A thought for My Pennies

Give-a-way: 200 pennies for Lincoln's Bicentennial.

When I was in college, I volunteered at a Campus radio station from 10 pm to 1 a.m on Tuesday nights. The radio station broadcast primarily in a few of the dorms and also could be heard on one of the campus t.v. channels that broadcast school announcements.

My show had an average listenership of maybe 10 people. I did it because, a) I loved playing Christian music and had the only christian program on the station b) I loved talking on the radio, reading copy introducing songs the whole thing and c) I love having crazy ideas and gimmicks and when you are doing a latte night radio show that virtually no one listens to it is the perfect place to showcase your crazy ideas and gimmicks. One gimmick I would sometimes do is give away a package of ramen soup to the 100th caller. Now I could buy the Ramen generally 10 for $1.00 at the Local Hyvee. So at 11:30 at night I am giving away ten cents worth of soup to the 100th caller when I have maybe 10 listeners.

The thing is people would call. I always gave the package away. One time somebody called in to request a song and didn't even know I was doing the give-a-way and they were the 100th caller.

So, we have established that back in 1987 I was as crazy (if not more) as I am today. Which brings me to my give-a-way. A few weeks ago I started the give-a-way with this post.

Earlier this year I gave away a set of 50 state quarters. I think that post had the most comments I had ever received. The Pennies give-a-way has not been so successful. So far I have had only 2 comments on the original post but both from the same person. I am making entering this contest very easy, though comment on any of my posts from the original until September 23rd and you qualify for one entry. So I encourage you to go to the original give-a-way comment there and comment on all the later posts including this one.

On September 23rd I will randomly pick from the entries and give-a-way the 100 pennies. I am also giving another 100 away to those following my blog. Yes it's crazy. Yes it's more work than is needed to get 100 pennies, you can simply go to a bank and get 2 rolls easy as you please. But that's where the fun is. Anyone can enter for a meaningful give-a-way but how cool will it be if you actually are the one who can say "hey I won 100 pennies from Crazy Dave. He paid more than that to send them to me!"

Remember if you blog about this give-a-way you get an extra entry. Just leave a comment on this or the original give-a-way post with the link.

Join in the madness! Another kind of madness is Six Word Saturday. Join in that by heading directly to Show My Face dot com. No passing go, no collecting 200 dollars. But you can collect 100 pennies if you are the lucky winner! If you'll excuse me I have to go listen to some Christian music and eat some ramen.

Next Time: A Bunny at Last.

Pennies

I generally do not lament my name. My Dad's name was David and he named me such, sure I would have rather him named me David. But Such Roller has a good ring to it. But today I lament that they did not name me Kevin for if they did I could name this post Pennies from Kevin.

Okay, that was a long way to go for a bad joke, so let's move on.

As you may know this year is 2009. If you did not know that, you may be beyond my ability to help you further, so hopefully you did. Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809, 200 years ago . 100 years ago to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. His image was placed on the penny.

Prior to 1909 the penny had an Indian Head.

To put things in perspective the last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series Lincoln was not yet on the penny. Wow!

In 1959 to celebrate Lincolns Sesquicentenial (150 years) The Lincoln Memorial replaced the wheat.

This year to celebrate Lincoln's bicentennial the face of the penny got a new look ...

And 4 different images on the back . . .

The 4 images represent his early years in Kentucky, his boyhood years in Indiana, His professional years in Illinois, and his presidency in D.C.

Many wheats are still in circulation. I opened 2 rolls (100 pennies) today and found one 1958 wheat and no 2009 pennies. I usually average about 2 wheats and 1 Canadian penny per roll.

Being a good Illinois boy from the original LOL: Land of Lincoln (Not the original Land of Lincoln which is Kentucky, but the original LOL) I would like to celebrate Abe's 200th with not 1 but two give-a-ways! Yes I will be giving out 2 sets of 100 pennies (with at least 1 wheat each). Yes you heard it right the buck ships here.

To win the first set do the regular old comment thing. When you comment tell me significant years in your life (yours, spouses, kids birthdays anniversaries, year favorite team won World Series (after 1908 of course) and I will try to mix a few of those years in).

