DaBlounts

Thanksgiving Every Day

2009-11-24T10:57:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this picture is a couple of years old, and one of my goals before the end of this year must be to get an updated family photo.

I am the most blessed man. Jesus saw fit to take my sins upon Himself, so I could be declared "not guilty" before a Holy and Righteous God. I could stop right there and that would be more than enough evidence to back up my claim of being the most blessed man. But, God didn't stop there. He blesses me with:
**My Bride, Peggy. She has put up with me all these years (we dated for four years before getting married nearly 28 1/2 years ago). Peggy is my best friend and the love of my life. I could not have asked for a better life partner. Always supportive, always giving, and not afraid to kick me in the butt when needed (and that is often), Peggy is the BEST part of me.

**Our children, Emily, Ian, Elliott and Abi. Yes, God has blessed us with four kids (we don't do the in-law thing around here) who love Jesus and serve Him with their whole hearts. It has been, and continues to be, such a blessing watching them grow in their faith, and watching them express that faith.

**My Dad, who is now living with us. Dad taught me what unconditional love was like. Dad taught me the good parts about being a father, and I could never repay him for that. To have him with us now is an adjustment for everyone involved, but I LOVE having my Dad with us. Let me refer back to my comments about Peggy in this matter as well, she is so supportive, loving, and great making this transition in our lives.

**Vero Christian Church, our home and our family. We LOVE serving God through the ministry of Vero Christian Church, and feel so blessed to work beside our elders, deacons and staff. Working with Steve Jones is a blessing beyond words. His support and Christian love for me and for what I do around here makes my labor for the Lord that much more enjoyable. Working with our praise team in rehearsals is the highlight of my week, surpassed only by what we do on Sunday mornings! Working in the student ministry is still a great passion of mine, and our youth sponsors are phenomenal.

**Christian brothers and sisters around the country and around the globe. I am so grateful for the communication age in which we live. Being able to stay in touch with dear brothers and sisters in Christ through the Internet and through text messaging keeps me grounded. I miss being able to be with "the crew" in person, but since we are now scattered all over the country literally, at least I get to be with them in Cyberspace or via the cell phone!

**Living in Vero Beach, FL. I always teased that I thought God was calling me to a "beach ministry" never dreaming that I would actually live in a beach town. In Florida no less! Wow, God You ARE amazing!

During this Thanksgiving season, I am reminded that I need to be thankful every day. I try to be, but I don't always express that thanks properly. May this be the year that all of that changes for the better. To God be the glory always. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, and make no mistake, they are overflowing in my life!

Remembering Mom

2009-11-02T07:45:00.002-05:00

Mom would be celebrating a birthday today. Because Mom was a lady, I won;'t reveal which birthday it would have been, but it would have been a BIG ONE. It's amazing to me how that after 16 years since she passed from this life due to pancreatic cancer, I still miss her so badly every single day. The picture here is my favorite one ever of Mom. I snapped it while she was ironing (obviously) and if there was one domestic chore she hated, it was IRONING! You can see her telling me, "you had better not take that picture!" I disobeyed, and the picture was taken. I wish I could say it was the only time I disobeyed, but that would be a lie. I did try, however, to honor and obey my Mom. You see, Mom is one of my heroes.

Divorced just about the time my youngest brother was born, it was Mom and us three boys (with lots of help from my grandparents). That is until my Dad came along. When Mom started dating my Dad, I got to see what true love is like. Not just the romantic love between two adults, but the love for us boys that poured out from both Mom and Dad even before they got married. Dad recently reminded me of the gentleman's agreement we made when he first started dating Mom that we would "adopt" each other. What sweet memories.

Mom was the closest thing to being omniscient to anyone on this planet. She used to do this whole routine where she very dramatically reminded us that, "Mom knows all, sees all, but doesn't necessarily tell all." And she did. I found out the hard way on more than one occasion that I really couldn't pull a fast one over on her (even when I thought I had).

I am so glad to say that I had a great relationship with Mom. We remained close even when I "sneaked out of the nest" as she used to say. When I graduated from high school, my family moved to Alabama. I stayed in Kentucky and went up to live with my grandparents. Mom somehow had the mistaken notion that I was coming to live with them in Alabama at some point, but I never had intentions of doing so. That was my sneaking out of the nest, and we laughed about it for years.

When I brought Peggy to Alabama as we were letting family know of our intentions to become husband and wife, Mom had finally gotten to the point where she accepted the fact that her "baby boy" was gonna marry some girl. I know that Peggy didn't think Mom liked her for several years as we dated, but she now knows what Mom was going through (since our "baby boy" has married a fine young lady, himself). It wasn't that Mom didn't like Peggy, she just wasn't ready to share me with some other female. Mom wasn't just my Mother, she was my confidant, and she knew (rightfully so) that her position would change with my marriage to Peggy. My Bride reminds me a lot of my Mom, and that is the highest compliment I could ever pay Peggy.

When Mom was diagnosed with cancer, we were all caught totally off guard. Mom was rarely ever sick, and had shown no signs of the cancer until it was in the final stages. We got word in early July, and by October 17, 1993, Mom was gone from this life. I had the privilege of videotaping some conversations with Mom where she talked about everything from her childhood to meeting and dating and marrying Dad, to stories about each of of kids, and stories about her grandbabies. While Elliott has some vague memories of her, Ian and Emily really only know her from the video, from pictures and from the stories they have been told. I want them all to know how much they were loved by their Grandma Blount.

I was with Mom when she breathed her last breath. She had slipped into a coma on that Sunday afternoon, and I sat by her hospital bed in the living room and held her hand, praying, singing, and dreading the moment. I dreaded it for my sake, because I was not ready to say goodbye. I am glad that I was there and had that time. I am so proud to be Bettie Blount's son. As I remember her birthday today, I want to praise my Lord and Savior Jesus for walking with me every day as I miss my Mom. I praise Jesus for the strength He gave me to get through that very tough time of having to say goodbye. I don't concentrate of that final weekend with her on this planet, but I have a flood of memories that make me smile as I write this note today.

2009-10-10T14:44:00.001-05:00

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Hampton Inn Lobby on a Rainy Monday.

2009-10-05T11:03:00.002-05:00

So, I haven't updated here in a long time, because I mostly update via Faceook these days. However, for the three of you who may read this blog rather than Facebook, here we go, buckle your seat belts!

About three weeks ago, we got word of a water pipe break in Dad's house in Anniston. The water was shut off, but not before it had formed a two-foot deep pool in the garage. I scrambled desperately to get things taken care of in Vero, so I could take some time off to come up here (I am currently in Anniston) to see what had to be done. In a nutshell - Dad's house suffered MAJOR mold damage. I have produced a series of videos mostly from my cell phone titled "Mold Monster" which are on Facebook. I MAY post them here sometime in the future, but don't hold me to it. The bedroom level of Dad's house will be gutted. Mold remediation has already begun, and reconstruction will follow. the process should take 5-6 weeks and could cost upwards of 50-60 thousand dollars! Yeah, you read that right.

Lil Bro was with us for the first few days (taking days off he could string together from his job), and we FOOLISHLY allowed Dad to talk us into staying at the house for the first two nights we were in town. Sleeping with the Mold Monster is about as stupid a thing as you would ever want to do. After a round of antibiotics, and many decongestant pills, I am about to get back to normal, but my sinuses haven't felt this bad in ages. Dad's homeowner's insurance is paying for us to stay at the Hampton Inn here in Oxford, AL, while we are in town. We leave here Wednesday to head back home to Vero Beach! Meanwhile, we are gearing things up for some outside work to be done on the house (trimming and removal of bushes, etc.), as well as the inside work. Good parts of all of this include the fact that the garage will be emptied out, and the stuff that has been cluttering it up for way too long will go away, AND I won't have to be the one making it go away. Fo' realz, the bottom line of this situation is that the house will be in much better shape than it has been in nearly two decades, and for that I must give God a huge shout out of praise!!!

We are hoping to see Aunt Phyllis either this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon and I am seriously looking forward to that visit. Words cannot express my love for Aunt Phyl, and she continues to be a source of great strength and comfort to me. We've been through a lot together over the course of my very short (ahem) lifetime, and I always enjoy the chance to just hang out with her.

Dad and I have made two trips to the Etowah County jail in attempts to visit with Donna, and so are we are 0-for-2 in that regard. We will make at least one more attempt, but because of privacy issues, we cannot even find out if a visit will be possible. yeah, it is a strange world , this realm of county jails, but it is the reality of life regarding Donna. 'Nuff said.

So, with the Mold Monster on the run, with work being done inside and outside the house to enhance it's value, this trip to 'Bama has been far more productive and encouraging than I thought it would be. I am such a skeptic still. I must repent of that and ask God to continue showing me His mighty ways!

Y0ur continued prayers for Dad, Donna, Ed, Aunt Phyl and me are greatly appreciated. Your continued prayers for my Beautiful, and Wonderful Bride, for Ian, Emily, Elliott and Abi are greatly appreciated as they continue to be so supportive from afar (FL). God is so good. May my life reflect His goodness and His love always.
Be God's,
Scott

Rock the Universe Weekend

2009-09-14T11:05:00.002-05:00

I just finished up another Rock the Universe weekend at Universal Studios Orlando. It was a fantastic weekend on several levels. First, the students and Junior Sponsors we brought were wonderful. No problems, no missteps, and everyone got along (or at least they hid it from me if they didn't). Second, the concert lineup included some of my very favorite artists: David Crowder Band, Casting Crowns, Toby Mac, Jeremy Camp, and Third Day just to name a few.

Most importantly of all, I got to spend a lot of time with my Bride. My favorite moments of the weekend were those times when I walked hand-in-hand with Peggy without having to say a word. You see, words do not adequately describe the depth of love I have for my Bride, and getting to spend time alone with her in the midst of crowds, or just walking around the parks...well those are my favorite times!

Make no mistake about it, the DCB concert was a blast. We stood with Jimmy Adams and "got rowdy" with DCB on Friday night. It was an amazing time of giving God the glory. Saturday evening's Casting Crowns concert provided the inspiration for my Sunday morning devotional message to our students (see my devo blog at Speaking Blountly for those details. Getting to see a bit of Pure NRG, and Plumb in concert yesterday was fun, too. Riding some rides at Universal we had never tried before was a hoot. Props to the Jimmy Neutron and Disaster rides.

However, my favorite times of the weekend were those quiet, hand-in-hand times with my Bride. No contest!

I Love My Wife and My Life!

2009-09-09T09:31:00.002-05:00

I got to spend Labor Day not only taking care of some yard work, and attending the church picnic, but I got to spend a big part of the day with my Bride. I sat with her at the picnic (a rarity to be sure), and after we came back home, we slipped into our bathing suits and lounged in the pool for a couple of hours. I am so blessed to be married to Peggy, and I truly do relish every moment I get to spend with her. I know that she often feels like she gets my "leftovers" and while that is sometimes the case, it is never my intention.

So, please let it be known to all the World (Wide Web): I Love My Wife and I Love My Life!

Thank you Peggy for putting up with me. You are God's second greatest gift to me (after my salvation in Christ).

Birthday Feast

2009-09-05T08:25:00.002-05:00

Okay, so yesterday was my physical birthday. I have a habit of truly downplaying this day, because I really don't get all that excited about it. Last night, Peggy reminded me that it is a big day, because it is the day that God brought me into this world. Touche, my Bride. Point well taken.

Nevertheless, my "Birthday Celebration" was at Taco Bell (my choice), and my Birthday Feast is pictured above - a Volcano Nacho! The fact that Peggy, Ian, Emily, Dad, Turtle, and Chancho were with me, made the celebration! Being surrounded by the people I love is all the gift I needed, and I got exactly what I wanted!!

We spent the evening watching Tim Hawkins do his "I'm No Rock Star" comedy video because Chancho had not see it yet. Oh, Tim Hawkins makes me laugh.

I am the most blessed man on this planet. I have my salvation in Jesus Christ, I am married to the most beautiful woman alive, have fantastic children who love Jesus, and my Dad is with us. What more could I possibly desire? Nothing. Thanks to all who made my birthday a beautiful celebration!

Encounter!

2009-08-28T09:30:00.002-05:00

So, yesterday, I celebrated my 24th birthday, having been baptized into Christ on August 27, 1985. I talked about that some in my devotional blog Speaking Blountly so I won't go into any further details on that milestone here. I will just say that I am the most blessed man on planet earth.

This afternoon, I head to Miami with Elliott, Abi and Andrew for what will be an amazing 24 hour Worship Conference. I will absolutely feel out of place with folks who are so gifted in this area, but if I am to grow as a worship leader, I need to "feel out of place" at times.

I am going with the intention of learning everything I can possibly take in, and to just enjoy the time of celebrating Jesus with like-minded folks and especially with Elliott, Abi and Andrew! Yeah, I'll try to be faithful enough to blog about the experience so the two of you who read this blog can live vicariously through me. lol

Thanks in advance for the prayers as we travel to and from Miami between now and late night Saturday. Especially remember my travel mates, who must head to the Gulf Coast after dropping me off (and picking Jayla up).

Happy 28th Anniversary, Baby!

2009-08-08T15:40:00.002-05:00

Yes, I kissed my Bride at sunrise on the boardwalk in Vero Beach this morning. We went over to start the celebration of our 28th Wedding Anniversary, by watching the beauty God provides for us with a sunrise. Such a sense of peace, hope and majesty all rolled up in one. After basking in the glory of God's sunrise gift for us, we had a little breakfast at a place to remain anonymous for fear of multitudes of folks trying to track our movements. lol

We then came home and lounged for a bit before heading out for nearly five hours in the pool. Skies were a brilliant blue with fluffy white clouds, and the occasional high altitude jet leaving its con trail. We had others in the pool for a while, then they all left and it was just the two of us. I really like it that way.

As I type this, the most beautiful woman in the world is getting ready for our dinner date (again at a location not to be disclosed), and I am simply marveling at how blessed I am to be married to Peggy Ruth Dixon Blount. She is without a doubt the most beautiful woman (physically, spiritually, and emotionally) I have ever met. My love for her is far deeper than it was 28 years ago when I was forgetting the words to the Kenny Rogers song, "Lady" as she walked down the aisle at our wedding ceremony.

Happy Anniversary, Peggy. May my life say more adequately what mere words seem to fail to convey when I tell you that I love you!

Your Own Jesus

2009-07-29T09:33:00.003-05:00

I just finished reading Mark Hall's forthcoming book, "Your Own Jesus." Yeah, Professor Jeff Sagstetter calls me a Hobb because I got an advance copy of the book to read and review online (which I have done in a couple of places...Facebook and Amazon). While I will never match the good Professor in Hobbness, it was a pleasure to read this book.

Mark Hall is not only a singer/songwriter and frontman for the contemporary Christian Group Casting Crowns, but he is still involved in student ministry at his local church. He writes "Your Own Jesus" from that perspective. Intertwined with lots of personal illustrations, solid biblical truth and thoughts from various songs from the CC project "The Altar And The Door," this book cuts to the heart of the matter: we need to passionately pursue Jesus every day of our lives. For years, I have tried to communicate to students the need to passionately pursue Jesus. Not just because it is something you ought to do, but because it is who you are: someone who is passionately in love with Jesus.

