4 on 4 Tag

my friend nikki tagged me on her blog. what you do is pick your 4th folder under your picture file on your computer, choose your 4th picture, post it and explain it. here goes...

this is obviously a strange picture what with elvis and his doggie impersonator driving through the streets of downtown birmingham in a convertible. this picture was from do dah day last may. for those of you who don't live here it is basically a big festival for dogs. this lovely individual and his dog were in the parade and we just had to take a picture. he is the king after all.

if you haven't done this already you are now tagged!!

peace and love.

That Spirit of Christmas

after finishing the last post about Christmas, i felt led to write another one about my true feelings regarding the holidays this year. for some reason i was never really able to get into the "Christmas spirit" this year. there are several things that could explain why the normal feelings of merriment escaped me this year; the loss of captain, a brutal year at work...but i really don't believe these things are the real issues that have caused a loss of joy for me this year. it seems as though there is this overwhelming sense of fear and doom among so many of us.

so many people i have talked to lately seem scared, angry and uncertain about the way things are today and very fearful of things to come. i must admit that i too have allowed my worldly circumstances and concerns overwhelm my mind and emotions to the point of dejection. it just makes me wonder, what is this dark cloud that seems to hang over so many of us, and more importantly why do we fear it? i have no answers for either of those questions, but in writing this blog one thing has been revealed to me. this is exactly why we celebrate the coming of Jesus.

before God sent his son we were doomed, and any feelings of despair were warranted. but Jesus came to save us from all of this. because of Jesus we all should be walking this earth in boldness and in peace, knowing our debt has been paid and we have been saved from all the brokenness and pain that this world leaves us with. this is what Christmas is all about.

writing this post has made me feel a little guilty about wasting my time on any feelings of uncertainty for the future and allowing those feelings to manifest into fear and despair. God is in control of all these things and i have salvation through Christ, therefore, from this point i will repent of my sin of doubt and move forward in boldness and peace. i am sorry that i missed this point during Christmas, but i will spend the following days in much prayer and celebration for the coming of our savior. if you have shared any of these feelings, i pray you will do the same.

oh come Emmanuel!!

peace and love.

Martin Christmas Carol

it is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already. the few days we spent with family was filled with good times and lots of memories. even milly made out like a bandit!! i hope all of you had a very restful and blessed Christmas as well. here are just a few pics for you to enjoy.

peace and love.

PROFOUND MEN. They speak for themselves.

"How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right."

Little Pine

"I am a red man. If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, in my heart he put other and different desires. Each man is good in his sight. It is not necessary for Eagles to be Crows. We are poor..but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die...we die defending our rights."

Red Cloud

"Out of the Indian approach to life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations."
Black Elk


"I tell you somethin’ Bo, I sure do love this whole fam damily."
"It’s beginning to look a bunch like Christmas."
"The longer I live, the more I appreciate yall."
Robert "Captain" Logan


"Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine."
"Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away."
"The Lord can give, and the Lord can take away. I might be herding sheep next year."
Elvis Presley


"No, I'm through with everything here. I want peace. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of charm and grace."
"Take a good look my dear. It's an historic moment you can tell your grandchildren about - how you watched the Old South fall"
"I've always thought a good lashing with a buggy whip would benefit you immensely."
"Now, Tom! What do you want to arrest him for? I've seen him drunker! I've seen you drunker! And you've seen me..."
Rhett Butler

"Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that."

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

"We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing."
"My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian."
"[T]here is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back."

General Robert E. Lee

“Life’s tough…….it’s even tougher if you’re stupid”
"Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway."
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday."
John "The Duke" Wayne

"While living I want to live well."
"I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God."

Geronimo

championships and garages

Well, as you might have figured out by now, I am not much of a blogger, but my wife certainly is. I just had my first Friday night off in 16 weeks and it feels good. My mighty Bucs had a great year this year. the "experts" predicted us to go 5 and 5 and not make the playoffs, but the boys stepped up and made it back to Legion Field for the Championship game and finished the season 13-2. Our only two losses were to state championship teams (Camden Co. Ga and Prattville). That makes 8 championship games in 9 years with 5 trophies, not bad.

