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Several weeks ago my wife and I took a vacation down to the hill country of Texas. We split our time between two places and did a lot of fun things (some of which almost killed us). I STILL have photos I haven’t finished editing, but I am going to start posting those that I have made it through since its already been three weeks.

This is the first cabin we stayed in was just a few minutes outside of Wimberley, TX. There are actually three small cottages at Canyon Sunrise and you can’t see one from the other. Yep, total privacy. Each one has its own kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom, just like an apartment. Each also has it’s own hot tub on the back porch and it’s own private swimming pool. Yep, private pool…in the woods…fun. That’s all I’ll say about that.

As you can see from the fridge space, there isn’t just a whole lot of room for storage, but mix in an ice chest fro drinks and you’re good. We went to the store in Wimberley and picked up some groceries to minimize our need to travel into town to eat/waste money on buying dinner out. It was fantastic. We used this cabin as a place to relax and do nothing part of the time, and as a base for our explorations into surrounding areas that you’ll see in future posts (so subscribe to my feed NOW!).

<i>And as always, click on the thumbnails to open the slideshow!</i>

[View with PicLens]

I have a whole mess of posts that will be showing up over the next week or two. First, I have to get done editing pictures from my vacation, then I’ll get to writing the posts to go with them. Subscribe to my RSS feed to be automatically notified of new posts. We went to some cool places and saw some interesting things on our trip.

Here is a tease:

I love a great burger, however, there aren’t too many around. Over the last 30+ years, I’ve eaten at a lot of burger places, most commercial, some independent, some large, some tiny. I’ve been to a lot of the places that are hyped by friends and acquaintances. In fact, I’ve been to enough to know not to believe the hype until I’ve tried it for myself.

There have been three places in the Dallas Ft. Worth area that I will go out of my way for a burger. Two started out of state as independent places and have grow to large chains, but still serve amazing burgers. The other is a Dallas staple that now has at least two locations (though I’ve only been to the original). Yesterday, I found my fourth, Del’s Charcoal Burgers.

Now in their 53rd year, Del’s is the same now as it has been for so many years. They have customers that have been coming in for 50 years. The menu boards are the originals, as is the formica countertop. The menu is pretty simple, but there is something for (almost) everyone including hot dogs, burgers, and fried Twinkies!

I opted for the double cheese burger with shredded cheddar, pickles, lettuce, and mayo (because tomatoes are disgusting). The burger was amazing; juicy, moist, and flavorful. I was sure I would be ordering another. By the time I made it through the burger and fries, I surrendered. It was plenty of food, even for me. And when put up again other burger places, the cost was also great, especially when you figure in the quality. While not the least expensive burger I’ve had, its much better than what they charge for some of the better known burger houses around town. My double burger and fries, my wife’s burger and onion rings, and two root beers came to about $17.

Many regulars will probably debate the true soul of the place. Surely, the home brewed frosty mug root beer is a large part of that. This is a place for root beer connoisseurs. When Hossein “Hoss” Taher bought the place, the root beer recipe was part of the deal. Now Hoss and his family run the place and obviously put their hearts and souls into it. Despite the tiny size and old age of the building, the place is spotless. As we finished our meals, Mr. Taher came out to take our dishes and make sure we enjoyed ourselves. I particularly like how he told us how old the place was when he found out it was our first visit. You could see how proud he is of the place. It would be great if more small business owners were as involved and excited about their business as Hoss.

After writing this and thinking about that burger, my empty belly is telling me it may be time to head back over for another burger and root beer.

Watching the news tonight I see a story about a double murder at a poker party. A poker game was going on in an apartment when a guy shows up to rob the game. He shoots and kills the host. Then another player pulls his (legally) concealed hand gun and kills the robber.

Then I notice this was at the apartment complex I used to live in. Oh, but wait for it…the camera zooms out from the apartment door (showing the number) and shows the most of the building. Holy whaaaa??? That’s MY former apartment, not just the complex, but the actual apartment I lived in for more than a year!

Um…glad I don’t still live there, much? Yep.

Last week I posted on Facebook and Twitter about the daughter of the former preacher where my wife and I used to attend church. She has been in the hospital for over a week now and is nowhere near being “out of the woods”.

She contracted the flu, and later went into sepsis, sending her to the hospital. Her heart, lungs and kidneys began shutting down. Over the next few days, her blood pressure dropped dangerously low and could only be maintained with several risky medications. She has also been on a breathing machine because she cannot breathe on her own. Then her hands and feet began to turn black due to lack of circulation. It has been a very up and down hour to hour situation.

If you would, take a few minutes to read some of the updates on her CarePages Site. You can avoid registration by using the login name Jenny@Bizaillion.com and password Friends. The family has been updating very regularly. The comments and posts show how many people are praying and keeping vigil for Jenny.

