"How's Your Warranty?"

We live in a world that requires us to purchase or use the warranty that comes with our products. It seems like things don't last as long as they once did, especially since the more technological of a society we are the more there is a need for a warranty. I am so glad that God gave us the greatest warranty for life we could ever imagine...Jesus Christ.

No matter how difficult life is, we have been given a way of making it through with Jesus Christ. He is the one that when we fail...he picks us up...when we hurt he comforts us and when we are filled with joy he celebrates with us. And the greatest thing of all is his warranty never runs out and is never a "limited warranty."

I was reminded this week of how Christ impacts people's life when Mike Flores gave me his NFL player's card. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins of the NFL. Mike is the head football coach for the Silver Creek High School football team and he asked me, this year, to be his assistant coach. This is exciting since it is the first year for high school football at Silver Creek since 1942. What he had put on the back of his player card is incredible.

Here is what is one the back: "Life is basically made up of choices. How you determine what choices are best for you is crucial to your success. Obviously, I made the proper choices that allowed me to play in the NFL...choices like hard work, determination, setting goals, refusing drugs, getting an education, etc. But the absolute best choice I ever made was when I invited Jesus Christ to take over my life and be my Lord and Savior. It takes more guts to follow Jesus Christ than to play against the toughest players in the NFL. I dare you to seek God for yourself, that he may help you to make the right choices in life...especially eternal life. (See John 3:16)"

Mike understands what the warranty of Jesus Christ brings to your life. I pray that you can discover that warranty in your own life and will be touched by his grace every single day.

"Last Entry from the Trip!"

It was such a fun day seeing people in North English I have not seen in years. I was able to see a few of them when I went with my dad again to the "Liar's Club" in the morning. They are such a fun group and the way they tease each other is unbelievable.

Later in the morning I had the chance to see my cousin Matt. Matt is very special since he is like my little brother. Matt's mom died 15 years ago (at the age of 42) and when Randy died Matt became like my younger brother. It has been a tough life for Matt, but as he would tell you I have been his one constant throughout his life. I was not going to be able to see Matt, because he works in Cedar Rapids as a car salesman, but over night someone broke into the dealership and shot...yes shot up the dealership. The gunman or gunmen shot out the windows and all of the computers in the dealership. So fortunately I was able to see him and talk with him.

I also had the opportunity to meet with my Aunt Reva and Arland again. It was sad for me when I left because she hugged me harder than she ever has and reminded me that she loved me and was proud of me.

The afternoon was spent just hanging out around my folk's house, but Mitchell had the pleasure of going fishing and playing golf with his grandfather. My dad takes such pride in doing that and can not praise Mitchell enough for the way he never gets upset over a missed fish or poorly hit golf ball.

Well tonight is my last night in Iowa and essentially the last blog on the road. It has been such a wonderful and relaxing time for me. I want to thank the church family for allowing me to take this much needed (did not realize how much I needed it until we were on the road) vacation and I pray you have enjoyed reading about the attics of the Donahues.

Tomorrow morning we will leave to return to Sellersburg. Please pray for our safe return. We will make a stop at the Nichols, IA cemetery where Kari's grandparents are buried. I look forward to see you all Sunday morning.

"What a Fantastic Day!"

It is hard to put into words a day where you got to see people you have not seen in years. The first thing in the morning, I went to the EV Malt Shop with my dad to meet with other members of the infamous "Liars' Club." It is a group of guys (most of them my dad's age or older) who come into the Malt Shop in the morning and afternoon to drink coffee and make fun of each other.

Some of the guys I remembered from childhood, but others it was like meeting them for the first time. Of course the kept telling my dad it was good that "your son did not get his looks from you...Donahue!" That was said over and over again. It was fun to be able to just listen to them talk. During my time in the Malt Shop I had the pleasure of meeting Kurt...the minister of my home church the North English Christian Church. Kurt has been at the church about four months longer than I have been at Speed. He has a great personality and the North English Christian Church is also growing. He was nice enough to give me a tour of the old home church...how things have changed, but at the same time how things have stayed the same.

Another highlight of the day was meeting with my Aunt Reva and Arland and Reva's daughter Nancy who I have not seen in years. My Aunt Reva was my second grade teacher and I also went across the street to her house when I was in junior high and high school to get ice tea she always had ready for me. She told everyone (yes we ate lunch at the EV Malt Shop) that I have always been her favorite nephew.