Anywho, life post-football season is good and I can finally post the Garage pics. I am such a simple man, I love my garage and I am so proud if it. It is 30ft by 24 ft with 10ft doors and a 15ft ceiling. Oh, just drink it in.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

well it is Christmas time around the martin house of madness again. i included some pictures of our enormous tree that shane adores. shane's favorite thing about decorating is interior and exterior illumination! for example, there are 900 lights on our tree...yes that is correct, i didn't mistakenly add another zero...there are 900 lights on our tree!! i must confess that i am married to a man who's apartment lights once made it on rick and bubba's top 10 list. our tastes on exterior lighting differs. i like classy white lights and shane's ideas resemble something that is a cross between the griswold family christmas and larry the cable guy. shane and i did, however, come to an agreement on our exterior lighting once we got married. we now call our house, the mullet. it is business in the front, party in the back.

here are some pictures of our tree and the front of the house. i also included pictures of a few of the homes in our neighborhood.

peace and love.

Husband Quiz

This is a fun husband game my friend Malerie put on her blog. She tagged all of us who are married so here goes...(hopefully I can remember everything!!)

1. Where did you meet? At Samford University at his fraternity house...and that is where we will leave this story!! :)

2. How long did you date? We "officially"dated for 4 years before we got married, but we were friends for 2 years prior to dating.

3. How long have you been married? 4 and a half years

4. What does he say that surprises you? "I need you..." Shane is a very strong minded and strong willed person. He keeps a lot of things he is thinking for feeling to himself so when he says "I need you" I know I better listen up.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? There are really too many to choose from. Everything about him is totally hot!!

6. What is your favorite quality of his? I love that Shane takes his role as a husband and a spiritual leader very seriously.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Precious, bebe, sweet pea...I think that's about it.

8. What is his favorite color? Red.

9. What is his favorite food? My jambalaya, his mom's spaghetti, mcdonald's quarter-pounder.

10. What is his favorite sport? Georgia football.

11. When and where did you first kiss? This is a tough one because Shane and I remember our first kiss differently. One thing we do agree on is that it was in his apartment after we had been talking for hours. Whether I was sitting in the seat and he was on the floor, or vice versa, is a mystery!

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Laugh.

13. Do you have any children? Yes...Milly our dog. She may have four legs but she wakes up at 5:00 am and wants to go to the bathroom, eat and play...sounds like a baby to me.

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He doesn't think he can sing but he can.

15. How old is he? 35

16. Who said "I love you" first? I did, otherwise he still might not have said it. j/k. Those words were a little scary for him.

17. What is his favorite type of music? He like pretty much anything but rap.

18. What do you admire most about him? He will not compromise his integrity or his believes no matter what the cost may be.

19. Do you think he will read this? Probably.

I will continue the tag. If you're married and you're reading this...you're it!!

peace and love.

Thankful

thanksgiving this year was a really special time. shane and i were able to spend time with both families and it was so good to be with them. my uncle and my grandmother came in town for the occasion and we were so glad to see them. we were at shane's mom's house on thanksgiving day and had his grandmother's dressing which is always a treat. as you will see from the pictures we also celebrated shane's birthday. on a more somber note, it was our first holiday without captain. while difficult we took a moment to remember him but truly, he isn't that far away. he is always with us. enjoy the pictures!!

peace and love

Where is the Love?

lately i have really been taken aback by the lack of feeling and love that people have for each other in this world today. it seems as though people have become so selfish, so self-consumed, so full of disdain for anything that gets in the way of their personal agenda. we seem to be a nation that turns towards the dark and away from the light. it breaks my heart that in this world full of pain, sickness, poverty and brokenness i am often surrounded by those who will spit venom over the most meaningless and trivial nonsense.

i have recently heard a song by a band called the black eyed peas called "where is the love." while i don't agree with everything in this song, it speaks to this issue with our world. the following lyrics really speak to me.

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder

As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder

Most of us only care about money makin'

Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction

Wrong information always shown by the media

Negative images is the main criteria

Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria

Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema

Whatever happened to the values of humanity

Whatever happened to the fairness in equality

Instead in spreading love we're spreading animosity

Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down

There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under

Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found

People killin', people dyin'

Children hurt and you hear them cryin'

Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above'

Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love (Love)

to me the wisest part of this song is asking for help from our Father above. He is the only one that can help heal and restore our nation.

peace and love