For the second set I will be picking from my followers, so if you don't follow, this would be a fine time to start. While it's mathematically possible to win both sets, let's share the wealth and say that we will have 2 different winners.

I am going to run this contest until September 23rd, because 2 dollars is a lot of money and in these tough times I may have to raid my birthday money to make good. If you blog about my crazy give-a-way I will give you 2 more chances at the first contest, simply link the blog to your comment. See the official rules on the sidebar. .

All this bang for a buck? That's why they call me Crazy Dave!

Next Time: Zoos

The Civil Rights Game.

Well it's Thursday and time for me to tell you three things. Here they are ...

1) Our family celebrated the end of our school years by going to Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio this weekend. We did many amazing things like going to a Waffle House for the first time since my years spent in South Carolina. But by far the best part of the weekend was going to Major League Baseball's Civil Rights Game. Now, when my friend Patrick and I decided to take our families to a Cincinnati Reds game sometime this summer, we didn't decide to go based on the Civil Rights Game, we just wanted to go to any game preferably when one of the Chicago teams was in town. We were planning on going to see the Cubs play the Reds but that weekend did not work out on our schedule. So I noticed that my beloved White Sox were coming to Cincinnati on a weekend that did work out for all.

Great American Ballpark is an incredible place to take a family to a ball game. Located on the Ohio River, with Kentucky directly across offers a breathtaking view. The Ballpark offers many of the amenities that I love about U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play. They shoot off fireworks when The Reds hit homers, as well as have many baseball skill related games for children to play. They also have a playground on the main level.

Beyond the view, and the amenities, the pregame presentation is what really made the evening a hit. The Civil Rights game is now in it's third year but the past two seasons the game has been a preseason game. This also marked the first year that the game was held at a major league ballpark. Earlier in the day a luncheon was held honoring three people who had made a mark on civil rights with Beacon awards. As the game began these winners were paraded onto the field for a presentation of the awards.

The winner of the Beacon of Life was Hank Aaron. The winner of the Beacon of Change was Muhammad Ali. The winner of the Beacon of Hope was Bill Cosby. I wept like a baby (I'm crying now just recollecting it) as they showed a video retrospective of Aaron, one of the heroes of my youth. Watching him hitting the home run breaking Babe Ruth's record on the jumbo tron reminded me of watching him do it live on t.v. so many years ago. I didn't know about the countless death threats he received then, which make his accomplish so much more inspiring.

Similar memories and thoughts greeted me during the retrospectives for Ali and Cosby. My family had come for a baseball game but instead were part of history.

The White Sox eventually prevailed in an ugly, error filled affair. But even if they lost, which seemed likely when they were losing 5-0 in the third, the game would still rank as the best regular season game I have ever attended. The Civil Rights game is being played again next year in Cincinnati, which has our family contemplating attending again.

2. And The Winner is . . .

Crazy Dave here. Cristina over at Home School Juggling is the winner of the Tony Dungy Book and Bible. Congratulations. Contact me Cristina so I can mail you your prize.

3. A New Thursday Staple.

Just got home from playing some baseball. Some of the home school families in our area are getting together and playing some baseball every Thursday. Charlie is having a great time! Being part of a Boy Sandwich family (a boy between two girls) he doesn't always get his fill of guy stuff. He was on the winning side of a 26-12 game today. I grew up on the pick-up game. Just get 6-20 kids together and play ball. While you still see that in basketball and football, baseball has been pretty much regulated to leagues and picnics. I better cut this short, I had to pitch today and I am having trouble moving my arms at all. For More Triple Plays go see Michelle at Psalm 104:24

Next Time: But Daddy I'm Not a Boy or How Heaven is Like Going to the Bathroom.

The Run Around Place

Call it what you will, the indoor park, play land, play place at the mall. You know the place where your kids can play while you rest your weary feet?. We call ours The Runaround Place.

We have been going to the one at our mall since we moved to this area 8 years ago. It is really cool and has a health theme. The run-a-round place works for our family because. . .

1) It's free. You got it fun on a budget. I think all 3 kids now prefer spending time at the children's section of Barnes and Noble. But alas they have all discovered that things can be bought there. Nothing is for sale at The Runaround Place, unless you count the fact that is in a mall. Okay, point taken.