The following is a letter from one of the Shepherds at the Decatur Church of Christ where Jenny’s father is the preacher. If you are able to help, please do. Also repost this on Facebook and Twitter. I was without health insurance for over two years and it is by the grace of God that nothing serious happened to me. I cannot imagine the stress financial worry would add on top of the medical situation of a loved one.

The past several days the burden of this hospital bill has been weighing on my heart. David & Jenny have no medical insurance. When they first arrived, the hospital assured David not worry about how they would pay for her stay and that the quality of Jenny’s care would in no way be diminished due to this fact. We have been earnestly praying for a week for God to miraculously heal Jenny.

It is obvious that He has heard our leading by the fact that she is alive right now. Wouldn’t it be an incredible witness to this world for the 4,000 plus people who have been praying to each contribute $100? Let’s challenge ourselves, be diligent, and act quickly to ease this burden from the family. We can return this hospital’s generosity to the Bizaillion family by helping take care of this debt. The hospital didn’t hesitate to take care of her, let’s not hesitate in giving sacrificially. Please give something even if its not $100. Our goal is $500,000!

Here’s the simple process: Go to the Gregg Pearson Foundation at www.greggpearson.org, click on “donate”, during the donation process click on “special instructions” and type “Jenny Bizaillion”. 100% of what is donated will be given to David and Jenny. The GPF is a tax deductible 501c3 organization.

From Russ Hamilton, Shepherd at Decatur Church of Christ

There are also links below this (and every) post to make it easy to send it to others.

We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years. It’s time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and God. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I’d choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up.

Tire irons, squirrel guns and grit — that’s what rednecks are made of.

Ya’ll know who ya ‘ll are.

You might be a redneck if:

It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, ‘One nation, under God.’

You’ve never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.

You still say ‘ Christmas’ instead of ‘Winter Festival.’

You bow your head when someone prays.

You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.

You treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have.

You’ve never burned an American flag, nor intend to.

You know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.

You respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.

You’d give your last dollar to a friend.

If you live in the Dallas area, you have probably been inundated with new stories about the “Party Pass Fiasco” at the Cowboys stadium for the season opener Sunday night. Short version: Jerry Jones wanted to set the NFL record for attendance and publicize his new stadium while making and extra couple of million dollars. How to do this? Sell 30,000 party passes for $30 each + parking.

Problem? There was only room for 14,000 people. The rest of ya’ll can stand outside and watch the game on TV after dropping your hard earned dollars, sitting through crappy traffic, and giving up your Sunday night. And for those that did get in…there is a video at the bottom of this post that shows how great the view was.

I feel bad for these people. They had no idea. Jerry Jones is a greedy money sucking (lets say person) who didn’t care a thing about people getting in to see the game. His goals were met. Screw the fans. I on the other hand, have an offer to help those folks save some money while getting at least the same experience.

So, here’s the deal. I am going to set my television in the window of my living room. You can each pay me $20 to watch it. That is an instant 30% savings! Better yet, you can park at the grocery store a few streets over and be MUCH closer than if you parked at Cowboy’s Stadium (stupid, very original name…nice job JJ). Not only that, parking is only going to be $20, at LEAST a 50% savings AND I will shuttle you over in the back of my pickup instead of making you walk. The people that are here early enough to be in front, will obviously have a better view, but unlike the Deathstar, I have a GIANT tree that many of you can climb for a better view. I am only selling 100 packages, but ALL 100 will get in, not just 45% of you. Send cash to me by Thursday to reserve your spot.

(Okay…so I’m not really doing this, lest those got-nothing-better-to-do-all-day Cowboy lawyers try to threaten me with copyright violation for broadcasting the game without permission. Unlike some NFL owners, I have ethics.)

I have no idea when this video is from, but it must have been after a heavy rain. Perhaps they were looking for an excuse to finally get out the boat and oars…

Tonight I picked up Tquan Moore’s new CD, “All I Need”. The songs are as good live as they are on the CD, which speaks to Tquan’s talent as an artist.

I was fortunate tonight to be part of a wonderful house concert at a friend’s house who also happens to be a long time friend of Tquan. In addition to the music, he also delivered an inspiring message from John 14:12-14. His experience as a youth minister, speaker, and worship leader shone through in his music, message, and challenge he laid before us.

Tquan told us tonight that he believe’s God has called him to change peoples lives. Music is his catalyst. Most of his songs are originals he has composed, but his covers of other artist’s song and traditional hymns have a quality that is reflective of his passion for music and the Message.

Find a way to see him in concert. Here is his tour schedule, his website, and his Twitter page.