At our Senior Roast last month, I told the six high school graduates that statistically, 5 of them would turn their backs on Jesus and the church within the first couple of months of being away to school or out on their own. Honestly, I can think of three of them who are already on that path. It scares me for their sakes. It frustrates me that I cannot seem to communicate this TRUTH more effectively. I know, even God can't/won't force people to love Him, but it hurts nonetheless.

As I blogged about last week, my physical hurt from missing Peggy while she was gone to KY needs to translate into how I feel when I miss my time with God. More and more, it does. How to get others to that point is a whole other matter. I will do my best to model the lifestyle. I need to pray MORE for the people with whom I have contact who need to be passionate in their love for Jesus. I need to explore these issues with students in teaching sessions, with worship team folks in rehearsal and on Sunday mornings, and with everyone on a daily basis. I need to do a better job of helping others realize that they need their own Jesus, not the one I have, or their parents have, or their friends have, but everyone needs to have a personal, passionate relationship with Jesus.

I've spent time in the Word today loving on my Jesus, how about you?

Be God's,
Scott

Counting Them Down

2009-07-21T07:52:00.002-05:00

Not that I am getting excited about the return of my Bride or anything! I've had this countdown widget going on my Mac Pro desktop for way too many days now, but the time is drawing near! My Bride is schedule to be on the ground in Orlando by 6:30 this evening.

On another, quite serious note, please remember my brother-in-law Alvin Parker in your prayers, as he is ready to undergo a heart catheterization procedure as I type this note this morning. The prayers of the righteous can easily handle this situation, and I ask that you pray not only for Alvin but for Peggy's sister, Terri, and their kids Brad and Amber so that all will have peace throughout the procedure and the recovery. I thank you in advance for your prayers!

One More Day!

2009-07-20T15:18:00.002-05:00

Yes, as I type this I have jut over 26 hours until I am reunited with my Bride! I have missed her so badly, it physically hurts. I am glad that she had this time with her family in KY, but three weeks...well, that's way too long for me.

As I think about how much I love Peggy and how it hurts to be apart from her, I cannot help but stop and think about how much God hurts when the people He loves so deeply, choose to be apart from Him. I cannot help but wonder why many of us who claim to love God don't feel that physical pain of separation when we fail to spend time with Him on a regular basis. Hmmm...maybe we are just too quick to give God lip service instead of life service.

May the pain of separation from my Bride serve as a reminder of the pain God feels when I separate myself from Him, and may I never do so again! May the joy of the pending reunion I will have tomorrow evening in Orlando be just a glimpse of the joy awaiting me when I am united with my Lord and Savior on that first day on the other side of eternity.

I can't wait to wrap my arms around Peggy in the airport tomorrow. I can't wait to spend more time with my Lord in prayer and Bible study. I wish everyone were as anxious to spend time with God as I am to spend time with my Bride.

Sad Face

2009-07-14T09:14:00.003-05:00

I picture messaged this sad face to my Bride yesterday along with a countdown to the time her plane is schedule to land in Orlando. As I type this there are seven days, seven hours and 43 minutes until that happens. I miss my Bride terribly, but I am so glad that she has been able to spend some time in KY with her family. I praise God that the original reason she rushed back up there was only a false alarm, and Mom is doing just fine!

I have enjoyed some extra time with my "chilluns" and the shopping time spent with Chicky last Saturday, but I do miss my bfffff, and long for her return.

Yeah, that's all I have to say today. I love Peggy with all my heart, and when we are physically apart for long periods of time like this, it physically hurts. I praise God for my Bride every day, as I am the most blessed man on the planet.

Peggy, BEEG KEESES await you in the Orlando International Airport, and a trip to Joe's Crab Shack will start off our date next Tuesday evening! I love you!!!

July 4th without my Bride

2009-07-07T13:21:00.004-05:00

We had the Jones family in for our July 4th Feast of Baby Back Ribs and fixins. Actually, Tami Jones provided some delicious potato salad, banana pudding, and cupcakes, while we provided Ian's famous slow grilled ribs and grillin' beans. It was quite the feast and quite the celebration except for one very important person who was missing from our gala: my Bride!

Peggy is in Kentucky, having been called up there due to a medical emergency that is not really a medical emergency. See, we got this call from Peggy's sister Terri on Monday, June 28th, saying that Peggy's Mom had a blood clot in her heart, and the doc said for Peggy to get up there as soon as possible. We got her out on one of the first flights possible (yay, AirTran, which now has service from Orlando to Charleston, WV), and after arriving in Kentucky, seeing her Mom, and a couple of tests on Mom's heart later...no problem, it was a shadow from her hiatal hernia! Of course, Peggy's return flight to Florida isn't until July 21st. Sad face.

So, we celebrated Peggy's and my 32nd anniversary of her agreeing to be my steady girlfriend with her in Kentucky and me in Florida. Not my favorite way to spend that special day in my history with my Bride!

However, having Steve, Tami, and Katie Liz Jones along with Chris Stephenson (Katie's fiancee) over for dinner was a blast! We enjoyed our meal and then spent some time watching some Tim Hawkins songs and comedy bits on You Tube. No I haven't linked it here, go find it yo9urself! It is well worth the effort!!!

Then, Emily, Ian, Turtle, Melvin, Ashley and I joined the Cina and the Bellis families over at Riverside Park for some fireworks. The grand finale looked like this through the lens of my enV2 phone's video recorder:

Now that I have updated my blog at least once this month, I can go back to the tons of video and audio work I am doing for the church. I love my life, but I miss my wife and am counting down the days until I hold her in my arms again!!!

Your Own Jesus

2009-06-25T10:29:00.003-05:00

I have read an advanced copy of the first chapter of Mark Hall's (front man for Casting Crowns) forthcoming book "Your Own Jesus." The book comes out on August 1st, and I am anxiously awaiting its release. In the introduction, Hall declares..."many of us believers, even longtime members
of the body of Christ, have genuine faith but parasitic practices." That is a beautiful way of putting it. Too often, those who claim that they want to follow Christ, simply want to let someone else do all the "heavy lifting" while they go along for the ride. then, when those spiritual freeloaders find themselves on their own, they fall against the weight of the world. The world wants to belittle faith in Christ. The world wants to crush the spirits of those who try to follow Christ. Without a genuine faith of your own (not your parents' faith, not your minister's or youth minister's or youth sponsor's faith, not your friends' faith, but YOUR faith), you are doomed.

Hall goes on to write: "This book was generated as I asked myself — as I
now ask you — some difficult questions. Is your walk
with Jesus Christ characterized by personal faith, personal
prayer, personal study, and personal disciplines?
Or do you get by with the overflow from more mature
Christians?
Do you have your own Jesus?
Perhaps reading these words makes you uncomfortable.
The notion sounds almost heretical."

Yeah, I am hooked already. I have two other books I am currently reading ("Crazy Love," and "The Hole In Our Gospel"). Gonna hafta get them read so I can be ready for the release of Mark Hall's "Your Own Jesus."

Gonna hafta continue encouraging the students in our ministry to get their own faith and run with it. The time to be parasitic in your faith is long gone!

Be God's,
Scott

This and That

2009-06-23T14:02:00.004-05:00

I am so glad that I live under the New Covenant with God. In my daily devotional readings through the Chronological One Year Bible these past few weeks, I have been going through the tumultuous history of Israel and Judah under kings who failed to follow God with all their hearts. As I started reading in the book of Amos it struck me that God says your sins will not be ignored. When I think of the sins in my life, I am so glad that God doesn't ignore them. Because of Jesus, my sins are forgiven and forgotten by the Creator of the universe!

Father's Day, 2009 fell on June 21st. That makes Ian and Emily 11 years old spiritually on Father's Day! I had the privilege of baptizing them into Christ on June 21, 1998, and to this day that is by far the BEST Father's Day I have ever had. However, this year comes in at a close 2nd. Elliott preached at First Christian Church Clearwater, it was his first sermon ever! I had the honor of being there to hear him preach! Along with my Bride, Ian, Emily and my Dad! Afterwords, Elliott, Abi, Ian, Emily Dad, Peggy and I went to Moes Southwest Grill for a Father's Day Feast! Yes, it WAS a great day.

I've been having an interesting Twitter conversation with Robin Sigars lately on doctrine, obedience and love. We are both of the opinion that the former receives too much emphasis to the detriment of the latter two. I maintain that if we obey God's Word and love people the way God intends, our doctrine will be right. After all, how can we obey God's Word if we are not obey it fully (see my comments on Israel and Judah at the beginning of this blog)? Those who do not fully obey the Gospel may love, but they are not obedient. Those who obey the Gospel but don't love, well, resounding gongs come to mind. Lord, I pray that You will help me lovingly obey Your Gospel so that my life will draw others to Jesus.

Did I mention that I was like a kid on Christmas morning yesterday? Well, the new microphones are in, and I cannot wait for this Sunday's Celebration Services! Big Dogg Audio RAWKS!!!

With the afternoon Thunderstorms rolling in, I should end this for now, with the desire to do this more often and to even try to be deep enough on occasion that someone might actually get something out of my rambling posts on this blog site.

Be God's,
Scott

Terminal Case of Motorcycle Fever

2009-06-18T10:47:00.002-05:00

Okay, it is no secret that I have had motorcycle fever ever since re-acquiring my motorcycle license about a year ago, and while riding the Scooter named Greta. Alas, poor Greta is having fuel distribution problems once again (and with all the home remodeling we have had to do lately...re: replacing shower walls, etc.I cannot get her looked at right now), and wiht my van doing CIY duty this week, I needed a vehicle. John Martinelli (otherwise known as satan's minion) offered the perfect solution: his MonsterCycle! Picture here in my driveway, I am indeed wrestling 900 pounds of two-wheeled machine around the roads of Vero these days. John says I can keep it for a couple of months, because he needs the room in his garage at home right now. Yeah, my case of motorcycle fever has gone terminal. I believe we will need to take up a special offering to treat this serious medical malady afflicting me, don't you?

Wicked Winds of the West

2009-05-27T15:12:00.003-05:00

Afternoon thunderstorms are the norm for this time of year here in Paradise On Earth. Yesterday evening, a particularly ominous looking bunch of clouds with a stiff westerly wind (but very little rain) blew in...most appropriate for my mood. Suffice it to say that we have enough plumbing-related issues going on at the house these days to put us under. And I'm not talking about water.

But, my Bride reminds me that it is only "stuff." God provides a way around the "stuff" and besides, how could I dare to complain when I have friends to the north (in the Daytona area) who have suffered fo' realz flooding over the past couple of weeks? Still, I need to just spend MORE quiet time in reading and reflecting upon God's Word. I need to hold my Bride in my arms, and remember that with Jesus and Peggy here, everything will be just fine.

Slow Down!

2009-05-02T08:56:00.002-05:00

The month of April was a whirlwind, and it is not my desire to reap the whirlwind, by any means! To say that the old acronym of Being Under Satan's Yoke (BUSY) would describe April is a gross understatement.

I did a whirlwind trip to and from Alabama and brought Dad home. That trip happened faster and sooner than I had originally anticipated, but the bottom line is that Dad is now here with us. We have discussed many things including putting the house in Anniston up on the market, and the pending financial tsunami that must be taken care of. Now, Dad would just as soon not think about any of that, and I am walking the fine line between being "pushy and controlling" and being realistic and practical. Actually our "big talk" about all of that went far better than I had thought it would go, and I am so grateful for the continued prayers of folks who know what is going on.

Peggy's Mom is healing well, and is already back in Kentucky following her broken leg, surgery, and rehab in Florida. We are praising God for how He has worked in that situation, and for Mom's attitude, which has been superior!

Ian now has a full time job at the Sprint Store here in Vero! Praise God for answered prayer, and for angels in the flesh like Jim Adams. We have seen such a difference in Ian's demeanor and we are giving God the glory for the mighty work He continues to do in Ian's life!

Emily is home for the summer, having completed her first year at FCC, and I am so glad to have my Chick-A-Boo back home. We are in prayer for a summer job for her, and she may have a good line on a possibility with a day camp operation through the Salvation Army. It would be PERFECT for a gal majoring in Elementary Ed!

Peggy has battle several different "bugs" over the past month, an indication that she is working too hard, not resting enough, etc. I worry about my Bride, because of stress levels that normally go up at the end of the school year, and now with the added stress of having Dad here, and being married to a goober like me. She assures me that all is well, but I just want her to feel well for more than seven days in a row.

Ministry is going at a break-neck pace, as usual. Senior Roast is coming in a month, and I am so not ready for all the media work I need to do for that. Praise Team stuff is going well, and we are hitting our groove at a higher level these days. That is a blessing beyond words. I also know that discussions about what will be removed from my overburdened plate ministry-wise have to come soon, and I dread that. Please pray for those conversations and decisions and may God be gloried in all we do!

Now, it's time to head to the store, go to a wedding at the church, put the final touches on youth groups tomorrow night, get a few things gathered up for a teacher/sponsor appreciation luncheon meeting we have tomorrow, hang out with Dad, take care of my Bride, and whew...maybe I should take a nap first!

Still Playing "Catch-Up"

2009-03-24T13:48:00.002-05:00

Today has been filled with those "catch-up" activities that we all love so dearly: finally got my tax information gathered up and sent off to our CPA who resides in Arizona...just six weeks behind schedule on that one; talked with a couple of great brothers in Christ via phone and Facebook, and got caught up with those guys. Just years behind in that category; working on sermon CD duplication, video rendering for a teaching series we are starting to put together at Vero Christian Church, trying to get more done in the worship ministry area like worship services planned, etc.; gearing up for this weekend's trip to the Believe Conference in Kissimmee; trying to prepare for the Resurrection Sunday services coming in a couple of weeks; and anticipating a trip to Alabama to pick up Dad and bring him down this way for a while, we miss him so much!

Yeah, life keeps getting in the way of doing any meaningful blogging. That is a lol statement, folks. Your continued prayers on our behalf are greatly appreciated and sorely needed!

Top Ten Misconceptions

2009-03-23T07:22:00.003-05:00

In our Sunday evening youth group, we are three weeks into a four-week series on the Misconceptions about Jesus/Christianity, using the tried and true video clips produced by Vintage 21. In preparation for last night's lesson, I had asked several ministry buds, as well as my students and sponsors to give me what they would consider their #1 misconception about Jesus/Christianity. Here are the results of that survey in a top ten order of my own choosing:

10. Jesus was/is white.
9. Jesus was a good man/good teacher...that's all.
8. Jesus was all about the "do's and don't's."
7. Jesus was meek & mild walking around like Mr. Rogers all the time.
6. Jesus doesn't hear me any more.
5. Jesus drank alcohol so it is okay for teens to do the same.
4. Christians shouldn't be seen in places like casinos or bars, because it would "ruin our witness."
3. You have to get your life straightened out before Jesus will love you or use you for Kingdom work.
2. Jesus wouldn't really let us go to hell for our sins because He loves us too much to do that.
1. The Primary Reason Jesus died was because He loves us. (the Primary Reason was to honor and obey God the Father, Whose plan was for Jesus to die to take away our sins).

I have asked my students and sponsors to provide me with a top ten list of ways Christians perpetuate these misconceptions, and will compile them for this Sunday's lesson. Any thoughts along those lines? What is it that those who claim to follow Christ do these days that perpetuate misconceptions about what it means to truly follow Christ? How do we further perpetuate the misconceptions people have about Jesus? I am interested in your replies. You know how to reach me.