2) It gives our poor home schooled children the opportunity for much neglected socialization. Yes, I am being sarcastic. But the kids always enjoy making friends there.

3) It allows us as parents to watch our kids grow before our eyes. We see the little crawlers and think wow remember when Charlie used to do that?

4) It teaches our kids that places other than home, have rules and they need to be followed. There is a height requirement, a requirement to wear socks and rules about how to place nicely.

5) It teaches our kids that life isn't always fair. Our oldest is now taller than the height requirement and our second oldest is right on the cusp. Yet every time we are there they see bigger kids playing when they should not, or kids playing without socks. This gives child and parents alike an exercise in living out a good example.

I won't give you the runaround, this place works for us. To see what works for others out in Blogtopia go to We Are That Family. Also to participate in my Tony Dungy Book and Bible give-a-way before this Thursday click here.

Next Time: The Civil Rights Game

Give-A-Ways Galore

Good Morning and thank you for flying Crazy Dave's give-a-ways a division of Home School Dad. As you keep your seats in an upright position I want to make you aware of the many give-a-ways going on today.

1. We still don't have a winner! Way back at post 75 I tried to give away a book and a c.d. One of my followers declined the prize package of a point of grace c.d. and a book of writings by Michael Kelly Blanchard. I then offered it to another one of my followers and have still not heard a response. So today, I am going to give it away to one of the commenters on that post. The winner is Michelle of Psalm 104:34.

2. I chose the next giveaway in part because Father's Day is soon upon us, in part because I am going to Indianapolis this weekend, But mostly because I have them in my give-a-way pile. I am giving a copy of Tony Dungy's book Quiet Strength as well as a copy of the Quiet Strength New Testament in the New Living Translation.

Quiet Strength is an excellent book about how God can work in your life through great success and great difficulties. Those who know Tony Dungy's story know that he's had both. I love this book, even though his Super Bowl victory came at the expense of my beloved Chicago Bears.

You can enter for a chance to win them both my commenting on this post or at the face book feed for this post. If can earn a second chance by including in your comment something you appreciate about your Dad. You can earn another chance by posting about your Dad on your blog and leaving a link on my comments. I will announce a winner sometime next Thursday.

3. I want to thank the many followers of my blog with a special followers only give-a-way. I am giving a way a copy of the movie, The Second Chance. Michael W. Smith tries out acting in this tale of prejudice, faith and redemption. If you win this let me know what you think of it and I will let you be a guest blogger with a review on these very pages. I'll be right back with the winner. . .

That didn't take too long did it? The winner is Kim @ Forever Wherever.

Next Time: An open letter to the car behind me part II.

The End of Blogging

Don't freak out! In the words of the great Indigo Montoya, "It doesn't mean what you think it means." Besides, if I was going to stop blogging, I would have done so last time on my 100th post; making it a bye centennial.

The end in my title is the one defined at dictionary.com (#7) as the object for which anything exists; purpose. Titling it the purpose of blogging doesn't lend itself readily to my flair for the dramatic.

As I have been nearing 100 post mark, I have often wondered what is the purpose or end of blogging. Specifically what is the end of my blogging? The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Now the chief end of my blogging does not have to be to glorify God. However since my chief end of being is such, I would probably not want to pour much energy into a task that did not.

Blogging is something that I really enjoy doing. My blog really is an extension of myself. My blog like myself is a work in progress, but it is not something meant to define me. Blogging is not who I am. The title of my blog is Home School Dad not Blog Writing Dad.

There have been times when blogging has gotten the best of me. There was the NaBloPoMo debacle to begin with. You may have noticed that I no longer use playlist.com on my blog. I was trying to change music each week, which got a little cumbersome for me. cutting down to once a month or so, was so freeing that I decided to stop it altogether for a time.

Being way into numbers and patterns and having the love language of giving gifts I decided that I would host a give-a-way every 25 posts. I still want to continue the practice of give-a-ways, I just don't want to be so dogmatic about when I do them. So, I am switching from every 25 to semi-whenever. The next one is going to be relatively soon.