Later that day Kari, my mom and dad and myself went to a large household auction in a community about 14 miles from here. We were amazed at how cheap things were going. Kari got four glass serving dishes for three dollars and we were able to get Mitch an auto harp for only $25.

Tomorrow should bring more "hometown" adventure since tomorrow the North English Celebration starts. I do find it funny that every time I meet someone I went to high school with I always think, "boy when did they get old!"

"10 Hours Later We Have Arrived in North English, IA"

We started the day off by having breakfast with Kari's folks at a local restaurant in Alliance. After saying goodbye to Sandy and Ted, we stopped at the hospital (Kari's brother Dana is the head of the maintenance department at the hospital) to say goodbye. Then we started off for North English, Iowa.

Kari took the first leg of the very, very, very long trip. It is amazing how fast one can drive in Nebraska, but fortunately for us Kari decided to slow down just in time to see a large pickup pull over a car. The pickup was a Nebraska Highway Patrol vehicle...yes in Nebraska you are liable to see anything.

I have been asked via texting on my cell phone whether or not Mitchell has been driving.
Well unfortunately when you rent a vehicle all drivers must be 25 years of age or older so he has not had the pleasure of driving. He has been entertaining us with song, different voices, etc.

I took over the driving responsibilities as soon as we were able to cross over into Iowa and stopped for a Maid Rite sandwich. If you do not know what a Maid Rite is it is like a sloppy joe sandwich without the sauce. It is a wonderful sandwich and something that both Kari and I ate growing up in Iowa.

Well we finally made it to North English at 10:35 Sellersburg time (9:35 pm Iowa time). It is great to see my folks and we are all looking forward to spending the next couple of days with them.

"An Interesting Day!"

Today was sort of a sight seeing trip as we (Kari, Mitchell, myself and Kari's mom and dad) went on a road trip to Crawford, NE. It was only a short drive from Alliance, but when you are out in this country it seems to take forever to get anywhere. I have resolved myself to the fact it is because there is NOTHING between towns in this part of Nebraska, but that said it was an interesting day.

We went to Fort Robinson, located just outside of Crawford, NE. It was an actual cavalry installation which closed in the early 1900s. Still remaining at Ft. Robinson is the actual barracks and the headquarters...lodge as it is now called. We were able to eat lunch in the lodge which was absolutely wonderful and I had their Fort Robinson Buffalo bacon cheeseburger...to die for! Inside the restaurant is a large picture of a buffalo made out of buffalo head nickels...yes actual nickels and it probably has over a thousand in it.

One of the most interesting "historic" makers was the one about the "Buffalo Soldiers." "Buffalo Soldiers" was the name given to Black cavalry members by Native Americans. The regiment of Buffalo Soldiers fought against the Cheyenne Indians and then went to the Philippines in the early 1930s.

After leaving Fort Robinson we went to back to Alliance via Chadron, NE to see Chadron State University (it was Kari's idea). The running back for CSU set an NCAA record in total yards rushing last year and has been picked up by the New York Jets (NFL) in free agency. Of course I realize that none of you would understand why your pastor would want to see that football field...NOT!

Well Wednesday, July 23rd will be a traveling day for the Donahues as we head for North English, IA to see my folks. I know they, as Kari's parents were, will be anxiously awaiting our arrival. I am not looking forward to the drive since it will be at least 10 hours on the road.

I should be able to blog with ease at my folks since they do have an internet connection, but I do want to thank Alliance Public Library for having open internet access to the public. Well as the old song by Willie Nelson goes..."On The Road Again!"

"We Made It!"

One of the things that you realize when you make it to Alliance, NE is the ability to find Internet connections for blogging is a little difficult...fortunately when all else fails go to the public library. So that being said I will try to catch you up on the trials and tribulations of the Donahues coming to the panhandle of Nebraska.

We left Sellersburg at 4:30 am on Saturday and arrived in Alliance, NE at 9:30 pm our time...we are two hours behind here. It was an extremely long drive (1,099 miles) but we were able to accomplish the feat in less than what Mapquest said...they said 17 hours we did it in 15 hours. Now the unique aspect of the trip is that for the first time Kari was tired enough that I was able to drive about 5 hours of the way...something that rarely occurs.