Passing Me By

2009-03-21T20:55:00.003-05:00

To say that the last couple of weeks have been one big whirlwind would be an understatement. I have made four cross-state trips to the Tampa Bay area over the past 11 days, and tonight I will sleep in my bed for the third consecutive night for the first time in two weeks. Some of the trips were business, one was pleasure, and two were related to Peggy's Mom breaking her leg and the subsequent surgery to repair that break.

Peggy's Mom is doing fine post-surgery and is in a rehab facility. Peggy is gonna go back over to check on her and Dad next weekend, and this coming week, we are gonna try to have as "normal" a week as we possibly can. Whatever normal is.

My other cross-state trips involved a look at audio and video equipment we are considering and/or have purchased for the church, and a trip to watch LSU whoop up on UK in the SEC basketball tournament. Yeah. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, I cannot thank my prayer partners enough for the prayers lifted up for Peggy's Mom, for our travels back and forth, and for our friend Kevin Patton who fell 25 feet from a roof in the Ashland, KY, area, breaking lots of bones in his body, but who is now recuperating at home following several surgeries. God is good, and I want to praise Him always.

Goodnight to the two people who read this blog. I'm gonna get in my bed for the 3rd straight night! That is a trend I want to continue until I head out for the Believe Conference next weekend.

Stirrup Cay

2009-03-04T16:18:00.002-05:00

My Favorite Ship Shot
Originally uploaded by blountman

On Sunday, we ported at Stirrup Cay, a private Island owned in part by NCL. They have a private beach which was way too crowded for Peggy's and my liking, so we took the two mile walk to the other end of the island t see the lighthouse and some other very interesting sights.

This picture is my artsy shot of the Norweigian Sky through some of the vegetation as we took one of our "side trips" off of the main trail. Words cannot describe how much we enjoyed this walk and the scenery God put together for us to enjoy. It was so easy to worship our Creator as we walked in unspoiled beauty of a Caribbean Island! Check out the other pictures on my FLICKR site.

While I had a blast on the entire cruise, this was by far my favorite part of our experience! Walking hand-in-hand with my Bride and exploring together was fantastic. Getting to take some side trails and look back at the ship over coquina rock, or in the lightly forested areas...breath-taking!

The lighthouse was cute, but the view from the end of the trail at the neighboring islands was fantastic! Some of the locals were around in their sailboats, and I have one picture of people walking a sandbar between two islands. Pretty sweet, indeed!

We did eventually head back to the beach and to lunch, but not before seeing several iguanas, including one three-footer. It was such a relaxing time. It was a perfect way to spend the day: walking in unspoiled beauty with the most beautiful woman on the planet. Now, THAT is my idea of a perfect day!

Snorkeling The Reef

2009-02-26T07:46:00.001-05:00

Scott
Originally uploaded by blountman

Until Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, I had never been snorkeling before. I am ready to make it my new favorite hobby! A group of about 20 of us in the Deibel Party joined about 20-25 others for an excursion to a coral reef just off of Nassau.

Yeah, Tom took that picture of me snorkeling so I would have photographic evidence of my adventure. The other pictures in this set are all from my hand. The beauty of this coral reef was difficult to capture with my little throw-away underwater camera.

The coral was beautiful, and it was beyond cool to literally be swimming with the fishes. You could reach out and touch them, if you were quick enough, and they certainly were not afraid to get in your face!

Now, the water was a tad on the chilly side...okay it was stinkin' cold! Take your breath away when you first jump in cold! However, after taking my first peak at the coral and then following some fish around, I soon forgot all about the chilly water temp. Oh, did I mention it was windy as well? Some experienced snorkelers commented on the white caps on the wave. Didn't deter me. I spent about 50 minutes absolutely reveling in the beauty of God's creation under the sea. It truly was one of the best worship experiences I have had in ages.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to snorkel again.

Peggy at the Market

2009-02-25T08:27:00.003-05:00

Peggy at the Market
Originally uploaded by blountman

Norwegian Sky Bahamas Cruise, Day 2. Saturday morning featured a walk around the immediate downtown area of Nassau by the pier. We looked in several shops, and then hit the "Straw Market." I was struck by the sameness of the items for sale in the SM, not just the materials, but the prices. We didn't try to bargain with anyone primarily because we didn't see anything that just jumped out at us. We did enjoy the stroll, and we did wind up purchasing a Christmas ornament in a shop at the pier. We also toured the Nassau Senor Frogs gift shop. Being a frog freak myself, well...a picture of me in front of Senor Frogs can be found on our Flickr page.

Day 1 Cruisin'

2009-02-24T08:20:00.004-05:00

Trekking from Vero Beach to Miami with Steve & Patty Macaluso was an absolute treat. Steve drove! We enjoy their company so much, and the trip was uneventful which is my favorite way to travel by automobile. Boring car (or van) trips are the best! Not that the company was boring, but the drive was uneventful with the minor exception that my Sunpass apparently decided it didn't want to work. Had to take care of all of that after we got back from the cruise, but that is a story for another post.

Boarding the ship was a relatively painless and easy process, and we were able to navigate to our stateroom very quickly. We did talk with Ann a couple of times in the process, and that made things much easier.

Speaking of Ann...when I first met Tom and her last May, they had come into the church office wanting to talk with someone about doing a wedding ceremony for them. I scheduled an appointment with them for the next day. I had plenty of paperwork for them to fill out, and we talked about their backgrounds, church experiences, family life, etc. After about an hour, I decided that I would indeed perform their wedding ceremony for them. They wanted to get married that Saturday (this was on a Wednesday).
On the appointed day, Peggy and I were there with Tom & Ann. We held the ceremony in the welcome center of our church building, Peggy took pictures, and I did the pronouncing. They wanted Peggy & me to go out to dinner with them that evening, but we already had plans. We sent them to the Lobster Shanty since they were brand new in town, and they told us that they would see us in church the next day. They did, and have been attending VCC ever since. A couple of weeks after the wedding, they attended our Discover Vero Christian Class, and I had the privilege of baptizing them both into Christ that evening in their swimming pool! We love Tom & Ann dearly.

Back on board the ship, we worked through the initial orientation, and the soda package confusion. We found Ann to talk with her about the soda package, and she broke down crying in her stateroom. Too much stress. We assured her that everything was just fine with us, and just spent some time loving on her to help calm her down a bit. She is such a dear, and we kept reminding her that this was to be a celebration cruise. She assured us that she would be fine, she just needed to vent. I am so glad we were there for her!

The "venting" took another form later on that first night, when Ann and the "Gang" (which included Patty Macaluso and Peggy) got up to do some karaoke. Here's a video snippet of that performance:

Overall, the first day/evening on board the Norwegian Sky could not have been better! And the fun was just beginning.

Norwegian Sky Weekend

2009-02-23T18:37:00.002-05:00

Peggy and I have just returned from a three day Bahamas Weekend Cruise aboard the beautiful Norwegian Sky. It will take several posts over the next couple of days to fill you in on all the details, but here is the cliff notes overview:

Tom & Ann Deibel hosted the cruise and invited Peggy & me because I did the marriage ceremony for the Deibels last May and Peggy was the ONLY witness for their ceremony.

About 50 people were in our group including Ann's family (Mom, siblings, and one adult child, etc.) and Tom's family (parents, siblings, one adult child, etc.) and their friends (from before their marriage, living in Buffalo, NY, and in the Cincinnati, OH, areas as well as some of us Vero Beach folks).

We met and made some wonderful friends on this cruise. We ate like Kings & Queens (although Peggy did very well in sticking to her Weight Watchers routine). We toured Nassau. I snorkeled on a coral reef for the first time in my life. We hiked on a private island (Stirrup Cay) and got some great pics of scenery and iguanas. Pictures will be posted on my flickr account later. I spent quality time with my Bride (that was my favorite part of the trip). Peggy sang karaoke with Ann and the "Gang" one night on the ship. Yeah, a video snippet will be on flickr soon. We laughed and loved and expanded our family on this trip. A much-needed getaway, and a blast.

Now, I know you are savoring the thought of more details, but these cliff notes have come to an end. Chapter one of the Weekend Novel will be posted soon.

My Valentine

2009-02-14T18:53:00.002-05:00

I love Peggy Ruth Dixon Blount more than I love life itself. I have been blessed to be married to her for 27 1/2 years and we dated a little over 4 years before we got married. Yeah, she has put up with me for a LOOONNNNNGGGG time! My Bride is the best part of me. She is not just my better half, she is the BEST half. Were it not for her love and respect and support for me, I would probably be long dead. I'm totally serious. My Bride is Jesus in the flesh in my life. Today, that day set aside for "lovers," my Bride & I have cleaned around the house, I washed her car (and my van), I cleaned the pool, and we made a trip to Wal Mart. Yeah, all that stuff is way romantic. It is how we decided to spend this day. Oh, we went out on a date last night and had a nice meal along with some "alone time." Next week, we are taking a cruise to the Bahamas. Today, my Valentine and I did what we wanted to do. Together. What a perfect way to spend the day!

My Bride and my love for her!

2009-02-07T20:41:00.002-05:00

This has been an interesting past week to ten days for Peggy and me. Peggy has had a severe infection in a finger and at one point we were afraid that it might require surgery. There was precautionary talk of not squeezing, or trying to "pop" the infection pocket for fear the infection could spread into her lymph nodes. Yeah. Not fun.

Finally, she got in and saw an orthopedist, who lanced it, drained it, and sent her to a wound care place for therapy. At $40 a pop AFTER insurance, and with three visits down and at least one more to go, the therapy has been not only effective, but expensive. Whatever the cost, my Beautiful Bride is worth it. I don't tell her enough, nor show her enough, but I love her more than I love life itself. In fact, after my love for Jesus, my Bride is my second love. By a mile over anyone or anything else. I *know* that she knows that, but I want to show it more and more each day. She deserves nothing less.

Blessed By Living In Vero Beach

2009-01-29T07:04:00.004-05:00

Okay, I'll admit it. Sometimes I rub it in to friends who live across the Midwest and in the Appalachian Mountains that I live in a beach town in Florida. I mention riding my Scooter (Greta) to the office this time of year, often without a jacket on. I send picture messages of the thermometer reading from my van showing the warm temperatures. I send picture and text messages when my Bride and I walk on the boardwalk along the beach. I can be a real stinker that way. I know that I have been blessed beyond measure to have the privilege of living in Vero Beach.

This morning, as I think about friends in Lousiville, KY, who have been without electricity for more than 24 hours, with temps below freezing, there are no arrogant thoughts about living in Vero. Only prayers that the ice storms that have wreaked havoc in a large section of this nation would subside, that crews are able to restore power quickly and that life can return to "normal" for those affected. I know that similar prayers were offered up for us right after Francis and Jean both made landfall within 35 miles of my home a few years back and we were without power for two different 10-day stretches. I still would rather be without power in 90-degree weather than in sub-freezing weather, folks. I still am praying that power is restored quickly and that my friends will see the light and move down here with us in "Paradise on Earth" (my nickname for Vero). I still praise God every day for the privilege of living here and serving Him at Vero Christian Church!

Noob Evangelism

2009-01-23T20:50:00.007-05:00

During the month of January, the student ministry at Vero Christian Church is cleaning the church building. The crew that cleaned today as usual had a great time while working around the building. In fact, one member of the crew, who shall remain nameless, gave me a good back slap. Of course, the back slap included a name tag which reads, "My name is NOOB." Great fun when you are hanging with teenagers.

I took the name tag off my back, and put it where it belongs: on the front of my shirt. We finished up the cleaning, and I left for a quick stop at the bank. Now, I had already been to my favorite branch of the bank once earlier in the day. I have teased around with one of the tellers for several years, we call each other "trouble" and ask if each other has been behaving. Of course, we haven't. Now, there is a relatively new teller who sits next to my "fave." I always ask her if she is making sure my "fave" is behaving, just trying to draw her into the friendship, raise a smile, etc.

When I came in this evening still wearing my name tag, the newer teller called me over to her window, by calling me by my name tag. I laughed and said something about my students loving me, casually mentioning that we had been cleaning the church building. Newer Teller looks surprised, and asks if I am a minister. Busted, I tell her that I am an associate minister working in the area of music and students. She can't believe that I am a minister, saying she thought I was a "heathen." My "fave" and I both get a big laugh because she has known I am in the ministry for at least five years now. I laughingly respond that I am gonna have to pray for the teller over her "heathen" remark, and by now I have the attention of all the tellers...being the only customer in the bank and all. One of the other tellers even jokes that she had some oil if we needed to anoint the new teller and pray over her. We all shared several good-natured laughs. Then, the conversation turned a little more serious.

After letting them all know that I serve at Vero Christian Church the newer teller says that she had been thinking about coming to our church to visit, since she lives in the neighborhood right across Oslo Road from where the church building is located. While saying that she would be out of town this weekend, she declares in front of her co-workers that she was going to tell her boyfriend and they would come for a visit to VCC next weekend.

All because I wore a name tag declaring to be a "Noob." All because one of my students slapped it on my back in jest. Who knows, "Noob Evangelism" might just catch on.

Taco Bell, Part 2

2009-01-21T07:12:00.002-05:00

Standing in line for 40 minutes to get tacos wasn't enough for me. After enjoying the Taco Party at lunch yesterday (as previously discussed in this blog), I took my Bride on a 20-Cent Taco Party experience yesterday evening. The lines were actually a tad longer, and we parked in the same spot I had at lunch time.

As my Bride and I dutifully took our place in the cue, people around us were astounded to learn that it was my 2nd trip to the Bell for the day. I simply told them, "it is a social event." Lightening the mood proved to be most effective. Instead of people being grumpy that there were actually waiting in a line that would prove to last almost a full hour to get tacos from Taco Bell, we laughed, we smiled, we got to know each other just a little bit. It was, dare I say it...fun.

The lady in line behind us was dismayed to learn of the 10 tacos per customer limit. She had 3 teenage boys and a husband at home awaiting a bounty of tacos. Since my Bride & I were only getting 10 tacos between the two of us, we volunteered to place an order for her. After all, 20 tacos sure beats 10! She was amazed that we were willing to do that. Come on, all we did was place the order, she forked over the $2.14 for the purchase of those ten tacos! My Bride continued the conversation with this lady, coming to know where she attends church (and she is a nominal attender), letting her know about Vero Christian Church, found out her occupation and told her about someone in our church who is in need of the services she provides.

Another lady had two toddler girls with her, both of whom were extremely well behaved and quite cute. She did have another adult with her to help take care of the girls, but by the time our 55 minute wait for those delicious tacos was over, we had gotten to know her, and the ladies all joked some female joke that I tried to stay out of, if you catch my drift.

The point is, we saw the taco cue as an opportunity to let the light of Jesus shine in our lives. The folks around us were engaged in light-hearted conversation with people around them, who had before this experience, been strangers. We talked about church matters, talked about our kids, talked about work and made connections. We enjoyed each others company while standing in a Taco Bell for nearly an hour waiting to pick up our precious order of 20-cent tacos.

God will show up in the strangest places if you just remember to bring Him along. After all, He is there anyway, so you might as well acknowledge Him and allow Him to be the life of the "party." Even while standing in line for cheap tacos.