I like posting in Blog events like Works for me Wednesday, and Three Things Thursday. I think I do some of my best work in these venues. But that doesn't mean I have to participate in them on a weekly basis. The past few weeks have been super busy in my families life and as a result I cut down on my posts. This is one of the main reasons why I have not tried to launch s meme of my own. Believe me I have several ideas for them. But the bottom line is that I know that would take more time and energy than what I am willing to put into this blog.

The majority of my posts have not had much of a spiritual flavor to them. This will stay about the same. I do have a few planned in the near future that will have more of a spiritual emphasis to them. I hope everyone will enjoy the one coming in the next week or so entitled "How Heaven is a lot like going to the bathroom." Maybe there's a reason why my blogs don't have more of a spiritual flavor to them!

So there it ism my state of the blog address. Blogging as an extension of my self, not as an end in itself works for me. To see what works for other (perhaps less philosophical) bloggers out there, go to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

Next Time: Give-a-ways galore (I told you it would be soon!)

That's What I Like About You.

It's that time again. Here's what Three things I have for this Thursday.

1. I enjoy Three things this Thursday so much, I had to tell the blogging world about it. So I posted this on yesterdays edition of Works for me Wednesday at We Are That Family. Maybe there will be some new posters checking it out this week.

2. Oh Boy! I have just loved the last few episodes of Chuck. Specifically, Scott Bakula's turn as Chuck's father. If like me you can't watch full episodes at NBC.com ,maybe you can watch them at IMDB.com or hulu.com. I am not sure if Monday's season finale was also the series finale. If it was they sure went out on a strong note. Check it out.

3. Today is the last day of my Point of Grace/ Michael Kelly Blanchard give-a-way. If you haven't entered by leaving a comment on my original post do so before 10 p.m tonight.

Well that's all for me. If you would like to see what three things others have this Thursday or participate in 3TTT go to Psalm 104:24. Have a great week!

Next Time: 5 minutes at a time.

Hockey Lessons

My Three things this Thursday are: hockey lessons, lost update, and a give-away.

1. Hockey Lessons.

I recently completed reading a book about the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team entitled The boys of winter by Wayne Coffey. It's a perfect companion piece to the film "Miracle." Although, I have never played hockey, there are many valuable lessons to be learned from these boys. I will be posting some of them here in the near future.

Speaking of hockey, on January 1, 2009 there was a Hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks. This is not unusual in itself, as these teams being part of the original 6 teams in the N.H.L. have skated against each other hundreds of times. What made the game a spectacle, is the venue, It was played outdoors at Wrigley Field the friendly confines of the Chicago Cubs. Which brings us to ...

2. Lost Update.

I was at Wrigley last night to watch the Cubs take on the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs lost 0-3.

I went with my son, Charlie and my brother in law, Mike. Throughout the ballpark there are signs advising to be alert for foul balls. Charlie and I had brought our gloves but nothing came our way. At the gift shop I saw a 8.5 by 5.5 replica post card of the sign for just a buck. I told Charlie that I'd buy it for him and we'd hang it on his wall. His reaction: "When I get my Blog, I am going to post it there!" You guys know how 7 year olds get excited about blogs and stuff.

It was nice to spend some time with Mike. He has spent much of the past year being the primary care giver for my father-in-law and helping him recuperate from various illnesses and injuries. It was good for him to get a respite from all that and catch a game with us.

Speaking of respites, that brings us to . . .

3. Give-a-way.

In my most recent post, I talked about the importance of taking a break or helping someone else take a break so you or they can be re energized. I also announced a give-a-way of a c.d and a book. The book is Unsung Heroes by Michael Kelly Blanchard. Blanchard is a singer/songwriter best known for writing "Be Ye Glad." The c.d. by Point of Grace is called How You Live. Point of Grace is the Christian Pop quartet that has recently become a Country Trio.

To register for the give-a-way which ends on April 30th leave a comment at my original post.

Those are my three things for Thursday April 23rd. Go to Psalm 104:24 to see what other trios of things are out there for your perusal.

Next Time: Where's the Carnival?

Give me (them) a break.

As the main teacher/caregiver of the family this past year I have a new appreciation of what a privilege it is to educate your own children. I also have developed an appreciation of how taxing an occupation that is. It is so taxing that from time to time I need to be away from my children and either have time to myself or time to reconnect with Amy.

