Thankful Thanksgiving!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Thanksgiving should be something we practice many times a day. But on this day set aside for the purpose of being thankful, for what are you thankful?

Today, I am especially thankful for five things (and not necessarily in this order):

That our girl Maddy is no longer suffering
That our children are happy and healthy
That my work has begun to return to a semblance of normal
For seven wonderful years with my beautiful wife
That my family believes and worships a graceful God

More thoughts on Thanksgiving below the video.



Psalm 69:30
Psalm 95:2
Psalm 100:4
Jonah 2:9
2 Corinthians 4:15
2 Corinthians 9:11
Ephesians 5:4
Philippians 1:3
Psalm 28:7


Your comments?

Joe

AJA Press

An Excerpt From My #NaNoWriMo Work In Progress

The following is an excerpt from my current work in progress, the sequel to my novel 24 Hours With Spencer Field. This is part of my effort this year in National Novel Writing Month. I would set up the scene for you, but you're just going to have to wait for the whole book to get that. Enjoy...

Ike, who wasn't normally one to stay put for very long, found himself hours later in an abandoned building in the Plainfield Warehouse District, about fifteen minutes west of the speedway. He had no recollection of how he had gotten there or why, or what he had done since arriving. He assumed that he had been sleeping for several hours, and that he had gone there to hide out after killing the police officer who had found him nosing around in Junior's truck.

"Junior," he hissed, for the first time realizing that it had been Junior's face he had stared into when their cars had collided on Tenth Street. "That little coward backed out on me!"

He stood from the cold concrete floor where he had been laying, his body stiff and sore from lying on the cold hard surface for so long. He stretched, and paced. "Why would he back out on me?" he asked himself.

"Little coward just didn't have the guts to go through with it, that's why," he answered.

"But why not?"

"Should have known he'd chicken out when you had to stop and give him a pep talk on the highway."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he said, pacing left, and right, and left, and right, carrying on one end of the conversation or the other as he paced.

"He was always too much of a patriot, anyway, to actually believe that he could be turned on his own country."

"Maybe I should have offered him some of the money."

"Nonsense! That's our money!" he said.

"You mean my money," he corrected.

"Yours, mine, ours -- what's the difference? But now we got us a problem."

"I don't know, you really think so?"

"Of course I think so. He knows you didn't die in the explosions. He knows you weren't there. And since he built the bombs, he knows better than anybody just how the whole thing went down. He's probably running to the police right now and squealing like a stuck pig."

"No, not Junior," he said. "What's he gonna tell them, that he built the bombs for us, but because he chickened out and ran he isn't guilty?"

"If he can point the finger at you, that'll be worth quite a bit to the cops. They get the mastermind behind the whole thing, they'll be willing to deal a little."

"No, I don't think so. He ran. He ran for his life, and he knows that if he goes to the police, well, he would have been better off being blown to bits in that truck."

"So what then?" he asked. "He saw you, you know."

"He saw you, too."

"Good point."

He was silent for several minutes -- both of him -- while he continued to pace the floor of the warehouse.

"He'll be back, you know," he said finally, breaking the silence.

"Who, Junior?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I know."

"So whatcha gonna do?"

"I'm gonna do what he should have done in the first place," he answered. "I'm going to wipe him from the face of the earth."

"Good plan."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

Luck -v- The Grace of God

There are some things in life that we only get one chance at. Some call it fate, some call it luck, I call it the Grace of God. Seven years ago today, I became the luckiest man alive when the woman pictured here became my wife. We've had some great times together, and our share of bumps together, but one thing is certain: I love her with every fiber of my being, and even though I may not be the best at showing it sometimes, I still count myself the luckiest man in the world.


Here are some other people who got lucky in their own way. Somehow, I still don't envy them. Compared to the grace that God showed me seven years ago (and every day since), these guys just experienced blind luck.


Direct video link.

Your comments?

Joe

AJA Press

Peace At Last

Maddy was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in June. We made the decision to have her leg amputated to make whatever time she had left quality time for her.

She learned to run and play with three legs. She was her old self again, and we all grew much closer to her than we had ever been.

The past few weeks, she has been declining rapidly. She went the last two weeks without eating. She vomited and, today, had to be picked up and carried to go outside.

We stayed home from church today to spend some time with her. My wife and I talked about it and decided that the best way to spend the day was as a family -- with all of the family, including Maddy. She followed us into the living room today. We made her a comfortable place to lie by the back door and soak up the sun. We wrapped her in a blanket where she could lie in comfort in the middle of the room.