History Making Day

2009-01-20T14:37:00.003-05:00

On a cold, clear January day, history was made. Yeah, we inaugurated the 44th President of the United States, but I am talking about 20 cent tacos at Taco Bell! Ian and I arrived at the Vero Beach T-Bell with bellies anticipating tacos. Apparently everyone in the free world had the same idea at the same time. Don't they know that there are Taco Bells in other places, too? Being unable to enter the parking lot, I ejected Ian with cash in hand so he could get in what would prove to be the line that went around the world. I parked in a space at the strip mall deal just to the east of the Taco Bell, and made my way over only to find that Ian was a mere five feet inside the building in that line that did indeed extend outside! The mood was festive, as everyone was ready for some cheap lunch (even if their lunch break took them to supper time). Even the employees were laughing it up, with one taco assembler proclaiming that she would have dreams about making tacos tonight. No doubt.

It took a mere 40 minutes for Ian and I to get our precious bags of 10 tacos each (the limit imposed per customer by Taco Bell), and with envious eyes watching our every move, we made our way through the crowd of folks who were still waiting for their number to be up (or at least called). We even got to see our good buddy Greg (one of the two folks who reads this blog), and invited him to bring his supper tacos over to the house. He was still a good 35 minutes away from getting his tacos, so I hated to think of it as lunch since it was already 12:30.

Now, I missed out on the Free Taco day back during the World Series thanks to a scheduled colonoscopy. That is a story for another day. Turtle, Jordan and company say nothing tastes better than a FREE taco, but the 20-cent variety don't taste too bad either. All ten of them. See, I had been fasting and praying before heading to Taco Bell. Now, I am just a-full. And Peggy wants to stop by there to pick up tacos for supper. I might just explode into one big taco salad.

Mobile Blog Test

2009-01-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

Just testing my ability to post on my blog from my phone.

A Different Order

2009-01-14T14:51:00.003-05:00

Hebrews 7
15 This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied,

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

20 This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, 21 but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him,

“The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow:
‘You are a priest forever.’”

22 Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.

In preparing for tonight's College Bible study, I am again wrestling with this different order of priesthood as Jesus represents. The story of Melchizedek is told in much greater detail here than it is in Genesis 14:18-20 when the story is first told.

As we continue our study in Hebrews, the college crew is getting a good dose of reinforcement in the idea that the priesthood of Jesus is superior to the priesthood of the Levites under the Law. In fact, it is flat out stated that way in the passage quoted above. But, who is this Melchizedek? What is his story? God has chosen not to reveal much about him, but if Jesus is a priest in Melchizedek's order, then the dude must've been pretty tight with God! That's good enough for me. I don't make that last statement lightly or flippantly. I am say (and I will repeat it) that if it is good enough for God, then it is good enough for me.

That attitude doesn't always make life easier, but it certainly adds clarity.

Be God's,
Scott

Da Bug

2009-01-13T10:38:00.002-05:00

I have already chronicled my on-going battle with throat and sinus type issues, and as the meds take full effect, I am now in that stage where the symptoms are worse just before they take the big turn for the better. Last night, I fell asleep sitting up on the couch. It was around 7 o'clock. This morning, I got up as usual, took care of the morning routine, and laid back down while Peggy was getting ready for school. I fell into a deep sleep and she had to wake me up to tell me goodbye. It was then that I decided I would do some work from the house this morning, and take a nap. I slept for a solid two hours. This after a full night's sleep that was extremely peaceful and restful. The gook in my chest is starting to break up now, and I am coughing a little more today. It is time for this stuff to go away! And to think, I was in the doc's office last Thursday for a checkup, and everything was fine. Hey, maybe I am allergic to the doc's office!

Yes, I Love Technology. Always and Forever.

2009-01-11T15:59:00.003-05:00

The only thing better than a strained throat for a worship minister, is having a worship minister's microphone fizzle out on him in the midst of the services. I had the privilege of having both situations occur this morning. What fun.

The rest of the praise team did a fantastic job of rolling right along with or without me. I'm working on getting my throat healed back up, but the microphone situation? Well, we're working on it.

To quote Kip's song from "Napoleon Dynamite": Yes, I love technology, but not as much as you, you see. Still, I love technology. Always and forever."

Throat Afire

2009-01-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

Okay, so yesterday, I went to the doctor's office for a routine visit. Everything was fine. By praise team rehearsal time last night, my voice was going all weak, and my throat felt funny. So, I didn't yell and scream as my college football hero (Tim Tebow) led the Gators to another National Championship. This morning when I got up, my throat was on fire, and I could feel the effects of infection in my right ear as well. Beautiful.

I called the doc, got some antibiotics, and basically rested all morning. My afternoon was filled to overflowing with responsibilities: radio station voice tracking (yeah, a little more bass and nasal than usual), picking up my prescriptions, picking up Peggy's car from the shop, and oh my goodness...I forgot about the fact that the month of January is the youth group's turn to clean the church building! Oh yeah, we're supposed to meet at 4 p.m. Fridays to do this act of service. Good thing a concerned Mom called me at 4:15 (while I was in Walgreens getting my prescription...well only one of the two I am supposed to have, but that's another story). So, I flew to the church building, and we got the crew going at it.

Now, Peggy has gone to the store for some soup, and I am going to call it an early evening. Sore throats and worship leading are a bad combination, and I gotta get this thing whipped before Sunday. Oh, did I mention that we are going to Kissimmee tomorrow to help the Emily's move into a new apartment at school?

What is in a name?

2009-01-08T10:31:00.004-05:00

Interesting reading from the One Year Chronological Bible from Genesis and Chronicles today. I was checking out the meaning of names, since Esau means "hairy" and Jacob means "deceiver" and those names seem to fit those characters perfectly. So what about my name? I am "painted warrior" "beautiful at birth." Blount My Bride is "Pearl" " "friend." Our baby girl is "Rival;emulating" "friend" while our middle child is "God is forgiving" "painted warrior." Our eldest is "beautiful at birth" "my God is the Lord" and his bride is "Father is rejoicing" "God is gracious."

Very interesting study this morning, and I am so glad to see that our names truly do reflect our personalities. I am married to a Pearl of a woman who is my best friend. Our daughter does emulate her Mama, and their friendship is stronger than ever. Our middle child knows the forgiveness of God in a very real way, and he is a mighty warrior for Christ's Kingdom. Our eldest was beautiful at birth in my eyes (not so much for his Mama, but that is a story for another day, oh "smurf baby"), and his life reflects the fact that "God is his Lord" while his bride certainly is a cause for a "Father to rejoice" and she reflects in her life the fact that "God is gracious."

What's in a name? More than we Americans like to think. By the way, I found the meanings of our names by visiting the website: Baby Names World.

For my devotional thoughts on this topic, see my devo blog at Putting It Blountly. This is the "painted warrior" who was "beautiful at birth" wishing you and yours a blessed day!

Putting It Blountly

2009-01-07T14:53:00.005-05:00

Okay, so for the past couple of days as I have started getting back into the blogging habit, I have double posted devotional thoughts on both this blog and on the blog I originally had set up for devotional type thoughts. The name of that blog is Putting It Blountly which is an obvious play on the (mis)pronunciation of my last name. So, this blog will go back to mostly being inane ramblings about life in general, and the other blog will have more of the devotional feel to it. Don't say that you haven't been warned!

Speaking of inane life-happenings...had a "Power Lunch" with Jim Adams of Sebastian Christian Church and Ron Matthews of Southside Christian Church of Fort Pierce today. Food at the Olive Garden was wonderful, and the company was even better. It is so nice to get to hang out with some guys who want to see teens in our area connect with other Christian teens who don't happen to attend the same congregation. One of the things I have missed the most in the 8 1/2 years I have lived in Florida is a sense of camaraderie among Restoration Movement Churches. There are a number of reasons why this hasn't happened to this point, none of which are of any concern to me. This is a new year and there is a new hope (and attitude) that encourages me. Ron, Jim, and I even have our next "Power Lunch" scheduled. Oh, I'd tell ya, but then I'd have to...well you get the point. *grin*

My prayer is that from this tiny band of motley guys can grow a regional network of Restoration Movement churches deciding and desiring to do more events together. It is good for the students, and it brings honor to our Lord.

As Rich Mullins would say:
Be God's

Faith & Obedience Test

2009-01-07T11:17:00.001-05:00

From today's reading in the One Year Chronological Bible...

Genesis 22
1a Later on, God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience.

Abraham has already packed up his family and left the land of his forefathers to take up residence in the land promised to him & his descendents. Abraham has been faithful and obedient in believing that he would be the Father of a Great Nation even when he was 99 years old. Abraham has already been described as one whose faith was credited to him as righteousness, and he has already been described as a friend of God. Yet, in Genesis 22, we read that God was going to test Abraham’s faith and obedience. If Abraham was not immune to further tests from God, why should I think that I would be? I am certainly no Abraham! May I always pass the test, and may all who follow Christ do the same.

Impossible? No!

2009-01-06T07:48:00.001-05:00

From today's reading of the One Year Chronological Bible:

Genesis 18
14a “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

God is speaking here to Abraham after Sarah has laughed at the news that she will bear a son to Abraham in one year. Abraham is 99 years old, and Sarah is approaching 90. Of course the answer to God’s question about Himself is, NO! Remember when an angel of the Lord told Mary that she would conceive a child, and that her cousin Elizabeth (long thought to have been barren) was pregnant? Luke 1:37 says, “For nothing is impossible with God.” God is not just in the baby business; God is in the business of doing the impossible. Nothing is too hard for the Lord, and if I am doing my best to follow Him, and His direction for my life…well He will take care of the obstacles and opportunities that present themselves along the way.

Be God's,
Scott

My Responsibility

2009-01-05T16:08:00.003-05:00

I am reading the Chronological One Year Bible this year, just to mix up my daily devotional reading a bit. I've done the one year Bible reading plan each year for over a decade now, and decided to change things up a bit this year. From today's reading in Genesis 17 (New Living Translation), I saw this: 9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility." It has me thinking about my responsibility as a child of Abraham (spiritually). The New Covenant is summed up by Jesus when He said that we should love God with all we are and all we have AND we should love people the way God loves them (love your neighbor as yourself). My responsibility is live that way. It isn't easy, but it is my responsibility as a child of God. I often fail to live up to my responsibility, but it is my responsibility nonetheless.

May 2009 be one of accepting my responsibility, embracing it, and running headlong to Jesus with it. May this be the year that you do the same.

Oh, What A Night

2009-01-03T20:11:00.002-05:00

Blogging from my iPod Touch can be an adventure, but nothing like the adventure of a youth all-nighter with a couple other churches. Yes, I (a card carrying member of AARP) led/hosted a youth all-nighter last night. Let the jokes begin.

Let me say a big thanks to Ron Matthews of Southside Christian in Ft. Pierce and Jimmy Adams of Sebastian Christian for all the did to ensure the success of the event. To my college crew: Ian, Emily, Turtle, Jordan, & Kevin: Beeg thanks! To Greg (one of the two readers of this blog) and Anne: you are the BEST sponsors ever! To my Bride: how could I ever survive without you? You are the best part of me.

With a water line break at 1:30ish, we saved the church building from being totally flooded. Yeah, doing an all-nighter saved the church building! The break was construction related, not student related. Thinking about what could have happened had no one been around when the flooding started last night...well as one of our Elders put it: "God was in it" for us to have been there for the all-nighter. Yes, He was.

Now it is time to head back to bed and rest up for a day of leading praise & worship at VCC. Man, do I ever have a lot for which to be thankful! God RAWKS!

Life Mulligan

2008-12-23T15:22:00.002-05:00

On August 27, 1985, God gave me a Life Mulligan. Yep, I got a "do over." I was buried in the watery grave of baptism, and raised into a newness of life.

I've been thinking a lot about the Life Mulligan we get through Jesus as I prepare to preach a sermon on that subject on Dec. 28th. I sought some input from some preacher types that I respect, and even heard back from a few of them.

As 2008 comes to a close, I know that I need to utilize that Mulligan once again. To renew my dedication to Christ, and to His Word. To be a better husband, father, and minister of the Gospel of Christ. I am so glad that God is patient with me.

I pray that the new year ahead provides the opportunity for you to start fresh. Don't be afraid to make resolutions because God doesn't give us a spirit of fear, that is satan whispering in our ears. Don't be afraid to step out of the comfort zone and do something BIG for God. Nothing is impossible for God, and if we are following God, well, you get the point.

Besides, as Henry Ford put it: "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."

As for me, I want to share the resolution Paul proclaimed to the Church at Corinth: "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2)

May this Holy Season of Christmas and the approaching New Year give us strength, comfort, and the resolve to do bigger things for the Kingdom of Christ than we did over the past year.

Be God's,
Scott

Family

2008-12-12T07:34:00.002-05:00

Having labored in youth & family life ministries for the past 21 years, I think I may have a vested interest in the subject. Being a dad of three adult (yikes, I hate to have to write that) children...well four counting my newest daughter, Abi who married Elliott almost two years ago...I guess you can say that I have been there, done that. Funny thing about parenting: it never stops. Guess, I am gaining some of that wisdom that comes with age in that regard.

Another "funny" thing is that since satan hates us, he must try to do whatever he can to take us off task. In my situation, if satan can create havoc in my family life, wow, what a victory he would have. Well, he keeps trying. There are several situations going on these days that are not for public consumption, suffice it to say that the attacks are coming from all quarters. Not just from situations involving my kids, but my dad & sister as well. I have a brother who can't stay out of the hospital due to severe physical problems that have baffled the docs. Yeah, literally from every "front" I am under attack by the evil one. But, you know what? God is still in control. God will guide me one step at a time (I don't even think in terms of one day at a time any more).

The storms of family life are howling all around me, but I will hang on to the promise that God is with me. He will never leave, nor forsake me. I am not alone. I have Jesus, my Beautiful Bride, and the prayers of dear brothers & sisters in Christ. I have no need for anything else.

These storms will pass, and God will be glorified.

Redeaux

2008-12-10T13:36:00.002-05:00

Or is that "Redo"? Yeah, that's it.

For some time now, I have limped along in the blogosphere not really blogging, but wishing that I did. This is my attempt to dive back into those murky waters. Yeah, the two folks who stumbled upon my blog in the past may wonder why the url has changed, but hey, they can still get here relatively easily and will now have an easier web address to remember.

2008 is proving to be the year of the Challenge. While in many respects, the year has been fantastic, there are other aspects of life that have risen up to bite me, big time.

An ongoing struggle with and for Ian constantly takes two steps forward and three steps back. Please jut keep him in your prayers. That's all I have to say publicly about that.

Over the past year, my sister succumbed to a serious drug addiction, and having control of my dad's finances, ruined him financially. I am now trying to help dig him out of a monster hole. My sister meanwhile has numerous legal troubles that do not involve dad or me. Keep them in your prayers. Pray for me as I try to help get dad back into something resuming financial stability. We are a LONG WAYS from there at the moment. That's all I have to say publicly about that.

Meanwhile, things are going well with the church. There is a spirit of enthusiasm, cooperation, and willingness that I haven't seen in a long time. We moved into a new building this year, culminating some 10 years worth of planning. The combination of being in the new location and the leadership exhibited by our preacher, Steve Jones, has us on an unprecedented growth track at VCC. As of this writing, we have had 31 baptisms, and 16 transfers of membership since April. To God be the glory!

My Bride battled pneumonia earlier this year, and a stress fracture in a foot this Fall,. so health-wise, this hasn't been a stellar year for Peggy. Her job situation has changed somewhat, although she is still primarily at Garden City Elementary school in Fort Pierce.

Emily is now a freshman (actually will officially be a sophomore in the Spring) at Florida Christian College. She seems to have adapted to "college life" quite well, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Elliott & Abi are doing well, and while we don't ge tto see them nearly as often as we would like, we are thankful for cell phones and the internet!