I think it is vital for parents to take time away on a regular basis. Amy and I are blessed that both our parents are somewhat local and can watch our children from time to time. We also have a neighbor that can often babysit at a moments notice. Some families don't have those luxuries. Perhaps they have older children that can watch the kids. Perhaps they have other families that they can trade babysitting with.

There is a family from our church that has 3 adopted children 5 or under. They have a 3 year old who has many special needs. At home he can be quite a handful and make it very difficult for the rest of the family to connect with each other or be able to go on outings like the zoo or even be able to get work done around the house. So when they joined our home school support group they put a prayer request in that they were looking for some people that could give their son some respite care.

Amy and I both have some background in ministering to special needs children, so we offered to help. About once a month Luke comes over for a day or two. He is a wonderful boy and quite frankly we are still waiting for him to have any type of episode. One of our children will generally implode the weekend he is with us, but never Luke. His parents have told us he usually does much better with other people. Our kids love him, and we all look forward to his visits. In July, he will stay with us for a whole week, and it should be a great time.

So that's why I think taking a break from your kids or helping others do the same works for me. Giving stuff away works for me also and as this is my 75th post, It is time for Crazy Dave to come out and give something away. I am giving away a book and a c.d. so that the next time you take some time off you will have something to read or listen to. The c.d. is How you Live by Point of Grace and the book is Unsung Heroes by Michael Kelly Blanchard. The giveaway ends 10:00 CST April 30th. Just leave a comment to enter. I am again giving additional entries to those following my blog. See the sidebar for official rules.

To see what else works go to We Are That Family.

Next Time: Hockey Lessons

Crazy Dave's Giveaways: Announcing the quarter winner.

Today, is my Dad's birthday. I think that's one of the reasons why I ended the contest today. Last year when my Dad turned 70 I, along with my brothers and sisters attempted to give him him all the American coins minted in his lifetime. Not all, just 1 of each. We came very close and I think he really appreciated the gift because he had been a coin collector earlier in his life. I did the lions share of the collecting and really enjoyed it. I think that's why I am still collecting coins.

I must say I really appreciated the excellent turnout for the give-a-way. I noticed how many people so eagerly wanted to win this collection. Unfortunately, there is only one winner and that is Mub from the Netherlands. Congratulations Mub.

For all those out there who did not win let me share a few quick quarter collecting tips. Today, I went to the bank and got 3 rolls of quarters. Of those 120 quarters, 54 were state quarters. And of those 54, 30 were of different states. That's right if I was just starting collecting today I would be 60% finished after going though only 3 rolls. Those very 30 will be among the quarters being sent to Mub.

Another idea for collecting is use cash for purchases as much as you can. What cash gives you is change, many quarters are found in change. We call that change for the better. After getting the quarters today, I stopped by Taco Bell for dinner. I used cash and do you know how many state quarters I got back in my change? None. It's not foolproof. What I did get back, was a little more uncommon than a state quarter. That's right, in my change from Taco Bell was a bicentennial quarter. And in honor of Mub, my father, and the United States of America and their original 13 states, I am going to give Mub not 12.50 worth of quarters, but $13.00 worth. That very bicentennial quarter that I got at Taco Bell today and the new Washington DC Quarter as well as 1 of each of the 50 state quarters.


For all those who did not win. this was so much fun for me, I am sure I will be giving away quarters again on this very blog. Until then here is a fun video of me actually catching 30 quarters in midair.


In other give-a-way news, the Counsil's never contacted me in regards to the book I attempted to give them last month, The Power of an Encouraging Word. So I have redrawn from last months entrants and the winner is ... DG. Congratulations to DG and Mub. I have contacted them and hopefully they will get their prizes in the very near future.



Next Time: Taking Time Off

Collecting State Quarters (Crazy Dave's Give-a-ways)

I started two valuable collections in 1999.

I started my collection of children and my collection of state quarters. Legally, I can only give one of them away on the Internet. Before I tell you about my state quarter give-a-way, let me tell you why collecting state quarters works for me.