And at 3:15 pm Eastern Time, with my wife and my six-year-old son nearby, lying in my arms, Maddy won her battle with cancer. She is now free from pain and suffering. She now has a new body, with four legs again, free from cancer, and is running in green fields and swimming in ponds.

Many ask if pets go to Heaven. There are two sides to this issue, like any other. I believe that they do, for we are told that God does not forget animals (Luke 12:6). God loves animals, and if He loves them, how can He consider them disposable beings?

Yes, I believe we will see our Maddy again some day, when she comes bounding into our arms, just like she has done for the past 9-1/2 years.

We're going to miss you, Maddy, but we are happy for you that you have finally found relief.

An Evening With Mitch

I received the following email this morning. Governor Daniels, who is in his last term and refuses to say that he could be a contender for national office in 2012, is appearing at an event to raise funds for his Aiming Higher PAC.

This PAC appears to have been formed between Governor Daniels' first election to office and his first inauguration, and the homepage of the site has not been updated since.

To me, this is one more indication for hope that Indiana's Governor will run for higher office in 2012.

Notes Signup | Volunteer | Donate   Please join us For An Evening with Governor Mitch Daniels Friday, December 4, 2009 5:00-7:30 p.m. Office of Mayer Brown LLP 71 South Wacker Drive, 33rd Floor Chicago, Illinois 60606 Hosts Governor Jim Thompson Ty Fahner Jim Richmond Bob Grand Dan Dumezich Gretchen Gutman John Janicik Tom John Wil Davis Tom Wheeler Murray Clark Dean White   Sponsor/8 tickets $5,000 Co-sponsor/2 tickets $1,000 Individual Ticket $200 The attire for the evening is business casual. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served.  Governor Daniels will share his governing approach, Indiana's story, and his new mission to "promote results, ideas, and candidates that focus on government reform and serving taxpayers."  This mission will be supported by the Governor's Aiming Higher PAC.  Now is the time to support the Governor with his continued progress and legacy of change!  Please contact Katie Thomas at 317-964-5057 or kthomas@aiminghigher.net to RSVP or for more information.  Contributions payable to Aiming Higherand sent to Katie Thomas 47 S. Meridian Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46204 _________________ Paid for by Aiming Higher.  Contributions from Foreign Nationals are prohibited.  Contributions from Corporations and Labor Organization are subject to limitations.  Contributions to the Aiming Higher PAC are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. This email was sent by: Paid for by Mitch for Governor Campaign Committee 47 S. Meridian St., Suite 200 Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204 www.mymanmitch.com

The Time Draws Near

Maddy, our beloved Dalmatian of 9-1/2 years, who has been fighting cancer for the past 5-1/2 months, doesn't have much time left. She hasn't eaten a bite in probably 2 weeks. Her body is surviving only by consuming itself.

Moments ago, she drank some water while we all sat with her, loving her, encouraging her to just let go, just as we did with my mother when she was fighting her own cancer several years ago. A few minutes after Maddy finished drinking, she collapsed in her own vomit. I was sure it was going to be the end.

But how do you reason with a dog, even when she is a member of the family? And how do you decide for yourself whether to help her find relief or to expire on her own? Are we selfish if we let her live it out? Or are we selfish if we put her down?

I pray that God will take her soon -- and yes, I do believe that dogs go to Heaven -- where her pain and suffering will finally be over forever.

The Joe Show: NaNoWriMo Mix 3

With NaNoWriMo 2009 half over, and my word count coming along strong, I thought I'd pull this one out of the vault for some added inspiration.

Average Joe Radio
presents

The Joe Show
featuring
Average Joe American

From The Joe Show Vault: NaNoWriMo Mix 3

Wow! November is half over, and NaNoWriMo participants should be halfway through their novels by now. That's 25,000 words. My goal this evening is to break the 30,000 word mark, which will be an easy task, thanks to two productive writing sprints earlier today.

The novel, a sequel to last years novel, is coming along quite well.

Today's WriMo mix includes the following:

rob costlow | reflections | magnatune

ehren starks | the tale of room 620 | magnatune

swivel neck jones | arlos auto parts and salvation | magnatune

jeff wahl | going to the circus | magnatune

solar cycle | ray of life | magnatune

mountain mirrors | your dirge | magnatune

robert rich | parallel horizons | magnatune

matt stevens | burning bandstands | podsafe music network

jade leary | we were eternal | magnatune

tripsitter | outro | podsafe music network

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Email Feedback: joe@averagejoeamerican.us

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