Oh, hi

It's been almost four months since I posted anything on here! Wow! Where in the world did the time go?

Well...let's see...what have I been up to?

Summer was good. Went to Minneapolis at the beginning of June and then came back via a circle tour of the Great Lakes. Saw Lakes Superior and Huron for the first time. Spent some time on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is gorgeous. Also got to see Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan which is seriously one of the most incredible places I've ever seen.

Went camping a couple of times, once to Cook Forest with my mother-in-law Barb and Danielle's nieces Emma & Candace. THAT was an awesome adventure! We went tubing down the Clarion River which is always fun! Then a couple weeks later, we went with our dear friends Andy and Jenn to Beaver Meadows in the Allegheny Forest which was also a blast.

Over Labor Day weekend, Danielle and I went to Myrtle Beach to visit my dad and MaryJo. We also took Candace, which was so much fun. She had an incredible time, and so did we. My dad and MaryJo were kind enough to set up Scotty the camper up for us, so we were able to stay right on the beach. So much fun. I love that place. LOVE it.

At the end of September, Danielle, Aaron, and I were fortunate enough to be able to go to Granger Community Church in South Bend, Indiana for Innovate '09, which was an awesome conference.

And then just a couple weekends ago, my best friend Chris and I traveled to Washington, DC to celebrate our friend Michael's birthday. He's been a dear friend of ours since we were in college in Daytona Beach many moons ago. He married a beautiful young lady names Toyosi and they had a spectacularly gorgeous and joyous Nigerian wedding. It was awesome. I've never had so much fun at a wedding that wasn't my own. It also made me loathe American culture. LOL. These people DEFINITELY know how to celebrate. Wow!

Over the course of these months, little Candace turned 3, my nephew Sebastian turned 19, my niece Cordelia turned 11, and my nephew Sheffield turned 2. And on Tuesday, my nephew Spencer turns 9...on the 19th, my niece Sara turns 18...on December 10 my niece Miranda turns 18...and on December 15, Danielle's niece Emma turns 5. December also marks birthdays for my sis-in-law Brandy and my sis Di. And our "nephews" Eli and Owen. Wow. I got tired just typing all that.

Work is going fine. I am still at the bank and also at Grace doing video work. Ministry is absolutely where my heart is, so I continue to pray daily that a door will open somewhere -- somehow. I am very grateful to be working (Danielle too), especially now when so many people have lost their jobs. Times are tough, but thank God - Danielle and I are doing very well for ourselves right now. Better than ever, to be honest. God has blessed us so much. He is so incredibly faithful!!!

Now, I look forward to the months ahead. I love this time of year! Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter, snow, lake effect...it's definitely my favorite time of year. Danielle and I celebrate THREE years of wedded bliss next month. Wow! It seems like only yesterday. No, seriously, it does.

And that has been 2009 in a nutshell by Dave Hartland. Thank you for reading.

Winter Forecast

In the midst of what is, thus far, the coldest July on record (our average temp in July thus far has been 65.5; that is almost a full degree colder than the current coldest July on record of 66.4 set in 1976), I thought it would be appropriate to share with you the first look at this upcoming winter forecast. If you like cold and snow, it looks like we're in for yet another amazing winter! :-)

Courtesy AccuWeather.com:

A Fourth of July Message

Have a great weekend!

Six days in June

Tonight, I write to you to say this:
If you think all hope is lost and that our neighborhoods are too far gone..if you think people just don't care or have no decency left, I implore you to go take a walk along East 21st Street in Erie, Pennsylvania.

I'm not sure if I've ever been so moved by anything as I was today as I helped out with the Extreme Makeover side project that Grace is so privileged to be a part of. As I walked up and down that street over and over again, and I met the people who call that neighborhood home, I saw God's awesome hand all over that place. The smiles of the people who are just so thankful that somebody cares about them. The tears of joy that they are not forgotten after all. The sense of wonder and awe that these people have that somebody wants to do this for them.

Yes, Clara Ward and her home may be the focus here, but away from the cameras and out of the public eye, an incredible story is unfolding before our very eyes. A story I pray - O dear God - I PRAY, will have many chapters and that Erie, Pennsylvania will be a city transformed forever.

And it all will have started because of six days in June 2009.

Climate Change tax bill up for vote THIS FRIDAY

From icecap.us:

Waxman Markey Cap-and Tax bill comes up for a vote Friday. LAST CHANCE to put an end to this potential disaster in the making, one that will cost you dearly with millions of lost jobs, increased costs (a hidden tax) FOR EVERYONE averaging between $1600 and $4200 per year for the average American family according to the CBO, the Heritage, MIT and other studies. The cost of all energy and goods and services will rise to try and cover some of the costs for the bailouts and other trillion dollar programs the government wants to burden us with. Call your congressman’s office and tell them to vote no or they will have to go on the next election day. Our economy is too weak to absorb another shock.

This bill is the most flagrant attempted con-job and propaganda campaign in US history. If it helps Congress enact cap-and-tax legislation, it will give activists, courts and bureaucrats control over virtually every aspect of our lives. It will enable them to confiscate hard-earned dollars, convert them to payoffs for activists and companies that get on the climate-crisis bandwagon, consign uncooperative companies and scientists to the ash heap of history, and conceal the exorbitant costs of restrictive energy policies - on families, industries, jobs and transportation - until long after the bill becomes law.

For those of us in Northwest PA, please go here and let Kathy Dahlkemper know that you do not support the bill and that you would like her to vote no. As always, please be polite and civil.

There is no climate crisis. In fact, it is becoming more and more likely that the earth is entering a period of cooler weather. The alarmists, however, are getting more desperate as "proof" of climate change is becoming harder and harder to conjure up. I encourage you to follow icecap.us for articles that actually shed the TRUTH on the climate change propaganda that is being thrown in our faces each day.

i'm a coward

<sup>Colossians 1:21-23

21</sup>Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²²But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven...

This morning's sermon was one of the most convicting sermons in a long time.

Here's what I got out of it:
I'm tired of playing games. I'm tired of going through the motions. I'm tired of the nothingness of life. There is something more than this. There's GOT to be.

I'm spiritually retarded. And I. Am. Sick. Of. Being. This. Way.

Ask me in one month what I have done with the brokenness of the moment I am experiencing right now, and I'll probably say "nothing".

Because that's the kind of person I am. I'm too much of a freaking coward and too dang lazy to change. Why should I think this time will be different?

2 must-see videos

Some of you may have seen these two videos already, but I was introduced to them last week and I had to share them with those of you who have not yet seen them. They are absolutely hilarious:

Charlie Bit My Finger


David After the Dentist