Still...
kinda depressing, but beautiful at the same time

"I have searched through the deepest canyon
hit my knees upon the highest hill
found an answer to almost every question,
but girl, still

I stand along here in complete surrender
I have felt all a man can feel
though they say someday i'll love another,
girl, I still

Got your picture in my mind though I let it go a thousand times
and gave it up to Gods will
I threw your letter on the ground
said goodbye and turned around
prayed your life without me is fulfilled
but still, i love you still
i love you still

I would die right here where I lay
I would count all my blessings until
In my final breath id say,
girl, i still

Got your picture in my mind though I let it go a thousand times
and gave it up to Gods will
I threw your letter on the ground
said goodbye and turned around
prayed your life without me is fulfilled
but still, i love you still"

Did Sugarland Just Read my Mind, or What?

Fifteen minutes left to throw me together
For mister right now, not mister forever
Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends
Looking like another "maybe we could be friends"
I've been leaving it up to fate
It's my life so it's mine to make

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just not giving up this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything, yeah

With some good red wine and my brand new shoes
Gonna dance a blue streak around my living room
Take a chance on love and try how it feels
With my heart wide open now you know I will
Find what it means to be the girl
Change her mind and change her world

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just not giving up this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything

Someday Maybe

Lost in this moment with you
I am completely consumed
My feeling's so absolute
There's no doubt
Sealing our love with a kiss
Waited my whole life for this
Watching all my dreams come true
Lost in this moment with you

Introducing Raisa Kathleen Bakker, 6lbs, 9oz.

YOU MAY BE A FARMER IF……

Your dog rides in your truck more than your wife does.

You wave at every vehicle passing by whether or not you know the occupants.

You have ever had to wash off in the back yard with a garden hose before your wife would let you in the house.

You have buried a dog and cried like a baby.

You have used a tractor front-end loader as scaffolding for roof repairs.

You have animals living in buildings more expensive than your house.

Over half of your clothing comes from feed or seed dealers.

The meaning of true love is that she’ll ride in the tractor with you..

You know cow pies aren’t made of beef.

The most watched and anticipated program on TV is the Weather Report.

You have used a velvetleaf plant as toilet paper.

The one thing you love most next to your wife and dog is your John Deere.

You don’t call it DIRT…..you call it soil.

Your favorite stop in town is the Rural King because of the free pop corn.

You convince your wife that an overnight, out-of-state trip for equipment parts is a vacation.

The prettiest site you can see are thunder clouds in the West.

You have enough ball caps to match every shirt you own, but you only wear one so you don’t get the others dirty.

You have eaten many a meal on the back of a pick-up tailgate.

You can remember when your grandfather worked all day to farm what you can cover in one hour today.

Your biggest social events are auctions and farm dinners at local agriculture dealers.

You’ve made it BIG TIME when you get the name of your farm put on the side of your farm truck.

You know many of your farmer buddies who flunked retirement and had to keep on farming.

More than once you've came in from feeding the cattle or hogs and you're wife complained about the smell, and you replied, "Honey, it smells like Money to me.."

Sunday Thoughts
It seems like the last few weeks, the messages at church have really been hitting home for me, no matter which church I attend. This week it was about Joseph...how God took him from the prison to the palace in a matter of minutes. I mean, how awesome is that? You're life is going like crap, and God can suddenly make you the 2nd most important person in the world, just like that. Sometimes we forget to look at life from God's perspective.
Last week it was all about Moses. He was complaining about what a crappy job it was to be the leader...all the people were telling him they wanted meat to eat, and then God says, "Hey, I can give a few million people more than enough meat to eat for a while month if I want to." And Moses doesn't get it, so God says, "Is the arm of the Lord too short?" Indeed, is the arm of the Lord too short?
In closing yesterday, we sang this song, and it just tied it all together for me...

We are a moment, You are forever
Lord of the Ages, God before time
We are a vapor, You are eternal
Love everlasting, reigning on high

Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
Highest praises, honor and glory
Be unto Your name, be unto Your name

We are the broken, You are the healer
Jesus, Redeemer, mighty to save
You are the love song we'll sing forever
Bowing before You, blessing Your name

Giving Thanks
So lately it seems like I've had a lot of crappy stuff going on in my life, and I've been stressed out about a lot of things...worried about Carmen and the baby, thinking about putting my name in for the full-time teaching thing next year, what God has in store for me in terms of a special guy in my life, etc, etc. Anyway, it has been quite the roller-coaster ride this last month or so, and I am so tired.
This morning in church, the message was from Isaiah, "Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord." And it was really good to hear that. That God still cares about you and loves you. I talked to two of my girlfriends this afternoon, which was another amazing blessing. I felt very comforted, and so much more at peace...more than I've felt in a long time. It made me really miss having them around, though. I miss all the late night girl talk, and the crazy stuff we used to do. I am glad that March break is coming soon. Hopefully I will be able to do some traveling and lots of visiting. Of course, in order to do that I will have to get through Valentine's Day first. Ah, well, everything in due time, I guess.

Love this new Song by Keith Urban

It's called Stupid Boy:

Well, she was precious like a flower
She grew wild, wild but innocent
A perfect prayer in a desperate hour
She was everything beautiful and different

Stupid boy, you can't fence that in
Stupid boy, it's like holding back the wind
She let her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens
When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
Stupid boy, stupid boy

So what made you think you could take a life
And just push it push it around
I guess you build yourself up so high
You had to take her and break her down

She let her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens
When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
You stupid boy

Oh, you always had to be right but now you've lost
The only thing that ever made you feel alive

Well, she let her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens
When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
You stupid boy, oh, I'm the same old
Same old stupid boy

It took awhile for her to figure out she could run
But when she did, she was long gone
Long gone, long gone
Ah, she's gone

Nobody's ever gonna love me like she loved me
And she loved me, she loved me
God please, just let her know
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
Baby, yeah, I'm down on my knees
She's never coming back to me