Someone help me with this please.

Every year around election time the question is brought up about where people stand on abortion. I have had a ton of people ask me if I am pro life or not. I guess some may gauge their answer to see who I am voting for. I give a confident; "pro life" and move on. Every time I answer this question I think about my wife and if she was ever placed in this difficult situation in the future how my confident answer would be put to the test. Picture this hypothetical situation; one where while delivering your kid the doctor told you that your wife could possibly lose her life or your kid's the chance is 50/50. What would you expect her to do?

"Aha"-my pro life answer gets tested. Are you pro life at all cost? That is a question I think you gotta ask yourself. That is why the Roe vs. Wade was passed in my opinion. The Supreme Court Justice System thought there was a grey area there. Collectively they made a decision that it would not be constitutional to blanket the country with a anti-abortion law. My question is this: is there a grey area here? If the bible says no (thou shall not kill) then why do we create one? Is this area black and white? Some say it is. I want some smart people out there to give me some clarification on this topic. I need help here.

And last but not least, do you think that (thou shall not kill) commandment used above is a stand alone commandment and consequently we use this one in election year and all the others fall to the waist side?

Here are the others:

"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God…

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'

**Are these not just as important to you? Do we fell as strongly about laws being in place to protect us from being charged in these areas. (coveting, honoring, aldultry etc.)

Thanks for your help in advance on this one.

Wow what a weekend!

I do not even know where to start. I guess I could start by thanking JR and Mathew for making this trip happen and making it great. Miami was so much fun. The conference that we attended was CCDA . This was one of the best things that I have ever seen. To see people from different cultures and from cities all over America who have changed their lives and decided to be a vision of Christ where they live and to do this when everyone else tells them that they are nuts is astonishing. It is one thing to hear people speak on it, but when you shake the hands of men and women who have made this a reality in their lives and in their cities is just inspiring. I had the chance to meet alot of great folks.

John Perkins (left)was one of the speakers and founders of CCDA. Mr. Perkins was a guy who before this conference I did not know much about. A few weeks prior to the conference I had an opportunity to attend an event here in Memphis where he spoke at Crichton College. Although I was impressed with his overall knowledge and understanding of community and how it should look, I still saw him as coming from one side of the spectrum regarding the black society in America. During the span of the conference not only did Mr. Perkins feed me with a wealth of knowledge, he shared his story with us from a view that is unlike any other message that I have ever heard. What I love about his message is that it is color blind. Though I have not had a chance to read any of his books if you have intrest check it out here: books. He will be my next author to read.

The other speaker that really caught me was Mr. Carey Casey. He spoke on the importance of fatherhood and really placed the microscope on what it takes to be a good father. This is something that in most inner cities sadly, has a huge void. His website fathers.com goes deep into the subject and is something that I want to learn more of. How we can bring this attitude to more of my brothers and sisters here in Memphis. And how we can show our fathers to play more of an active role in their kids lives regardless of status: (married, divorced, or out of wedlock) etc. Uncoering the myth that the father's presence is indeed just as important as the mother's.

Overall I received a wealth of knowledge. Now the next step is what to do with it! I am glad to be home. (I missed LIZ so much) Great conference great experience. Again thanks Mathew and JR for the experience and invite.

The Tide, BBQ with an old friend, wife's BDAY!!!!

This weekend the TIDE is back on!!!! Today @ 2:30pm Bama hosts Ole Miss on CBS. I am really looking forward to this game. Hopefully they can come out and handle business early and I can get some things done around the house. I am also excited that this weekend I have a long time friend Jake Eaton who will be visiting the area for a BBQ to celebrate his wife's Nichole birthday. It should be great to see my old teammate and his new family. They live in Nashville TN and since I gratuated in 2004 we do not get to see too much of each other any more. While I was at Union I ran into a few tough times. During these times Jake and his family really took me under thier wing and I appreciate that more than they will ever know. They really displayed in that momenet to me of what a true friendship should look like. I cherish that still to this day. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to thier time here.

Last but not least is my wife's b-day. She will be 27 on Monday and we are excited about it! We had a semi birthday celebration for her last week at her parents. We really enjoyed it. Now the pressure is on for me to deliver on Monday!!!! Just so you know babe....I am up to it!

A great weekend ahead, I am at work now and ready to get to it. Great weather, great food, great times!!!

LONG WEEKEND!

I am pretty excited about this weekend. One of the largest reasons I am so excited about this weekend is b/c Liz and I are going to see my daughter this Sunday! We have not seen her at all since mid September so there will be lots of hugs and kisses to give! I am also off on Monday and you know I am pumped up with a long weekend ahead. Lots of Liz's family will be in town celebrating the birthdays of my wife and Jennifer's at the Shackelford's home on Friday. It will be so much fun having the boys (Clayton and Jack) in town and hanging out with their parents Fred and Jennifer. Tori and Lee will also be there and I feel as if I we have not hung out with those guys in forever! Overall I am looking forward to this weekend. I should be a long and fun one!

I miss home.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA.....I miss it sometimes.


Do you ever have those times in your life where you wish that you could go back to the days that you were planning your homecoming in high school. The time when everything was not so simple then but looking back on it.....it was? I am having one of those days today. Not to go into too much but I miss home. I miss my lake, I miss the old hang outs- "The Nets" "The Pier" I miss all of my friends that I grew up with that I never see. I miss my mother who is so wild sometimes. I miss my grandmother who has one of the best hearts ever. I miss my good friends that know me so well that they can call me and tell me what I have for lunch! (AB) I miss my brothers and sister. I miss the park that I used to hoop at til 2 in the morning sometimes. I miss the lake smell. I miss the highway that we would ride on and listen to loud music. I miss being 18! I miss laughing hard with old friends.

I am never the type to wish to rewind time to change things, but I just want to daydream a little about yester-year. I miss some of those times. Friends, places, memories. Sometimes....I miss it. Do you know what I mean?