Now, with that brief "catch-up" let's see how often I get back on here to blog about something of "importance." Yeah, right.

Be God's,
Scott

Tis the Season...

2008-12-01T10:43:00.003-05:00

...to remember Christ's birth!

Yeah, to the two of you who used to read this blog, I am back with an update. Life is coming at me full speed these days, and it is time to stop for a few minutes and reflect on my Lord and Savior Jesus!

I am so amazed that God loves me. I know what a wretch I am. Those aren't just words, that is the flat-out truth. What I deserve is the hottest flames of hell, but because of Jesus, I won't get what I deserve. I take great comfort in that thought as I struggle on every day with the challenges this life throws my way.

I am not only blessed to have my salvation through Jesus, Whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, but to be married to Peggy. She is my "Jesus-in-the-flesh." Peggy is not just the wife of my dreams, the mother of our children, she is my soul-mate in the Christian sense of the word! Thank you, Peggy, for being my Plum Woman!

May God's richest blessings be upon those who stumble across this blog. Merry Christmas to you, and know that this blog entry will not be the last one to express that sentiment.

Habitat Forming

2008-09-16T08:53:00.004-05:00

Every Saturday morning since July 12th, Vero Christian Church has had volunteers working at Grace Woods. That is the Habitat for Humanity subdivision going up close to Thompson Elementary school in the southern part of Indian River County. See, we as a congregation are sponsoring one of the homes being constructed in that subdivision as the labor sponsor. The home will be occupied by members of our congregation. Since July 12th, I have learned much about construction. I am the least skilled of the laborers you would find on a construction site. I teasingly have told the construction supervisors that my skill level ends at "carrying heavy things." Nevertheless, I have not only carried heavy things (helping to fly trusses on five different homes), I have done roofing work, soffit work, set pre-hung doors inside a home, and various other odds and ends as needed. Members of our congregation have been out sometimes in force, sometimes in pairs, but we have been out every Saturday watching, participating, and marveling at the ministry of Habitat for Humanity. Homes are dedicated and people move in every couple of weeks. The sense of satisfaction from a hard morning's work easily outweighs the sore muscles and physical exhaustion of working in the Florida summer heat.

Our work with Habitat is a habit forming endeavor. I pray that more from our congregation will catch the fever, and that after the home we are sponsoring is finished, we can still have a crew out for Habitat on a regular basis.

Last week's VCC crew, pictured with this post included: Katie, Becky, Bob, Tim, Turtle and me (I took the picture, so I am not in it).

Sappy Birthday To Me

2008-09-03T07:51:00.003-05:00

I turn 50 tomorrow. There, I’ve said it and we can get that out of the way. Anyone who has known me for very long at all, knows that I am not big into my own birthday scene. It’s just another number, and I really don’t care. I get much more excited about my spiritual birthday (I turned 23 on August 27th) than I do about my physical birthday. However, I know that others like to celebrate, so I am trying to do better about being gracious in all of that hoopla.

I must tell you though, that my beautiful Bride Peggy outdid herself this year. Yes, we have already celebrated my birthday. Peggy arranged for all our our children (Ian, Emily, Elliott, and Abi) to be at the house Monday evening for a Surprise party. Oh, I mean a “Suprise” party...at least that is what the cake called it. We love Publix cakes, but love their hearts, they spell worse than I could ever hope to spell. The cake tastes delicious, and that is all that matters.

Having my family around me to celebrate my birthday is all I could ever wish for. I don’t need any gifts (although Emily’s purchase of some Turkish Delight did indeed get me singing the David Crowder Band song of the same name). I don’t want any gifts. I just want to be surrounded by the people I love the most. That is what Peggy provided for me this year. She is the best!

Of course Elliott had to photoshop a little “suprise” picture that wound up as the desktop photo on my iBook. Very funny. Very funny indeed.

Emily had to take off for school Monday night, and Ian had to work all day yesterday (as did Peggy), but Elliott, Abi, Jayla and I got to hang out, and it was one of the more relaxing days I have had in a long time.

I am truly blessed to be surrounded by a loving family. Yes, my birthday hasn’t officially taken place yet, but it has already been the best one ever!

23rd Spiritual Birthday

2008-08-27T10:43:00.004-05:00

In the midst of the presidential election madness that grips our nation (although I doubt that most folks are terribly gripped at the moment), we hear a lot of talk about "change." Of course the change of which most politicians speak is nothing more than a lame attempt to get them elected to the office they seek. True change just doesn't happen in the political world. I once was naive enough to believe that change could occur through the political process. Then I grew up.

I placed my vote for true change 23 years ago, when I was buried in the watery grave of baptism, and raised up into a new life in Christ. Yes, I am celebrating my 23rd birthday today. The change in my life is real, and Jesus is the reason for that change. Before I surrendered my thoughts, my will, and my very life to Christ, I was a hot-tempered, angry, ego-driven, self-centered narcissist. While I still struggle with many of those traits from time-to-time, people who know me now would be surprised to hear my description of Scott Blount in the preceding sentence. The change in my life is 100 percent attributable to Jesus.

If we want true change in our personal lives, we need to look to Jesus. If we want true change in this nation, we need to do the same.

Back on the Planet

2008-08-26T12:18:00.003-05:00

Wow. Last post was on Elliott's birthday. Guess I fell off the blog planet for a while. Life is certainly busy, especially when you are "getting rid" of your baby girl. Yeah, Emily has now graduated from high school and is a freshman at Florida Christian College.

I am also stating up and will soon merge DaBlounts.com as my primary source of blogging. Not that I have kept that site up to date, either, but eventually it will happen.

So, in the months since I last posted, here's what has been happening:
**The aforementioned situation with Emily.
**The increasing number of locally produced videos for our church (check out our YouTube account.
**Learning and teaching lots of "new" worship songs to our praise team.
**An amazing two weeks in Sunset Beach, NC. Lots of pics on my flickr site.
**An expensive lesson on the Florida legal definition of "Scooter."
**I got to spend lots of time with my Bride, which while listed last in this "extensive" list, is the most important and most favorite part of my life! yes, I saved the best for last!

Okay, as I am sitting in the S-U-B at FCC awaiting Emily to finish up a class before we head for lunch, and as I am attempting to download my dablounts.com files to this iBook, I will sign off for now, and promise to post again before another seven months pass us by!

Be God's,
Scott

Crabby Birthday

2008-01-30T08:11:00.001-05:00

So, today is actually Elliott's birthday, but last night, we had the opportunity to get together with Terri, Alvin, Amber & Bradley because they are in Orlando for the week; with Nanny & Papaw, because they went up to Orlando to hang with the Parkers; and with the birthday boy and his bride. Elliott suggested that we go to Joe's Crab Shack in Celebration. None of us had ever eaten at Joe's before, but it was an experience we all enjoyed immensely and will absolutely have again in the future. The food was fantastic, the service impeccable, the floor shows hilarious, and when they made Elliott ride a broom around the room because it was his birthday...well, the pictures tell the story. What a great evening with the people we love so dearly!

All Clear

2008-01-24T07:47:00.001-05:00

The power of prayer was on display for all to see at our doctor's office last week. Peggy had viral contagious pneumonia diagnosed on a Monday afternoon. She received the first of what would be four daily IV antibiotic treatments that afternoon. We were blessed that she could be treated outpatient by going to the doctor's office each day last week instead of having to be hospitalized. On Friday morning, a chest x-ray revealed that Peggy's lungs were all clear. No sign of the massive pneumonia that had wracked her lungs earlier in the week. The nurses were all in amazement. The doctor was pleased beyond words. No one could believe that there was no sign of the pneumonia after only four days of treatments.

We told the nurses and the doctor that we had lots of folks praying for Peggy. When Peggy asked our doctor about going to church on Sunday, he said that would be no problem and ask her to say a prayer for him. Peggy assured him that she would, and we both did. Not just on Sunday, but every day.

We believe in the power of prayer. We are grateful to all those who prayed for Peggy last week, and we appreciate those who pray for us on a regular basis.

YEAH, BABY!

2008-01-23T08:18:00.000-05:00

(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
I am a Kentucky basketball fan, and that has been a tough thing this year. With a new coach (after the shameful way we ran off Tubby Smith), plenty of injuries, and a team that has underachieved for the most part this year, it was amazing to watch them come back from a 10 point deficit not once, but twice last night and then pour it on at the end of the game against the "hated" Tennessee Volunteers. 72-66 is a sweet score, and we will gladly take the win over Tennessee. The fact that they were ranked 5th in the nation makes it nice, the fact that we gave them their first conference loss (and are only one conference loss behind them in the standings now) is sweet, and the fact that we BEAT Tennessee is the best!

Okay, I'm through gloating (not). In my next post, I'll update the two of you who read this blog on Peggy's health (all-clear), and other family-type happenings.

Knock Me Over, Feather!

2008-01-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

Contagious viral pneumonia. You could’ve knocked us down with a feather. That was, however the diagnosis from the doctor when Peggy finally broke down and went to see him. She had been sick for several days, but being the “trooper” that she is, she taught Sunday School, we hosted a family for lunch after church on Sunday, we hosted youth groups Sunday night…you know, the typical Sunday for us. Now, as she undergoes her third IV antibiotic treatment in the doc’s office today, we await results of her chest x-ray to see if the pneumonia is clearing up. Fortunately, we didn’t have to hospitalize her. Fortunately, I can take her to the doc for her treatments, and work in the waiting room because of my iBook (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my iBook?). Fortunately, she seems to be improving each day.

Peggy is “really excited” about having to miss a week of work. She is “really excited” to learn that her pneumonia shot covers only bacterial pneumonia, not viral pneumonia. We are “really excited” at the thought that we inadvertently exposed lots of folks to a viral pneumonia. But mostly we praise God that it was diagnosed when it was, and that we are getting things taken care of. Praise God for the knowledge of medicine He has given those caring for Peggy’s needs. Praise God for the ability to take care of her at home. Praise God for being surrounded by people who love us, lift us up in their prayers, and who are willing to do anything we ask of them. Praise God we haven’t had to ask, yet!

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Indian River County

2008-01-03T22:37:00.001-05:00

Frog Away!
Originally uploaded by blountman

My apologies to Samuel Langhorne Clemens. I got my frog in my stocking which was opened on New Year's Eve. Ian and Emily were both off of work and at home with us. Elliott, Abi and Jayla came over to help us celebrate. It was a perfect evening. I had my Bride, my children, and my granddog around me to ring in the New Year. We even had Turlte and Jordan with us

For more pictures from the event, check out my flickr site.

My Baby

2007-12-28T21:28:00.001-05:00

My Baby
Originally uploaded by blountman

Don't faint because I am posting two blog blurbs in one day. It's catch-up time. In spite of the fact that my sinuses are on the warpath and my head feels like it weighs a ton, I need to get this business taken care of.

Emily is now 18 years old. There, I've said it. I don't believe it. Oh no, not for one minute. You see, you can't go from 12 to 18 in one fell swoop. So, I guess I can call her 13 years old now. Alas, her birth certificate proves otherwise. Perhaps this is why I feel so yucky today. My baby turned 18 yesterday. Yeah, that's what I'll go with...it is all HER fault that I am sick today.

No, Emily. I am so proud of you. The only way I could be more proud would have been if you had worn the "get in line" shirt on your birthday. Because that shirt is the straight up truth and you know it.

I love my Chick-A-Boo, and I am proud to be her "Pau Pau."

Christmas Day Blessings

2007-12-28T17:03:00.001-05:00

My Favorite Kids
Originally uploaded by blountman

We got the spend the day on Christmas Day at Nanny & Papaw's over in Palmetto. Elliott and Abi came down from Clearwater, so we had a nice, intimate, celebration. It is so wonderful to be surrounded by family. I know that I am a blessed man. I am married to my soul mate, who keeps me drawing closer to Christ all the time. I am the dad of three beautiful children (and while I can never take the place of Papa Pardue, I will count Abi as one of mine, making it FOUR beautiful kids). Peggy's parents have always treated me like a son, not a son-in-law. I am, without a doubt, the luckiest man on the planet.

Having had the chance to make my Bride tear up with joy as she opened presents this year, because I finally got it right and got her the things she really wanted, and having had the chance to watch the joy in the faces of our children as we spent time together, made this Christmas the best one ever for me.

Taking the picture of the four children in front of the lake by Nanny & Papaw's reminds me of how blessed I am. You are looking at my 3rd favorite gift - our children. First is my salvation through Jesus Christ, and 2nd is my Bride Peggy. After that, it is all icing on the cake, my friends.

Christmas Ponderings

2007-12-23T16:39:00.000-05:00

In Luke 2:19 we read: "But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart." When examining the 2nd chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we see that Mary and Joseph have traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem (a distance of about 80 miles) when Mary is VERY pregnant. That is a trip that could not have been fun for Mary. When they arrive in Bethlehem, there is no place to stay, so they wind up bedding down in a cave-barn behind an inn. There, Mary gave birth to her first son. Not exactly a sanitary setting for childbirth, in the hay next to the donkeys, but that is where God chose to have the Savior of the World born. The first visitors to worship the Christ child were shepherds! Not exactly the top of the social strata, these guys had been visited by an angel declaring the birth of God's Son, and had witnessed a heavenly choir of angels singing glory to God. So, these shepherds set out for Bethlehem and found the Babe just as th angel had said. The shepherds left from there declaring the Good News: that Jesus had come into the world. The, we read the famous line quoted above.

Oh, to be like Mary. Not that I want to give birth, I just want to be used by God for His Purposes. No matter where that leads, no matter how far out of my comfort zone that takes me, no matter what He asks of me. That was the attitude Mary had when she told the angel that she was a bondslave of the Lord. That is the attitude I need to exhibit. No that is the attitude, I need to live out. By submitting my life to the Lordship of Jesus when I was immersed into Christ on August 27, 1985, I promised to be a bondslave of Christ.

I know that it isn't Christmas yet, but I am already in sermon mode for Sunday, December 30th. Yeah, I am preaching on that date, and as I contemplate God's message for the last Sunday of the year, I am contemplating what it means to truly commit to a New Life Resolution. My New Life Resolution is found in Philippians 2"14-15: "14Do all things without grumbling or disputing;

15so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world," now THAT is something to ponder.

"Duel" Services

2007-12-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

Christmas Lights

2007-11-30T13:53:00.001-05:00

Christmas Lights
Originally uploaded by blountman

This year, we have added to our outside display of lights, the manger scene. In this close-up of Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus, you can also see roses blooming on our "rose tree" just behind the manger scene. I love Christmas in Vero Beach. I was in jean shorts and a tee shirt as I hung the lights on the house on November 29th, and the seat was rolling down my face into my eyes! Roses are still in full bloom. Yep, THAT's my kind of Christmas season weather.

Speaking of the Christmas season, I want to take the time now to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May you always keep in mind the true meaning of the season: God loves you, and He gave you the ultimate Christmas Gift - Jesus!

There are a few more pictures taken on Nov. 29th of the lights around our house, and one of the rose blooms that are about eight feet off the ground. Just check out the flickr site.

May this season in which we celebrate the coming to earth of the Savior of the World, find you and yours doing well. Thank you for your continued prayers for us Blounts. We'll take all the prayers we can get!

