Ben Milstead

I’ve got a million things going on right now but here are a few things that come to mind since my last post.

1)  The benefit for Mike Hunt was a huge success!  At last count we raised over $18,000 for Mike and his family.  We estimate that over 700 people turned out for this event.  Great bands, great food, great music!  The best part of all is that Mike feels great!  No major issues from the Chemo and Radiation that is ongoing daily.  God is good!

2)  My church is going a series of sermons addressing the questions that members have asked about most.  This past week was on alcohol.  Perry was very bold in his approach and I applaud him for that.  It probably was not a very popular sermon with the Southern Baptist Convention but it wsa incredibly biblical.  You can argue with the Bible but you aren’t going to win the argument.  This one is a must listen if you have questions about the subject.  You can listen here.

3)  Funny question of the week goes to my son, Collin.  He said “Dad, will we have birthdays when we get to heaven?”  I told him he would if he wanted to.  He then ask “Can I invite dead people to my party?”

4)  Everyone assumes that a Nascar event is where you will find the most redneck sports fans.  Nope!  A Par 3 golf course in a small town will trump that every time!  “Hey, idiot!  If you are wearing cut off shorts and Reeboks, chain smoking, and carrying a six pack of beer with you on a Par 3 course, don’t talk to me about my kids being too loud!!!”

5)  In my estimation, about 60% of women like to change their hair color.  On the flip side, I’d say it’s less than 5% of men that do this.  Blondes want to be brunettes and brunettes want to be blondes and red heads want to be anything but.  Why is that?  What’s wrong with the color God gave you? 

6)  Our water heater went out two weeks ago but was finally fixed this morning.  So easy to take things like hot water for granted.  We have had the camper in the driveway so that we could take hot showers out there.  I’m sure our neighbors think the Griswalds have moved in!

7)  My sister is having a baby today.  8/8/08…now that is a cool birthday!

8)  One of the happiest days of my life happened this week when I got to take Charter Cable all their equipment back and told them I would no longer be one of their customers!  You know a company is really bad when they have disconnect request forms front and center of the CSR windows.

9) Started going to pre-production meetings for Clemson football radio this week.  Was able to go over to a practice for a few minutes this week too.  I’m getting excited now!

I’ve been on the verge of information overload over the past couple of weeks.  I’ve been exposed to some things that have really messed with my mind and I find myself looking for the message that I’m supposed to hear.  I know the phrase is normally “calm before the storm” but I feel more like it’s the storm before the calm.  I love times like this because I know something cool is about to happen and recognize that I’m being stretched. 

*  Brad posted this video last week.  It shook me to the core when I saw what it had to say.  There are an estimated 1.2 billion children living in poverty.  That is the same as the population of China!  There are 143 million orphans in the world!  For perspective sake, consider this:  If these 143 million kids were holding hands in a straight line, and you got in your car and started driving beside the line of kids at 60 mph, you could drive 24 hours a day for over two months and still not reach the end of the line!  You would have gone around the world three times.

*  My church is participating in the OnePrayer series.  After this past Sunday I have a different perspective on the size of a church (even though that’s not what the message was about).  It’s easy to become complacent when things seem to be going good and your church is growing.  But when you realize how many unchurched people there are in the world it’s easy to get a sense of urgency!  I don’t EVER want to be complacent!

*  A friend of mine, Mickey, is going through something I hope I never have to go through.  His son is in a comma as a result of a serious car accident.  Mickey seems to have complete peace about the situation and knows that God is in control and that worry serves no purpose.  He has been an inspiration to me!

*  Another friend, Mike, is a very close friend and a man that I have always looked up to.  He has a brain tumor that has to be removed on June 25th.  Mike got this news on a Friday and was still at church volunteering on Sunday.  More than 300 men prayed for him during one of our services. 

*  For years, traditional churches have run from technology while others have chosen to embrace it.  One of my online superhero’s is this guy.  I watched this and had to keep reminding myself that I was watching a planning session for a church and not a major television network.  We have come a long way.  Who remember’s voting on whether or not the church needed a used copy machine?  I do.

*  Speaking of perspective, I had convinced myself that I was getting pretty good on the dirt bike because I kept riding with the same group of riders.  That was until I rode with a former Pro rider last Friday.  Seven laps and he was passing me for the second time!

*  And finally, THIS story made me laugh out loud.  I don’t endorse divorce but if it’s this bad just go ahead and end it!