The last 150 miles seemed to take forever, especially since the drive from Broken Bow to Alliance is very isolated. In fact we had to gas up in Broken Bow since there are no gas stations from that point until Alliance. We did have one exciting event in that stretch and that was when we picked up a sand turtle on the side of the rode and brought it to Kari's folk's home to put in their garden pond.

Kari's mom looks great and is doing very well! She has lost a lot of weight...I am guessing around 80 lbs and is getting around far better than I ever expected. He dad is also doing well and is as funny as ever! Her brother and his family are doing great...but I can not believe how much Tyson and Allison have grown over the last eight years.

Sunday morning was difficult for me to say the least. I kept feeling like I had to go get ready to preach and that was hard to deal with. Kari, her mom and dad and myself went to the United Methodist Church in Alliance for worship. How you all sit in the pews for an hour is amazing to me! I can say one thing about the service...THANK GOD FOR SPEED MEMORIAL CHURCH! The minister at the UMC read every prayer, and his sermon...it was driving me crazy. And the service also strengthened my feeling that we are blessed at Speed for our musical talent in the church.

I want to thank Sam Stone for filling in for me and I have heard nothing but rave reviews on his sermon. I can not wait to hear it.

Today (Monday, July 21) will be spent site seeing. We may go to South Dakota or we may just go to Car Henge which is located just outside of Alliance. I will try to get back to the library to blog on Tuesday, but if not I can blog everyday at my folks starting on Wednesday. To say I miss you all is an understatement.

"What's Your Excuse?"

We live in a culture that does it all the time...makes excuses for what we do or do not do. That same principle applies to our faith or should I say lack of faith. We all, sometime in our faith journey, have come up with an excuse why we don't accept or follow Jesus Christ. One thing I am certain of that I am so thankful Jesus Christ did not come up with an excuse why he would not die on a cross for you and me!

Webster's Dictionary defines "excuse" as "to ask forgiveness or pardon for oneself; to apologize for; to justify; and to allow one to leave." I tend to think that most of the time when we use the term excuse we mean "to justify" our actions. When it comes to accepting Jesus Christ we can come up with some very unique excuses. My favorite one is "if Jesus knew what I have done he would not want to have anything to do with me!" I like that one because Jesus ALREADY KNOWS what we have done and he still wants a relationship with him!

I am so thankful that when Christ went to the cross he did not say to his Father..."couldn't this wait until another time?" or "ya know I really haven't given this enough thought yet!" Instead he went to the cross willingly for you and me; thus we need to stop making excuses and start accepting the gift.

Remember following Jesus Christ does not mean your bank account is going to start miraculously increasing or that nothing will every go wrong in your life...that just isn't the case. But following Jesus Christ does guarantee that no matter what happens you have him to call on or lean on.

So the next time you think that you have an excuse why you don't accept the gift from Christ, remember he did not have an excuse when he died on a cross out of love for you. In fact, he outstretched his arms to remind us that if we ever need a hug his arms are always open for us!

"Hold My Hand!"

At first glance it seems like a very small thing to do, but it is actually one of the most effective means of nonverbal communication humans have...holding hands. Research has demonstrated that babies do better when held; people who are sick get well faster when someone holds their hand and it can be the most comforting act you can offer another.

But you need to realize that there is someone else who is offering their hand to you on a daily basis and he is Jesus Christ. He reaches out to us all the time wanting us to grab hold so that we can make it through the day. Unfortunately too many of us are convinced that Jesus Christ would not want to take our hand if "he knew what we have done in the past." Well I can tell you he does know and he STILL wants to take your hand.

Touch is very powerful and for me touch means touch offers unlimited Christ healing! It is the touch of our Lord and Savior that heals a broken heart and shattered dreams. His embrace can change your out look on life in a heart beat and bring the needed purpose to your life. He says that we should bring "all of our burdens" to him and when you reach out to him that is exactly what you do!

I recently performed my daughters wedding and part of what I did was walk her down the aisle. I put my arm out for her to take but instead she took my hand...it made what Christ has been saying all along come to light, "Take my hand and together we can make it through everything." For me, that day, I was not walking down the aisle with a grown up daughter, but walking down the aisle with that little girl who had counted on me all these years. That one act by her reminded me that Christ just wants to take my hand and let me feel he has always been there for me.

I challenge you to reach out and take Jesus Christ's hand and feel the burdens be lifted from you! It will be an every day occurrence once you start and you will never want it to end.