Birthday Cake

2007-11-07T21:43:00.000-05:00

Several people wore as much of Ian's birthday cake as ate it, including the birthday boy:

So It Ain't So!

2007-11-07T12:50:00.000-05:00

It is hard for me to believe that my baby boy, Ian is 19 today! Words cannot express the love I have for our "middle child." We have been (and continue to go) through so much together! From his "hurry up, here I am" birth, through various physical challenges in his infancy and toddler years on up to today, Ian is absolutely one of a kind. A fact for which Peggy and I are eternally grateful!

I know there are plenty of challenges ahead for our "Ieebee Dah Man" and I pray that he will draw closer to Jesus, and let the Lord of all Life be his guide through the good times and the bad. I am so blessed to be Ian's Dad, and I am so unworthy of that honor. I just pray that he always knows the depth of the love I have for him.

Bearded Lady

2007-11-05T09:53:00.001-05:00

Over the past several months our Children's Church gang has been collecting an offering to go towards Vero Christian Church's "Connecting Christ With Community" campaign. Our goal was to reach $500 before Commitment Sunday, which is this Sunday, November 11th. We have achieved our goal, and will present our offering at the end of the adult worship service this week. I will be wearing a dress (and possibly makeup, a wig, and high heals depending on how much offering is collected this Sunday)! Yeah, I am a fool for Christ. I will do whatever I can to help kids get excited about worshiping God by the giving of their offerings to Kingdom Work. The Children's Church gang knows that we will continue collecting offerings each week, and that other goals will be set, not always with a goofy consequence for me. Anyway, I decided a couple of weeks ago to let my beard grow out (such as it is) so I can be the "Bearded Lady" on November 11th. The things we do for love.

Missing My Mom

2007-11-02T22:35:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite picture I took of Mom, catching her "in the act" of ironing. She hated to iron, and she is telling me not to take the picture. I disobeyed. I miss Mom. On this day that is the anniversary of her birth, I celebrate the blessing of being Bettie Johnson Blount's son. I can't believe it has been over 14 years since she passed on. Time hasn't flown, and what I wouldn't give for her sage advice over a meal of choice Mexican food.

Costume Bible Study

2007-10-31T20:44:00.001-05:00

Da Crew with Scott
Originally uploaded by blountman

Our college age group Wednesday night Bible study group decided to go with the theme on October 31, 2007. We studied 1 Samuel 17, "Facing the Giants," but we also dressed up, ate chicken wings, and other munchies and handed out candy to a handful of Trick or Treaters. It was a great time! A great study, fantastic discussion, and plenty of laughs before and after the study. If I haven't mentioned before, I really love this group of college age students.

Oh yeah, BABY!

2007-10-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

Best college football game EVER. Don't even try to argue with me on this one, folks!

Enjoying Greta

2007-10-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

One member of Ed's family that didn't make the move to Anniston last week is his Scooter, "Greta." Now, Ed got Greta to combat the high cost of traveling back and forth to work with Gracie. Now that Gracie has retired (and Mercy is now Ed's main mode of transport), and now that Ed is living in SWEET HOME ALABAMA where the hills are large and the necks get red at the sight of scooter (jk), Greta is now residing with me here in Vero Beach. She took me to work this past Monday and it was a blast. I had a motorcycle back before Peggy and I got married, but have been without motorized two-wheeled transportation for over two decades until now.

Anyway, this morning, Greta dutifully took me back to work, so I thought I would at least take her picture in front of the office so that Ed and others could know how much Greta is loved and appreciated. Oh yeah, with the "dry season" coming soon here in Florida, Greta will be my MAIN mode of transportation to and from the office, and I am truly looking forward to all that this entails (savings in gasoline costs, less mileage on our "road vehicle" Pistin and the thrill of the ride).

Having heard from Ed almost daily since his move, I am thrilled by what is happening in Alabama. I am thrilled by how God is using Ed to accomplish so much, and by the attitude with which Ed approaches this time in his life. I just wish my attitude was always as good as my Lil Bro's! Maybe more time with Greta will help in that regard.

Mmmm...Sonic!

2007-10-05T09:43:00.001-05:00

So, we got Lil Bro moved up to Alabama this past week, and while there are plenty of stories to tell about that adventure (which turned out splendidly, by the way), I want to just focus on our supper jaunt on Tuesday night. After a day of cleaning out the garage and moving in Ed's stuff, Ed, Dad and I made a "late night" Wal-Mart run and then headed to: Mmmmmm...Sonic! Dad says he has never eaten at Sonic, so I wanted photographic proof of our visit and I wanted a picture of Dad's goatee. He kinda reminds me of Harlan Sanders with his new look, but for now we will just be satisfied with Mmmmm....Sonic.

Ed is now settling in with Dad, and that is an answer to many prayers. There are many others to lift up on Ed and Dad's behalf as they make the adjustments to life together under one roof in Sweet Home Alabama.

My Heroes Clock

2007-09-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

So, a couple of weeks ago, just as the "Heroes, Season One" DVD was coming out, Peggy says she thinks she would like to watch that series, and it would be cool to have season 1 watched before the new season began. I was flabbergasted because Peggy is not a big SciFi fan like I am. I didn't watch the show last year for that (among other) reasons. Nevertheless, when she made the suggestion, I decided to take her up on it, and we purchased the season 1 DVD. We have been squeezing in the episodes in our overly busy lives, but are now ready for tonight's premiere of season 2!

Meanwhile, and totally unrelated...or so we thought...Peggy got a new clock for her classroom at Garden City Elementary. The school ordered clocks, and hers was one to be replaced. When she opened the box and put in the battery, she noticed that the clock ran BACKWARDS! She returned the clock to the person in charge of the order, and they were going to send it back. However, she told me about it, and I had her rescue the clock for me, saying I would pay whatever the cost for the clock was. How cool is it to have a clock that runs backwards? I'm not Hiro, but my clock does what he was trying to do in the first episode of the show "Heroes" and I don't even have to squint my eyes to make it run backwards!

Now, I have no desire to go back in time, but I do love having a clock that is a little different from the pack.

Rock My Weekend

2007-09-09T20:08:00.000-05:00

Peggy and I took a few teens to the "Rock The Universe" Weekend at Universal Studios in Orlando, Sept. 7-9, 2007. The lineup included Jars of Clay, Hawk Nelson, Mercy Me and Casting Crowns on Friday night. All I can say about Friday is OH MY GOODNESS! I've been a big Jars of Clay fan for 15 years, and Hawk Nelson is one of my new favorites in Christian music. Mercy Me always does it up right musically and lyrically, but Casting Crowns knocked it out of the park Friday night! It was one of the best concerts and worship times I have been part of in years.

The Saturday lineup included Skillet, Jeremy Camp, Toby Mac and Relient K. Again, a great lineup with a mix of "oldie goldies" and the latest in today's Christian hits. We also got to ride some rides at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Of course, we also had one of those obligatory afternoon thunderstorms around 4 o'clock. After waiting out the rain for an hour and a half, I broke down and bought a golf umbrella. By the time I paid for it, and we walked out of the gift shop in which we had been holed up for 90 minutes, the skies had turned blue and the sun was shining. That's Florida for ya!

Peggy and I ate lunch Saturday at theBubba Gump Shrimp Company,a nd she is pictured above with her drink in hand. The other picture above features our little RTU monkeys (sans Turtle, who joined us for Saturday night, but wasn't with us for the whole weekend). Ian, Skanky Jay, Emily, Kevin and Kaley kept us in stitches all weekend long.

It is now 9:30 on Sunday night, and the weekend has taken it's toll on me physically. time to call it a GOOD night.

Surprise!

2007-09-04T18:35:00.001-05:00

Surprise!
Originally uploaded by blountman

Lil Bro, Elliott and Abi were coming to Vero for a celebration of my birthday. We thought we would throw some babyback ribs on the grill and just enjoy a quiet evening...well, we enjoyed the evening, but the party grew to 12 of us, 11 of whom you can see in this picture I took as the ribs slow cooked on the grill.

It was, without a doubt, one of the best birthday celebrations of my life. I am NOT a fan of celebrating my birthday, as my family will readily tell you. I am, however a big fan of having family around, and that's what happened on this evening. Some were invited in advance, some just showed up, knowing that they are ALWAYS welcome in the "Fabulous Blount Mansion." The fact that ribs on the grill had somehow leaked out led to the invasion of folks some of whom who have had ribs with us before and they knew what was in store.

Like I say, I don't enjoy having a fuss made about my physical birthday, and I really do keep hoping that someday folks will make a bigger fuss out of my Spiritual Birthday (August 27th, by the way), because that is the one that is important to me. However, I have to say that having Ed, Elliott, Abi, Ian, Emily, Jonathan, Mike, Turtle, Jordan, and Melvin join my Bride Peggy and me for this occasion was wonderful beyond words. I just want to praise God for the blessing of the afternoon and evening. You can see several pictures from the celebration on my Flickr site including the beautiful "Southern Lights" display God put on for us as a birthday card from Him. I am so grateful for the blessing of family. I know that I am the most blessed man on the planet, and I want everyone to know that those blessings come from God in spite of fact that I am one of the biggest goobers to ever walk the planet. I don't deserve any of it, but I am thankful to my Lord Jesus for blessing my socks off anyway!

May God's richest blessings be yours, and may all of your surprises in life be as wonderful as mine was on this very special day.
Be God's,
Scott

Seeing Clearly

2007-08-31T10:29:00.000-05:00

I had my annual eye exam this morning. s I type this, the words are very blury on the computer screen because my pupils were dialted as part of the examination. It will take a good portion of the day for my eyesight to return to "normal" which for me, means the need for a slight correction for distance, and a little correction for reading. Yes, bifocals have been a way of life for me for the past several years. Not that I HAVE to wear my glasses all the time, or even when I am reading, but they help.

As I contemplate the words of the gal who did much of my exam this morning, I can't help but think about the notion that people think if they wear their glasses that their eyesight will actually deteriorate and they will be more dependent upon those glasses. She said that the rality of the matter is that your brain gets used to being able to see better, and recognizes the difference when you don't wear them.

When I spend time daily in God's Word, my life really is more closely aligned to God's plan for my life. Oh, I can "get by" when I don't spend time in the Word every day, but I am only fooling myself into thinking that it is okay. Just like "getting by" without wearing my glasses may be okay, I can "get by" with the reading I do for lesson prep, sermons, etc. But that is not what is best for me.

Just as wearing my glasses helps me see clearly, spending time daily in the Word helps me stay focused on my relationship with Christ. I don't need an annual exam to see how I am doing in this regard, I just need to be held accountable for my personal daily devotion time each day. I have a couple of accountability partners to help me in that regard. Do you?

Birthday Girl

2007-08-15T14:27:00.001-05:00

Blowing Out The Candle
Originally uploaded by blountman

We celebrated my Bride's birthday on August 14th. Not only did she have the cake of her choosing, but a steak dinner and a fun evening at home with Ian, Emily and me. It was the kind of quiet family gathering we love, but don't often get with both Ian and Emily working these days. In light of the news of this week about Stacie Coomer, it makes me appreciate that much more the time God grants me with my Bride and my kids. Happy birthday, Peggy. I love you!

Slap Me Upside The Head

2007-08-14T12:47:00.000-05:00

For the second time this summer, and unexpected calling Home of a brother or sister in Christ has me seriously contemplating the brevity of life on this planet. Last night, we got the call that Stacie Coomer had passed on. Stacie was in our first youth group at Westwood Christian Church some 20 years ago. She had stayed in touch over the years and the miles (she lived in Xenia, Ohio), and was one of the few who commented on my this blog. When Stacie didn't report for work at the library yesterday, and didn't respond to repeated phone calls from work and from her Mom, the building supervisor in the apartment building where Stacie lived was alerted and asked to go in the apartment to check on Stacie. She was found on the couch in her pajamas with no visible sign of foul play.

Barb and Tom Coomer are understandably devastated. I spoke with them both briefly last night. I know that Kristen (her older sister) is beside herself. I join them in their grief. I also know that God is in control, and that while we may never know while we are on this earth the purpose behind His calling Stacie Home now, someday it will all be made clear.

Earlier this summer, a brother in Christ and fellow minister of the Gospel, Mark Angel, died when caught up in a rip current in the Gulf of Mexico while on a Mission Trip. Heaven is rapidly filling with saints I have known personally on this planet. Sigh.

Welcome Home

2007-07-22T20:52:00.001-05:00

One of the great features of our property here in Indian River County was the lot behind us. Filled with vegetation, it was a rarity in our general area. I had the chance to purchase the lot earlier this year, but couldn't swing the cost. Upon our return home from Alabama this morning, my greatest fear was realized: the lot has been cleared of all vegetation in preparation for building on it. I can see the parade of traffic on 27th Avenue (a major north-south thoroughfare in our community). Ah well. The end of an era, and the beginning of a new neighbor possibility.

All Good Things...

2007-07-21T08:38:00.000-05:00

...must come to an end. Or so the saying goes. Today we pack up and gear up for the trip back home. We are trying to determine the time of our departure, and will consult with Lil Bro as well, since he has another two hours of driving to do after we get to Vero, and he has jury duty Monday morning. All I have to do is go to the office and tackle the mounds of work piling up and awaiting my return.

Yesterday, we got to see two of the newest members of the extended family: Addison and Ellen. It is wild to see the grandchildren of my cousins. It was cool to watch Aunt Phyllis beam with her great grandchildren around. It was a hoot watching Yolanda and Terri each hovering over a granddaughter. Meeting Sam was a blast, he is one hilarious dude. It still boggles my mind to see Candice as a mom, and to see Autum blooming out there for the expected September delivery of her first child. Woof! I must be getting old. Naaahhhhh!

Anyway, our visit here at Anthelion is coming to an end. Back to reality. With an elders' meeting Monday night, the college group Wednesday night, and youth group Thursday night, a full week awaits. I am glad to have had this time of refreshing so I can gear up for the days ahead!

Morning Devos

2007-07-19T08:26:00.001-05:00

The view from the back veranda of Yolanda and Robby's house is the perfect setting for early morning devotional time.

I must admit that I have fallen behind in my daily devos thanks to a crazy travel schedule, but I am in the process of getting "caught up" while sitting out here enjoying the view of Smith Lake. I wanted to take a break to post this. Now, it is back to my quiet time with the Creator of heaven and earth!

Cabos San Lucas

2007-07-19T08:13:00.001-05:00

Who would have ever thought that we would come across a GREAT Mexican restaurant in Jasper, Alabama? Cabos San Lucas is just that, my friends. We are staying with cousins in Arley, Alabama this week on the shores of beautiful Smith Lake. On Wednesday, we drove over to Anniston to visit Dad, and on our way, we noticed a Mexican place in Jasper, and the seed was planted that perhaps we would indulge in some Mexican cuisine for supper. Upon our return trip from Anniston, we talked with Robby and Yolanda about our desire for Mexican Food, and we were immediately steered away from the restaurant we had seen, and told to check out Cabos San Lucas. Best advice we have had all week, my friends! The atmosphere was wonderful, as you can see from the statues lining the walk into the establishment. That one looks vaguely familiar, doesn't it?

Anyway, the food was even better than the atmosphere! I must admit that I likely blew all my daily Weight Watcher points and many of my Flex Points on this one meal. It was well worth it! BTW, I am down 21 pounds since we started Weight Watchers.