When the quarters first came out I got one of those Extra large size books for a family collection. I enjoyed collecting so much that I decided to get 3 smaller size books for each of the children. In the apartment years finding quarters was easy, I'd go through the quarters before I used them in the laundromat. I also paid $8.00 in tolls a week mostly in quarters so I had plenty to work with. Getting A transponder for tolls and buying a house with a washer dryer nearly killed my quarter collecting. But I trudged on. Anytime we got change in our house I sifted thought it quicker than (insert speedy reference here).

Then a couple years ago the kids wanted to start getting an allowance. Perfect. That requires me each payday get a roll or two of quarters and sort through them before the kids had a pay-day of their own. The kids always exuberant when we find new quarters. It is interesting how their personalities manifest themselves in which state coins they like. Emma likes Kentucky because of the horses, and prefers other coins with animals on them. She is a little upset that no state has the motto "The bunny state" with cute little rabbit coin to match. Charlie likes Indiana because of the Car, Ohio and Florida because of the Astronaut stuff. I had to stop Lucy from putting a nickel in her mouth today so she hasn't really acquired a taste for quarters yet.

So when the Hawaii quarter came out at the end of last year we waited in anticipation to complete our collection. They didn't come to our local bank until February. By then we already had the 4 we needed to complete our set. But that wasn't enough for me. I still had the collecting bug so I have in the past 2 months collected a 5th set just for the fun of it.

So that's why State quarter collecting works for me. To find out what works for other people go to Kirsten's Works For Me Wednesday site at We Are That Family. But before you do, I want to tell you in honor of today being my 50th post I am giving a collection of all 50 state quarters away.

You could use them to start a collection of your own. Or that's $12.50 you can use to stimulate the economy. Or you could use them to learn how to flip quarters from your elbow and catch them in midair. Click here for a demonstration.

To enter just leave a comment on this post or on my face book feed of this post. The sidebar has the official rules. The contest runs until 8:00 p.m EST 3/23/2009

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Next Time: March 11th

Useless Stats: Face Book

I would first like to annunce the winner of my first give-a-way. The Counsils, followers of my blog are the winners of Ken Sutterfield's book The Power of an Encouraging Word. Congratulations. Please contact me and let me know where I can send the book.
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I just recently made my 100th face book friend. I have been on face book for less than 2 months and I have 100 friends already. This is very impressive, considering that in reality, I have like 3 friends. SO thank you face book for being a friend of the friendless

Statistics have always intrigued me. Which may well be why, I only have like 3 friends. I have categorized my face book friends by how I know them. Here is how my face book friends originate. . .

Grew up with in Elk Grove 17%
Roberts Road Bible Church (where I got married) 14%
Family -Amy's side 13%
Harvest Bible Chapel Crystal Lake (previous church) 10%
Family - My side 10%
Russia 9%
Western Illinois University 8%
Friends of Amy 4%
Camp Manitoqua 3%
Columbia, SC 3%
Met through friends or family 3%
School of Leadership Training 3%
Campus Life 2%
Harvest Bible Chapel Lake Zurich (current church) 1%

I'm not sure how I can live with myself, posting this mindless piece of drivel, immediately after my post about quality over quantity. In the words of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, I may need a second apartment.

Next Time: Calculating my Tips

Crazy Dave's Give-a-ways: A final word about encouraging words.

We are midway through my first give-a-way at Crazy Dave's Give-a-ways. Click here to see my original post. Review the sidebar for "official" rules.

I am giving away a copy of Ken Sutterfield's book, The Power of an Encouraging Word. I wanted to post today mainly to remind everyone that my give away ends next Saturday. But also to share another story of when I felt the power of encouraging words.

July 2008. Amy and I were in our first months of attending our new church home in Lake Zurich, Illinois. I had just lost my job days before that. This was the second job I had lost in two years time. Amy and I were contemplating the move which would give me my moniker (aka, "Home School Dad.") She had applied for a job as a School Psychologist, and we were considering, if she was offered the job, her accepting, and me home schooling the kids.

The elders of our church are available to talk to/pray with at the end of each service. We planned to pray with one of the elders once the service was concluded. During worship we are often given a minute or two to greet those around us. We still did not know very many people at the church at the time, so Iwas surprised to turn around and see someone I knew very well.

