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This year I have been asked to play Santa for the annual Pet Photos with Santa at the MS Animal Rescue League. I was asked last year as well but someone else volunteered that really wanted to do it.

Pet Photos with Santa will be held at the MARL shelter located on 5221 Greenway Drive Ext. Jackson, MS. The dates are Saturday, December 5th and 12th from 10:30 a.m. til 3:30 p.m. For $15 you will receive 6 photos of your pet with Santa with easy pick up at Deville Camera.

For more about MARL go to www.msarl.org or call (601) 969-1631. Hope to see you there!

Now believe it or not I am not the most perfect Husband in this world! I know it is hard to believe but I’m big enough to admit it. (Literally!) Yet still in this world there is a woman that has been with me through all the triumphs, tragedies and mistakes over the past 22 years. She has loved me sometimes more than I’ve loved myself. A few things I’ve learned that helps me keep it together is to understand the basics and trust in God that he will take care of us.

1. Marriage Takes Teamwork.
If you could imagine, the person you married as a gift from God, then the things you do would begin to work towards building up the gift you have been blessed with, instead of doing things that would tear down your relationship.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:22-24

2. Marriage Takes Commitment
When you stood at the altar, making promises and stating your vows to the person you love, that was the starting point for your commitment to stay married for life! How well you keep those promises and vows shows your level of commitment to the marriage. Commitment is not difficult to achieve when you make marriage an important aspect of your life.

God’s intention for marriage is a commitment for life. At the beginning of the world God created the union of marriage between a man and a woman to be permanent until death. Treat your gift with the commitment it deserves.

3. Marriage Takes Respect
Respect is submission, humility and appreciation all rolled into one. The flawed view of the world is that these things should be earned. Building up points in your marriage simply to be treated with respect is wrong. This is what conditional love is all about. God’s design for marriage is based upon unconditional love for each other. Submission is voluntarily cooperating with your spouse out of love and respect for them.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

Of course this is my main reason. What else is there? They say that love conquers all so why should there be more. After 21 years of marriage I’ve learned there is!

My wife is incredible. She works, takes care of the family, house, etc. I know that I sometimes forget the things that she does and rarely thank her for them. Even if I try to hide it, it is there and it is unfair. With two kids and our jobs that we really like and we work hard, Life gets in the way because I let it.

But, lately I’ve had this need to renew the deep love and desire to be close to her again. She is everything to me. I had written a story for her not too long ago and one of the sentences in the story states I will tell her all the reasons why I married her. When I wrote that I thought, “it can’t be hard.” It’s not, but it’s so much easier to say than to do.

So I started writing them down. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. I mean so far I have 17 things written I love about her. That’s a good start I thought but what is the meaning behind the reason? I don’t just want to say them without a meaning behind them. Doesn’t seem to matter much if I can’t express why I feel the way I do.

So here I go posting the first one which is the easiest to portray and the following reasons will simply be posted over time.

I heard from one of my best friends from back in the day at CBC or Calvary Baptist Church. Debbie J. was very nice, smart, good looking and was really fun to hang out with. We went to different schools in the area but spent most of our time together at church.

Really glad to hear from her although I hate it had to happen on FB! Hope to add more to the old friends count. So far to date, 2.

After using the Blackberry Bold now since June I feel it was the best choice rather than purchasing the iPhone. I have so many non-geek/non-techie friends that have the iPhone and just love it. But most of the geek/techies I know use the BB. I highly recommend the BB Bold.

It seems someone has nominated me for this years Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon Executive Lock-Up taking place Wednesday September 30th.

I’m proud to tell you that I’m being locked up…that’s right, I’m going behind bars to help Jerry’s Kids© and MDA. To be released on good behavior I have to raise bail and I need your help!

All you have to do is click below to make a secure, online donation before 09/30/09. Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee me an early release.

I’m counting on you, click below to donate.

If the link above does not work, please cut and paste the address below into the address bar of your Internet browser. https://www.joinmda.org/jacksontelulockup09/alexj/

I’m currently reading “SELLECOM: 101 Ideas for Marketing in the Telecom Jungle.” So far it has been insightful. I already have another book in the wings when I am done with this one. I’m working on my lack of selling skills. I recommend this book for those in the Telecom, ISP, etc industry.

I have heard medical terms/words that my parents and grandparents would use when I was a child and I didn’t know what they meant or could offer sympathy or appreciation. As an adult I hear these terms and while understanding them you never really appreciate the agony/pain they cause until it happens to you. I’ve heard the term Diverticulitis before but never really understood what it was.

Yesterday I heard the term Diverticulosis from my doctor. I went in with a pain in my lower left side after suffering with it a day. I was prescribed anti-biotics and told it should clear up. While talking to the doctor, who by the way was not my regular doctor, she wanted to get to know more about me. In our talk we discussed my eating habits, excercise regimen (yeah right), etc. She asked me if anyone in my family had ever had Diverticulitis. I honestly could not remember but the more she spoke on the subject more details came to mind.

I remember my grandmother talking about suffering with it at times. My grandmother would tell all about it and what foods would cause it to “flare-up” as she called it. Cipro is an anti-biotic she took and also one that the doctor prescribed for me. I’ve taken my second dose to date and I feel like an old man.

It’s painful to take full breathes and to cough or laugh. I usually sit at my desk sitting up straight or leaned forward but this issue is causing me to lay back which I hate. It makes you look like your not working and just goofing off.

It seems I’m just going to have to break-down and change my diet. I’m not so old I can’t excercise or change. Reference post about “Who Moved My Cheese?” Change will occur and if you don’t change with it you will wither and die!

My Reading List. I am not much of a reader. Most reading is either technical documents, car magazine articles or the like. I’ve never been one to grab a book and sit down and read it…til now.

Who Moved My Cheese?
Who Moved My Cheese? is the story of four characters living in a “Maze” who face unexpected change when they discover their “Cheese” has disappeared. Sniff and Scurry, who are mice, and Hem and Haw, little people the size of mice, each adapt to change in their “Maze” differently. In fact, one doesn’t adapt at all…

This timeless allegory reveals profound truths to individuals and organizations dealing with change. We each live in a “Maze”, a metaphor for the companies or organizations we work with, the communities we live in, the families we love places where we look for the things we want in life, “Cheese”. It may be an enjoyable career, loving relationships, wealth, or spiritual peace of mind. With time and experience, one character eventually succeeds and even prospers from the change in his “Maze”.In an effort to share what he has learned along the way, he records his personal discoveries on the maze walls, the “Handwriting on the Wall”. Likewise, when we begin to see the “writing on the wall”, we discover the simplicity and necessity of adapting to change.

Full of modern day insight, the story of Who Moved My Cheese? invites individuals and organizations to enjoy less stress and more success by learning to deal with the inevitable change.

A great read for all ages. Get your office and your family to read this.

www.whomovedmycheese.com

After some encouragement from my friends and my wife I have decided to do more about loosing weight than just thinking about. I’m moving our eliptical machine into the living room so I can watch TV.

Now I just have to get that done. My current weight is TOO MUCH! Suffice to say I weigh enough for 2 normal size people. So I’ll have a huge goal to reach. The goal I want to get to is around 180-190.