My chicken enchiladas and the chicken burrito were delectable. The hot salsa had just enough heat to be nice, and the flavor was fantastic. It was a most enjoyable experience to top off an interesting day in the middle of a beautiful vacation week here in Sweet Home Alabama!

Hangin' Wit My Crew

2007-07-10T18:16:00.001-05:00

Tuesday and I am feeling like an old man in a young man's game. *grin* I got to "blob" a few people at the waterfront today including Taylor and Katie (yeah, Katie, the red mark on your back from where you landed in the water the wrong way will eventually go away).

Austin is the "blob" king, that dude can get some air! I am sore from climbing the ladder and from the ultimate Frisbee game earlier in the afternoon, but I will survive (Tylenol works wonders). With a game winding down and worship about the gear up, time to get off for now.

Church Camp, Baby!

2007-07-09T20:13:00.001-05:00

It's Monday evening of the week of church camp at Lake Aurora, and I have already been captured in the "Faculty Hunt" meaning I have to sit in the staff lounge in the A/C while others are out sweating in the heat of a July night in central Florida. Ha!

I'm working as a counselor during a 7th, 8th, and 9th grade week. I have six dudes I am hanging with this week: Austin, Gabe, James, Nathan, Robby, and Tyler. They are hoots. Here is a picture of us at the archery range earlier today. They are a high energy bunch of guys, and I am an old man. Pretty sweet combo.

I LOVE church camp. I am so glad that I was asked to serve in this ministry. I have such a heart for church camp, and such a love for Lake Aurora that this absolutely will be the highlight of my summer.

We are helping the students realize that God wants to Unveil Himself to us. There is such great Kingdom Potential in this bunch of middle school students.

Back In The Saddle

2007-07-03T09:48:00.000-05:00

Sitting here at my desk in the office, reflecting on the blessings God showers upon me reminds me that I shouldn't keep those blessings to myself. I am back in the office for the one week out of five in this summer stretch run. C-I-Y and the Sunset Beach vacation weeks are behind me, camp and the Alabama vacation weeks are ahead of me. This week Ian, Emily and I are alone at the house, since Peggy is still with her family in North Carolina. Of course, the kids are working a lot, too, so...yeah. Last night Emily and I went out for supper (Ian was at work) following a funeral service for a Dad/Grandad of some folks at our church. It was a touching tribute to a man who obviously loved his kids and grandkids very much. It reminded me of how God has blessed me with three (now four) children who love the Lord, and a wife who is (to quote Nacho Libré): The BASTE.

I did get to spend Sunday with Elliott and Abi, and to attend church with them at First Christian Clearwater. I must say my ego was stroked quite heavily when at least three different folks told me that I couldn't be Elliott's dad...his brother perhaps, but not his dad. Ah yes, I look so young. Right. It was nice, anyway, and I am sure those folks are all making their eye appointments soon.

Ian, Emily and I are planning a cookout and hangout time tomorrow as we celebrate July 4th, and while I wish Peggy was with us (it is our 30th Anniversary of "going steady"), I am glad that she is getting to spend extra time with her parents, sister and cousins. Being surrounded by family...now THAT is heaven on earth. I treasure those times, and I praise God for them. I praise God for my freedom in Christ, and I pray for those who have been blinded by the devices of satan to keep them away from God's Word and His clear plan of salvation as taught in the Scriptures. I have much work ahead of me in spreading the Gospel. The family times of rest help prepare me for the spiritual battles ahead. Praise God!

Beach Musings

2007-06-27T18:45:00.001-05:00

As our family vacations this week at Sunset Beach, NC, I have had plenty of time to rest, relax and read. Those are my favorite vacation activities. Oh eating is nice, but on Weight Watchers, eating is not the primary focus any longer.

Getting to hang out with Peggy's parents, her sister's family, an aunt, and our very own Turtle this week has been a great source of comfort, much laughter, and a little orneriness of the family variety.

I finished up Shawn McMullen's "Unlesashing the Potential of the Smaller Church" yesterday, and started reading Reggie McNeal's "The Present Future: Six Tough Questions For The Church " as recommended by my bud Robin Sigars. Challenging reading to say the least, but both books have reinforced thoughts of mine. Cool how God places these books in my path at just the right time.

Anyway, the vacation timing was wonderful. It is nice to rest following a major ministry week like C-I-Y Summer Conference. One more full day here, means I have much reading to do if I am going to finish McNeal's book, and then on Friday, we pack up and head south to Vero Beach so Emily can be at work Saturday. I'll be in the office for one week, then it's off to church camp for a week, and following that, a week's vacation with my side of the family in Alabama! Can anyone say mansion on the lake? Yay!

Now that Peggy has decided to stay up here with her family next week, that means I won't see her until after I come home from camp. It took some fancy foot work to get everything worked out, but we did. It will be lonesome without her, but she will enjoy the family time with some cousins who will be here next week.

Oh yeah, I have posted pictures from C-I-Y and from our beach vacation in North Carolina on my flickr site. Leave me some comments, eh?

Wise Youth Worker

2007-06-24T19:20:00.000-05:00

As promised earlier, here it is. I think the video speaks for itself!

Final Day at Summer Conference

2007-06-24T12:25:00.000-05:00

Friday, June 22, 2007

Influence. We all have it, the question is will we influence for Jesus or against Him? This was the main wrestle-with question for the day. What a fantastic end to a fantastic week at C-I-Y Summer Conference (soon to be known as "Move").

Doug Aldridge's morning devotional was once again right on target, and I survived the adult elective again in the afternoon. It is such an honor to get to lead an elective and to teach materials written by Zus!

Peggy, Tyler and I took the vans to gas them up, and apparently everyone in Elizabeton, TN, decided to gas up their vehicles at the Wal-Mart as well. Tyler commented that he hadn't seen gas lines like this since the hurricanes. Of course, since it took so long, we were going to miss supper on campus, so we sacrificed and headed to Taco John's, for some Taco Bravos. Yay!

Celebration tonight was amazing. Greg Frazee does an excellent job in leading folks to the throne of mercy and grace. He is quite frankly, my favorite C-I-Y worship leader. His presence on stage is totally designed to take the attention off of him and place it squarely on Jesus. Robin Sigars knocked it out of the park with the closing message of the week on Identity. I so appreciate Robin and his heart for students. Since Robin loves me more than he loves Dave VanBuskirk, it makes it even more special to get to hang out with my brother. I am excited for Robin about the new direction he is heading in ministry, although I will miss hanging with him at Conference.

Youth Group Time was intense. One student expressed fear about heading back home and falling into the "same ole, same ole" pattern. This open expression of what many were feeling led to one of the more intense discussions we've had in Youth Group Time ever! It was fantastic, and it certainly gives us plenty to think about and work on as we head back from the Mountain Top experience that is Summer Conference.

We Blounts will depart from the rest of the traveling party on the way back tomorrow, heading to Sunset Beach, NC, for a week's vacation with Peggy's family. I am looking forward to some time with my stack of books, with the laughter and good times with family that awaits. It will be a time of physical renewal and refreshing to follow this time of spiritual renewal and refreshing at Summer Conference.

Thanks Robin and all the C-I-Y folks from Tennessee 2. You RAWK!

Day Five of the C-I-Y Trip

2007-06-22T05:26:00.000-05:00

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Isolation. Sometimes...okay often, it is self-inflicted. Many other times it is not, and the pain of isolation is deep. We were not meant to be alone, and God desires us to be in community with Him and with others. So was the theme of the day at C-I-Y Summer Conference today.

Doug Aldridge's treatment of the relationship between David and Jonathan during Morning Encounter was right on the money. We all need a Jonathan in our lives, but just as importantly, we need to be a Jonathan in the lives of others. I have spent a good part of the day reflecting on my "real relationships." There aren't as many as I would like. Peggy is my best friend and confidant. Jeff Sagstetter is my brother, and we still communicate fairly regularly even though he is in Kansas (where every "good Jew" knows to avoid when traveling from Oklahoma to Nebraska since Kansas is the Samaria of that region of the world...hey...you had to hear Jim's message the other night to get that one, so don't worry about it). I have isolated myself from folks locally for fear of truly being crushed. I have plenty of professional relationships, and I do consider Greg and Anne (our high school youth sponsors) good friends, but I don't have a Jonathan relationship even with them. Something to work on. Yeah.

Our trip to Roan Mountain was a blast. Okay, so we started the trip off by having lunch at Taco John's in Elizabeton. Oh yeah, baby! My lunch was 23.5 points in the Weight Watchers' system. Can you say "Flex Points"? Anyway, having been alerted to a particular sign on one trail at Roan Mountain, I wanted to make sure I got this picture:

Since I was the only one in the party at the time of this picture with a "handy cap" I could take this particular trail.

The beauty of God's creation is so abundant in the mountains, and I always love taking the Florida flatlanders for exscursions such as this when we are at Conference. Breathtaking views and lots of "ooohhhs" and "aaahhhs" were commonplace this afternoon.

Doug Aldridge spoke at Celebration tonight. If I forget anything else from the week, I want to be sure to remember "call the whole world" and the need to be intentional and desperate in reaching others to pull them from their isolation. During Youth Group Time, we discussed several students who could have been here with us this year but aren't. Two have been in the past. Others are new to the group and need to be included in a better way. There are so many others who have been on the fringe, visiting from time-to-time, but not really getting involved. The question of the year for us in the VCC youth group is: "what are WE going to do about that?"

Our prayer circle continues to be my favorite time of the day. We are praying for the person on our right and the person on our left each night, and they have to be different people each night. Our prayer circle is filled with laughter and tears as we love on each other, building community and reinforcing the idea that we were not meant to be alone.

Watch for a special post detailing our "Wise Youth Worker" Anne. As soon as I get the video clip uploaded to You Tube, you will know it!

Day 4 of the C-I-Y Trip

2007-06-21T05:35:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Injury. The theme for the "heavy day" at Summer Conference. Doug Aldridge got the theme started with his look at David's life and specifically his sin with Bathsheba. We're not just talking about physical injury, but emotional injury and spiritual injury as well. The D-Group lesson provided an excellent opportunity for students to open up about their injuries. One of our students did so in a major way. It was so beautiful to see this student become so vulnerable before the rest of the group. It was so beautiful to watch the rest of the group shower the love of Jesus on this person.

Jim Johnson continued the theme with a powerful message during Celebration. I appreciate Jim's ability to mix humor with a very serious subject. I'll never forget his mad parenting skills (can you say broken femur bone and busted heads?) I so much appreciate the story that he is Number Three on Andrea's list of best kissers...makes me feel not-quite-so-bad that Peggy told her parents I was "gross" when they tried to encourage her to date me way back in the 70's. But Jim nailed it when he reminded us that support groups are a good place to start the healing process for our emotional and spiritual injuries. They are not the finish line. Jesus is. In our Youth Group Time, we reminded our students that sometimes the most loving thing we can say to someone who is injured is that, "you need to repent of your sins." Sometimes, what is needed is a hug and a shoulder to cry on. Always, what is needed is someone to point the inured to Jesus.

Our students loved Robin's story about the farmer and the lamb that he had to injure to teach that lamb to let the farmer take care of him. See, the lamb kept running away, so the farmer had to injure the lamb and keep him in a special pen in his barn while nursing the lamb back to health, and while teaching the lamb to be okay with being dependent on the farmer. How often do we run away from Jesus, especially when we are hurting? I know that during my times of great emotional or spiritual injury, my natural tendency is to distance myself from Jesus. How foolish!

Of course the day wasn't all heavy. Bucket O Fun was a hoot with the tennis match. I love the short clips of "Juans." And Thor Ramsey had us all belly laughing for 45 minutes in the afternoon session. Good times for sure!

As we closed in our group circle prayer, I had everyone pray for the people on their right and their left. that meant you got to pray for someone who had just prayed for you. Once again our prayer circle was filled with emotion. Tears and laughter abounded in those prayers, and I know that God was right there with us, laughing and crying. When the student who had really opened up earlier in the day asked to pray after our prayer circle had ended, we were all in tears. They expressed heartfelt gratitude for having a place to belong, and having a family who accepted them just as they were. We do, but we love this person (and all of them) enough to not leave them like they are right now. We want to help them grow to be more like Jesus.

After our crew headed to their rooms, a fellow youth minister who also happens to be a young man we have seen grow up in youth group at another church came to me with tears in his eyes and a heart burdened for his students. He said that he felt so inadequate, and that he didn't know how to "fix" the kinds of injuries the students in his group had expressed today. I told him welcome to Youth Ministry. We are not called to "fix" those injuries. We are called to love those students in the Name of Jesus and to point them to Him. Many of those problems may never be "fixed," but our students need to know that they were never meant to be alone. Not only is God with them, but we are with them through this journey called life.

Thanks again, Christ In Youth, for a fantastic day at Summer Conference, and for plenty to think and pray about. The tears I have shed for my students today remind me to keep my heart pure and my eyes focused on the love of Jesus and the need to stay in step with His Plan for my life every day!

Role With It

2007-06-20T14:24:00.001-05:00

Role With It
Originally uploaded by blountman

Here are "Clueless Hot Chick," "Ladies Man,", "That Guy," and "Weird Girl" striking a pose at C-I-Y 2007 at Milligan College! For individual pictures of these characters, please visit my FLICKR site.

Day 3 of the C-I-Y Trip

2007-06-20T06:23:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

"Ladies Man," "That Guy," "Clueless Hot Chick," and "Weird Girl" all made their debut this morning. Pictures will follow. Sorry, I didn't upload them yet.

The theme for the day is Identity, and I pray that our students (and our adults) got the message that our identities are not complete until we know Jesus. In fact, our identities don't truly exist outside of Jesus!

Doug Aldridge led the Morning Encounter Devotion with an excellent look at David's life. Peggy led our D-Group and did her usual excellent job in tackling a tough subject: the masks we put up to be our "identity." We are to bring the masks with us at Celebration tonight. Oh yeah, and "Bucket O' Fun" in the AM Session was a hoot! Good times to start the day, fer sure!

Today we also had the first of two electives times. I am leading an adult elective this year titled, "Youth Ministry From The Inside Out." It is excellent material written by Zus, and preparing to lead this session has had me re-examining once again my priorities as a Christian and as a youth minister to make sure I am lined up with God's priorities!

The Alternative was an absolute scream! Amber got up in an impromptu display of courage and sang a Spanish lullaby. She rocked! However, you must ask anyone who was there about Joe's rendition of "Old MacDonald."

I spent much of our free time researching Roan Mountain for our Thursday excursion, and am looking forward to that trip on Thursday!

Meal time has been a much more pleasant experience than some of us expected. Eating in the Cafatentia is not bad at all, and I am able to easily stay within my daily point boundaries for Weight Watchers.

Celebration was once again phenomenal. Jim Johnson nailed it in so many ways with his sermon on Identity. Ask me sometime about the illustrations dealing with Julie and with Daniel. Sweet stuff fer sure!

Our students are really enjoying the chance to pray for one another in very specific terms this year, and I also got to sneak in on South Haven's prayer time at the end of the day. A FANTASTIC DAY in every sense of the word. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Day Two of the C-I-Y Trip

2007-06-20T06:05:00.000-05:00

Monday, June 18, 2007 Tim's Birthday

Happy 47th birthday to my younger bro, Tim. I called him last night from the motel knowing that I would be on the road and busy getting us started at Conference today.