It was Liz, someone I had worked with at the job I had lost two years prior. She had moved out of state while I still worked there, but was visiting her mother for the weekend, and her mother and I "just happened" to attend the same church.

After service we spent a few minutes catching up. I told her how we were going to pray with the elders about the job situation. Liz then spent the next few minutes telling Amy what a fantastic job I had done when I worked with her. About how I always had a good attitude and I would do the things that no one else would do. As a guy just out of work, I was planning on taking Liz to my next interview. I knew that in all the jobs I have been given, that I have always attempted to do my best for the Lord. The praise of others was not what motivated me. But on that day in July, God saw fit to use those words of encouragement to sustain me and to motivate me for the new job ahead of me: educating my children.

So, my encouragement to you today is twofold: 1) Always look for an opportunity to encourage others. You never know how much additional meaning it will have on their lives. 2) If anyone is ever giving away a book about encouragement, enter for an opportunity to win it.

If you comment on this post you will receive another chance to win the book. All entries are due by 11:00 P.M CST February 28th.

Click here to see other give-a-ways at Around the Blogosphere.

Next Time: The Oscars, our Super Bowl

Crazy Dave's Give-A-Ways: The Power of an Encouraging Word.

This is officially the 25th post at Home School Dad. I thought I would celebrate by having my first give-away. I plan to give something away every 25 posts with every 100th post being a contest. Just comment on this post to be entered to win the book. I am posting all the "official" rules on a sidebar. Without further adieu, here is my first give-away:

The Power of an Encouraging Word


Encouragement - creating hope for the future - Ken Sutterfield from His book "The Power of an Encouraging Word."

From December '92 to November 1994, I served as a Southern Baptist Missionary in a Russian city of approximately 800,000, called Khabarovsk. At the time, they were the best 2 years of my life. (When you get the privilege of being married to a girl like Amy for nearly 11 years, everything else pales in comparison.) In Khabarovsk, I eventually teamed with 4 other missionaries to share the gospel and start a church among the college students. I say, eventually, because I came in November and the first of my teammates came the following summer. My first 6 months, I taught English, learned Russian and went to about 5 Russian Baptist church meetings per week.

I was one of the first Americans living in the region, but was hardly ever lonely. I dived right into my studies and my ministry. I went cross country skiing in 20 below weather. Let's face it, the first few months, I did everything in 20 below weather. I led a man to faith in Christ just by getting in a conversation about Russian Roulette. Like I say, I was hardly ever lonely for America or Americans. I should say, until Easter of 1993.

To the Russian Baptists, Easter is a much bigger deal than Christmas. A Russian Baptist Easter service is a sight to behold, with much singing, preaching and sending of greetings. The problem is that the calendar for Russia's Easter is different than America's Easter. Easter Sunday as I know it, was 1 week prior to Russian Easter. So on American Easter Sunday, it was just another Sunday at my new church and I was homesick, feeling isolated and frustrated with not being able to communicate heart to heart fully in Russian or English

I don't know if my good friend Vladimir Lebedev, one of the young men from the Baptist Church who later became the Pastor of the church we started, noticed my malaise or not. But after the evening service he advised me that there was another American in town and that he and I were going to visit him in his hotel. So we endeavored through Khabarovsk public trans to find that he was not at his hotel, so we went over to Vladimir's house to regroup. His mother made a nice dinner and while we were eating, Vladimir translated for his father as he told me this: "If anyone were to stop by and look at this house right now, they would feel like I have another son. You are part of our family."

Many people have done and said many kind things for me over the years, but Vladimir's father's words ministered to me in a way that no words have before or since. It was one of those moments in early language learning, when you understand the meaning before the translation is given. As in the quote I led off with, an encouraging word had given me hope for the future and I believe that was the last time I was that homesick in the entirety of my time in Khabarovsk.

I am going to give away 1 copy of Ken Sutterfield's book. It is a series of vignettes about encouragement. The author's goal is that the book will promote the act of encouragement. I hope I have a small part in that by promoting the book in this manner. Just post a comment by 11:00 p.m. CST 2/28/09. I will let you know who wins.

Next Time: Beginnings Part III, Now Where Were We?