause pot luck provide plenty of great dishes, from brisket and sausage to spicy macaroni, to to… you name it we might have had it.  We did the usual gift exchange, and I think everyone went home with something useful, and some people got some really neat stuff.  Anyway, we had a great time, and we presented CMA oculars to two new members. We are growing like gang busters!  Anyway, here are the picks;  P.S.  if you see some funny pics, with two guys together, really, they are just smelling me to see if they want to take the gift exchange gift I got. Honest!

Lone Star BMW Christmas Party and 1,000,000 Mile Award

We went to Lone Star BMW this morning for their annual Christmas Party.  Great time as usual, the BBQ was wonderful, and the cookies were never ending and highly varied.  They also gave out a 1,000,000 mile award to Ardys, this cute little old lady that had just finished riding her BMW for one million lifetime miles.  Now she must reeeeaaaly like to ride.  Finally, Debbie won a helmet.  Pretty nice actually. Ok, here are the pics;

J. W. Rock Family Information Distribution at Capuchinos

We went to Capuchinos this evening to pick up the envelope containing info on the family that our New Life Riders CMA chapter and Two Lane Roadriders MC will be helping out for Christmas. We will be contacting the family and coordinating with Two Lane Roadriders for picking out presetns and delivering them to the family. Then it was off to Your Mom’s Burger Bar down the street for a late dinner. We split a Willi’s burger, that was delicious.

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New Life Riders Chapter Meeting

We met for our monthly New Life Riders Chapter meeting this evening, and a busy meeting it was.  We presented CMA Colors to Dina now that she has completed her ministry training, Don presented a thank you to Johnny for faithful service as VP this past three years, and we discussed options for a new chapter patch to update out current patch.  had a great dinner as usual, and finally had time for tire kicking at the end.

TMRA II Meeting at Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar and Grill

Debbie and I went to the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association meeting this evening at Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar and Grill on West, downtown. This is the third of the TMRA II meetings that we held at Lucy’s, and we always have the the Juicy Lucy Burger. Mmm Good!  THe meeting itself went well, and we had several new people, and some old people that had been away for a while and are now back.  Hurah!  The only downside, was that it was held outside, and it got pretty cold this evening.  But, we made it through.  Anyway, here are the pics. Enjoy!