Our morning meeting with sponsors, breakfast and topping off gas tanks before heading back on I 26 West went as smoothly as possible. Now traveling with 33 total people in five vehicles, we knew we would be in for plenty of "pit stops" along the way, and we made several. My goal was to get us through Ashville, find a spot for lunch and then cruise on in to Milligan. We almost pulled that plan off without incident. However, the passenger side front wheel of the van Amos was driving decided it didn't want to travel all the way to Tennessee, so it jumped off the van. On the Interstate, with lots of students and luggage in it. No one was hurt in any way whatsoever, and because Southside had plenty of room in their van for extra passengers and luggage, they were loaded onto that van, and we found aspot for lunch. While Amos called AAA, we ate lunch and made plans to take the rest of the group on in to Milligan (about 50 miles away at this point), get everyone registered and settled in, and then we could come back for Amos if need be. Amos was agreeable with that plan, so I helped Julia go through registration to get the South Haven crew taken care of at Conference. Amos kept me posted as to the progress with the van getting picked up and taken to an auto repair place. God was so good during this whole process. The van was easily repaired, with no damage other than to the wheel, and Amos was able to join us at Milligan in time for the Adult Sponsors' meeting at 6:00 p.m.!

The theme this week is ONES with a subtheme of "We were never meant to be alone." What a great practical demonstration of that subtheme! Since we were traveling with two other church groups, WHEN something unexpected happened, we had plenty of help from brothers and sisters in Christ. We were not meant to be alone as individuals, but neither were we meant to be alone as congregations. As the body of Christ, we need to realize that each congregation is not a body, but a body part. Southside certainly played the role of helping hands for South Haven today. Thank You Lord for being so good, for keeping everyone safe, and for giving us a practical application for the Conference subtheme before we even got to Conference.

Celebration rocked! The open illusion was powerful as the story of the Creation of Man and the Fall from Grace was read from Genesis. Robin's message was right on target as always, and the bar for the week has been set extremely high. It's gonna be a GREAT WEEK! It has already been off to a GREAT START!

Playing Catch-Up

2007-06-20T05:44:00.000-05:00

Sunday, June 17, 2007...Day One of the C-I-Y trip.

Having gathered up the church van and getting the ever-sinking feeling that we won't need the luggage carrier attachment that Kevin Aldhizer spent a good part of this past week getting, putting on the van, and having way too many problems in doing so (he just got it taken care of in final form yesterday morning at 8:30 after miles of driving and many different automotive locations in trying to get this done), Peggy and I gassed up the vehicles and loaded our minivan for the trip.

This morning everyone was to meet at the Sunday morning worship facility (for those who don't know, we are in temporary quarters these days, meeting at the Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home) to load up the church van and help with setup, since we were leaving immediately after the worship service. Plans were to meet up with Southside Christian somewhere on the road, and with South Haven Christian at the first exit in Georgia where we would top off the gas tanks for cheap, and fill up our bellies at the "everything under the sun" truck stop known as Cisco.

Most everyone made it on time, but I had failed to communicate the whole 8 am need with Samantha, oops! Boy was she surprised when I called her at about 8:20. Fortunately, she had her C-I-Y bag packed and ran it to me so I could load the church van. Church services went well on this Father's Day, and we were actually in the vans by 11:45 a.m. and heading for Buger King...our Vero lunch stop before hitting I-95 for the long drive ahead of us.

Oh, while at Burger King, Alison's Mom joined us. Alison had forgotten a pillow. Of course Jordy had forgotten towels, and Turtle had forgotten sheets, but both had already had those needs taken care of before church started. Confident that we had all the necessary gear, we hit the highway at about 12:30, get timing as far as I was concerned.

I heard from Ron at Southside and they were only a few minutes behind us on the Interstate, so we figured we would see them very shortly and would caravan to the meeting place in Georgia. It was not to be so. They made a stop at a Krystal's and we didn't know it until about an hour later. I was getting worried when they never appeared in my rear view mirror, but a quick call to Ron let me know that they were now 40 minutes behind us on the Interstate! Meanwhile, a call to Amos gave me the news that South Haven had gotten trigger-happy and left about an hour earlier than they needed to. Ha! They got to wait at the truck stop for a LOONNNNNNNNNGGGGG time.

To make this long story shorter, we did finally all hook up in Georgia, drove to Brunswick where the group will stay on the trip back next week, took care of the motel business there, and ate Father's Day Supper at Sonnys. hey, I got free desert, which is not much of a temptation for someone on Weight Watcher's these days, but I had a few bites of a not-the-greatest pecan pie I had ever tasted.

We completed our last leg of the journey on this day by driving to Columbia virtually without incident (unless you count the whole Dave VanBuskirk from Fort Caroline Christian pulling along side of us on the Interstate, and hanging there with us until we figured out it was him...what a hoot!), arriving at our motel (Qualtiy Inn) in Columbia South Carolina at 10:20 p.m. Right on the time frame I had figured for the day. An UNEVENTFUL day of traveling, just the way I like it on a youth group road trip. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

He Made It!

2007-06-03T06:17:00.001-05:00

He Made It!
Originally uploaded by blountman

On Saturday, June 2, 2007. Ian Scott Johnson Blount graduated from Vero Beach High School. It was an evening of pride, relief, and extreme happiness for us all. Ian, along with fellow chorus mates Kevin Wellmaker and Jonathan Woodward sang the National Anthem during the ceremonies. They sounded fantastic, and we couldn't have been more proud for Ian than we were at that moment. Or so we thought.

Ian has expressed a desire to go into full time Christian service as a Youth Minister. That is a thought that humbles me to my core, and a thought that causes praise to our Lord Jesus to course through every fiber of my being.

To the 600 or so members of the VBHS Class of 2007, I send out my heartiest congratulations. To Ian, I send my deepest love. You are a son that any parent would die for. You are a son that every parent dreams of. May God continue to watch over your every step, and direct your path always. I love you with all my heart, Ian!

College Graduates

2007-05-05T14:12:00.001-05:00

Da Couple
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Okay, it's time to brag on our kids. As you already know, Ian was student of the month at VBHS in Feburary. Well, on Friday, May 4, 2007, Elliott and Abi officially graduated from Florida Christian College. They both completed their coursework back in December, but they "walked" on May 4th. A record-breaking 62 graduates had either an Associate's or a Bachelor's degree conferred upon them at the 28th Annual FCC Commecement Excercises that evening.

Elliott and Abi both graduated Cum Laude (GPA of 3.5 or higher). But that was not the highest honor bestowed upon them both that evening. Let me quote from the Commencement Program:
Zeta Upsilon
The Zeta Upsilon Honor Society was created by the founding Faculty of FCC to honor graduating seniors who have demonstrated the qualities of scholarship, character, service, and leadership during their years in the College. Only seniors with grade point averages of 3.0 (B) or greater for the course of study are eligible. Candidates must be nominated to membership by two Faculty members. No more than three dissenting votes in a secret ballot election by all the full time faculty members is permitted. This is the highest honor that the Faculty can bestow.

Out of the five Zeta Upsilon awards given to members of the Class of 2007, Elliott and Abi each received one! Needless to say Peggy's and my hearts swelled with pride as did Dave and Jan Pardue's.

God has blessed us with children who love Jesus, and who are willing to use the talents and abilities they have been given to bring glory and honor to God. Elliott is now the full time minister of Worship Arts at Frist Christian Church in Clearwater, and Abi plans to pursue Master's level work this Fall in the Tampa/St. Pete area. Ian plans to pursue a degree in youth ministry from Florida Christian College (after a year at Indian River Community College), and Emily continues expressing a desire to work in the education field, perhaps even looking into becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist like her Mom! Yeah, I am proud!

Happy Couple

2007-04-25T10:18:00.001-05:00

Happy Couple
Originally uploaded by blountman.

I just got back from a quick trip to Iowa for my Aunt Dianne's funeral. What a mixture of melancholy and merriment. Aunt Dianne was married to my Mom's Brother. Uncle Alan passed away in 1992. He always referred to Aunt Dianne as his "Bride." That is a tradition I continue to this day when referring to Peggy. To say that those two influenced me would be an understatement. To say that I had stayed as close to Aunt Dianne and the Iowa branch of the family as I should have over the years would be a lie.

Aunt Dianne had back problems, and over the past six months had two surgeries. While the surgeries went okay, other complications set in and let's just say that the family had an extremely tough past six months. Following her second surgery about two months ago, Aunt Dianne never regained consciousness, her kidneys failed and were revived only to overshadowed by numerous other complications.

When the time came to make the decision to take her off the respirator and put her on Comfort Care, the family was physically and mentally exhausted. She lasted less than 24 hours after being taken off the respirator. A blessing for everyone involved, to be sure!

Aunt Dianne had a soft spot for special needs kids. She and my Uncle Alan were foster parents, and they adopted several children who started off as foster children. She leaves behind a gaggle of children...seriously...seven to be exact. Ranging in age from 11 to 40!

My cousin Ray (Aunt Phyl's youngest son...he's 40, too) and I were there to represent the Johnson side of the family as Aunt Phyl was unable to make the trip. She is invading Iowa in a couple of weeks as the "mop up" crew. Ray and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit with each other and with Rod, Jeff, Robyn and all the Iowa cousins, some of whom we had never met before!

But, I must say that the highlight of my couple of days was the making of a new girlfriend in Robyn's youngest child, Regan. Guess she could tell that I am about four years old mentally, so we bonded immediately. Not that she didn't spend a lot of time on Ray's lap as well, but I won out while I was there because I live in Florida, have a pool, could take her to the ocean and to Disney World. Ray didn't stand a chance, poor fellow.

Anyway, we have exchanged email addresses, cell phone numbers and snail mail addresses with the promise to do a better job of staying in touch. It was good to sit on Robyn and Tim's patio Monday after the funeral and just reminisce about Uncle Alan, Aunt Dianne, and the good times we had growing up. Those visits to Granny & Grandpa's in Kentucky were special indeed. The laughter we shared on that patio Monday reminds me that I need to stop being so "busy" and slow down long enough to enjoy family and loved ones in Christ.

Thank you Uncle Alan and Aunt Dianne for the influence you still are in my life. Thank you Aunt Phyllis for the glue you continue to be to hold the family together. Thank you Regan for loving on an old guy like me, when you obviously will be able to have anyone you want for your "boyfriend."

Student Of The Month!

2007-03-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

Ian has been named the Vero Beach High School Student of the Month for February, 2007. His Mom and I couldn't be more proud. Ian lets the light of Jesus shine in his life every single day. He is humble in his servant attitude. In fact, he is not the one who told us that he had been selected for this honor. It was a couple of friends who happened to be at the house a couple of days ago (to check out our new Wii), who broke the news.

We praise God for all of our children and for their accomplishments in the Lord Jesus. Today, however, we want to give God the glory as we relish the honor Ian has garnered as student of the month.

The Year Flew By!

2007-03-01T11:47:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, my best bud from my growing up days passed from this life to the next. I didn't find out until March 2, 2006, that Mike Wilson has lost his battle with lymphoma, and I blogged on that experience ( David Michael Wilson). I woke up thinking about Mike Wilson and our youth in Danville, KY. Here's a picture of my childhood home on Seminole Trail:

In the year since I made my way back to Danville to perform the funeral service for the guy who was my best bud growing up, and best man in my wedding, much has happened:
1. I am a year older (and hopefully wiser).
2. My Bride is more precious to me now than ever.
3. My kids continue to be a source of great joy and healthy pride.
4. Peggy, Ian, Emily and I traveled out of the country on a vacation cruise.
5. We spent a week with cousins in Alabama and this was another reminder that I haven't done the best job in "keeping up" with important people from my childhood.
6. I have maintained a closer phone relationship with Dale Wheeler from Danville, meaning for the first time in 30 years, I have regular contact with someone from my childhood home town.
7. Vero Christian Church sold the building, now meets in temporary facilities and we called a full-time preaching minister (all very exciting moves in my book)!
8. Peggy and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary.
9. Ian and Emily both got part time jobs.
10. Ian entered his senior year of high school.
11. Elliott and Abi got married.

Whew! I get tired just thinking about the whirlwind that has been the past 12 months. On this day when I am more in tune with events from my past, I just want to praise God for the friendships with Mike, his Dad, Dale and others from Danville. I want to praise God for the deep abiding love I have with my Bride, Peggy. I praise God for our children and for their love for Jesus. I praise God for allowing me to minister in Vero Beach, Florida.

Thank You Lord Jesus, for Your rich, abundant love. Forgive me for taking relationships for granted. Help me to be better in sharing Your love with people from my past and people with whom I have daily contact now.

What On Earth Am I Here For?

2007-02-27T10:29:00.000-05:00

Now, isn't that just the question of the age? We all want to believe that there is a purpose for our lives. Unfortunately, many in our society have been duped into thinking that they evolved from apes and that there is nothing for them after existence on this planet. We have folks like James Cameron pursuing and exploiting hoaxses trying to call into question the very nature of Jesus, and people fall for such pap on a regular basis. Ignorance is NOT bliss, it can kill.

A simple survey of the surroundings shows that there must be an Intelligent Creator behind the universe. To think that somehow, this all came about by random accident defies logic (not to mention the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics). So, putting any assumption of a Creator aside, and taking the existence of the Creator to be fact then and only then can we start to address the question posed at the beginning of this discourse.

Since there IS a God, there must be a purpose for my life. My purpose is to bring glory and honor to Him through His One and Only Son, Jesus. Now, that purpose keeps me plenty busy! When I am "on task" I don't have time for the pity parties that seem to engulf me on a far too regular basis. When I am "on task" others around me are being blessed. When I am "on task" my life runs so much more smoothly!

Over the next 40 Days (okay, now 37) I am participating in the "40 Days Of Purpose" Campaign with Vero Christian Church. Over the next six weeks, we will examine the five purposes of the church and of us as individuals: Worship - You Were Planned For God's Pleasure, Fellowship - You Were Formed For God's Family, Discipleship - You Were Created To Become Like Christ, Ministry - Your Were Shaped For Serving God, and Evangelism - You Were Made For A Mission.

I am leading groups for children, youth and adults in our campaign, and we have a dozen groups studying this material. It is my desire to see the congregation known as Vero Christian Church grow closer to God and closer to one another.

40 Days of Purpose

2007-02-15T14:19:00.001-05:00

Our congregation begins the 40 Days of Purpose campaign on Sunday, Feb. 25th. We have 12 small groups ready to do the weekly Bible study. Steve Jones is preparing the messages for Sunday morning. We are advertising like never before in the local newspaper. In the past two weeks, we have had nine people call the church office and sign up for one of the small groups Bible studies. We have started the campaign yet, and it is already one of the more successful outreach events we have done in the six years I have been here.

In a survey I did with several larger and growing Christian Churches in the state of Florida about three years ago, each of those responding credited 40 Days of Purpose as a defining moment in their growth. I don't believe that this campaign will be a "magic pill" but I do believe that getting our people excited about studying God's Word together, and getting our people excited about asking their non-churched friends to join them in the study will have a profound impact on Vero Christian Church. Join me in prayer about this matter, won't you?

Super Comments

2007-02-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

I am not a big Colts fan (at least not since they left Baltimore in the middle of the night and moved to Indy), but I am a huge fan of Jesus. I am therefore a fan of those who will publicly proclaim their faith. Check out these two video clips featuring Colts Coach Tony Dungy:
A post-gameinterview after the AFC championship game victory.

An Athletes In Action breakfast prior to the Super Bowl.

Thank you Tony for publicly standing up for Jesus!