What up Dairy,
Earlier ago I made an entry about my church, after rereading it I may have made my church sound pretty bad. The protestor caught us by surprise, and while I have not talked to anyone about it in queit sometime I hope that others feel the way I do now. I truly agreed with how the situation was handled at the time but in hind sight I can see we should have done things differently.

We have some really great people at church and I could go on and on about the wonderful things that they have done and I might too. Like the time Jamie took off outside one night when he was to young to be out by himself and a lady who had just had back surgery came carrying him back in. She looked all upset, I know something happened but she just brushed it off and said it was all ok. And there’s the time I got myself married and a dude came up to me and shook my hand the morning of my wedding and I drew back a fifty, that was one heck of a handshake Dairy. Then there was all the great wedding gifts and when we had kids we got a lot of shower gifts.

Then there’s the dude who we rented from. We went to church with him for years and when his rental house came available he told us about it and he gave us a great rate on rent. Oh, yeah Dairy, there was the time I ran my car into tree right down the road from one of our members, I was a teenager and had never really talked to this lady before but she seed I was all upset and she came up and wrapped her arms around me and let me cry on her shoulder.

There is a woman who owns one of them specialty shops and we picked our china out from her. A few years after we was married I was walking through the mall and she flagged me down and said that our pattern was discontinued and that she had a few odd and end pieces of it left and she gave us several place settings and would not take nothing for it. Hey that reminds me Dairy, her husband done the pictures for our wedding, he done photogragphy stuff as a hobby, and he volunteered and would not let me pay him.

Dude that is just a small dose of some of the awesome blessings I have had from my church family. And I know that there are hundreds of things like these going on every week from my church family. I just hopes that I have been a blessing to some of them as they have been to me.

I still think we look to much at outward appearances though and I hope that will change one day. I hope that is something I can teach the youth. Heck speaking of the youth I have learned a lot from them also. They are pretty good teachers with out even realizing it.

HEBREWS 10:25 NOT FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER, AS THE MANNER OF SOME IS; BUT EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER: AND SO MUCH THE MORE, AS YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.

I AM VONSTEGALL AND I LOVE AND AM THANKFUL FOR MY CHURCH!

Hello Dairy,
I haven’t written this week since all I have done is worked. I wouldn’t work so much every week if we did not have this layoff hangning over us. I am beginning to see it as relief. I will revel in finding a job that is not so hard on my body, even if it pays less than I make now. Odds are it will, insurance will be more important than pay though.

Dairy, I love my church and the people there but I have really been aggravated by one particular attitude that I have seen lately. It’s something that I disagree with the preacher on but I am hesitant to say anything, mainly because there has been several things that I have discussed with him. I don’t want to be continually disagreeing with the preacher and have everyone think I am the hardcase trouble maker that most all churches have. I greatly respect my preacher and consider him a good friend and I actually agree with about 95% of what he says, but that 5% percent of other stuff really gets my goat Dairy.

I think my church has a hang up with outward appearances. I think some of us think more of dressing up and wearing big smiles than we do of praising God and worshipping Him. Dairy, Matthew 23:25 says WOE UNTO YOU, SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, HYPOCRITES! FOR YE MAKE CLEAN THE OUTSIDE OF THE CUP AND OF THE PLATTER, BUT WITHIN THEY ARE FULL OF EXTORTION AND EXCESS. There seems to be a big push about wearing nice clothes, appearing to be happy all the time, and looking spiritual. This is no lie Dairy, we had a sermon a few weeks ago that the preacher actually preached more intense on how you dress(nice clothes) than he did on salvation through Jesus Christ. The sad thing is he had more amens on that than he did salvation. There is so much encouragement to show emotion. This is expected from some people, because they are emotional people. There is one dude who sings and he almost always cries when he talks or sings, but that is just the way he is when you talk to him anytime. I would doubt the sincerety if a bunch of people started crying and shouting and raising hands, especially if they had never done this before.

Matthew 23:25 says to me that some people would rather drink from a cup that was spotless on the outside even if the inside was covered in grime and slime. If the topic ever comes up in sunday school(I sorta lead the youth every other weak) I have thought to take two glasses into class, one dirty on the outside and clean on the inside, the other clean on the outside and dirty ont he inside. Fill the glasses half full of drink and ask a volunter which they would rather drink from. Obviosly they would choose the one that was clean on the outside. After showing them the inside I bet they would change their minds.

This has bothered me for sometime now but has sort of been thrown up in my face recently. I do not have much hair so my head gets cold. Particulary on wednesday nights it is cold inside the church. I was wearing a toboggan wednesday night, inside the church sanctuary, one of the older gentlemen came down the isle and told someone Vonstegall must be cold he has his tobogan on, the reply he got was your suppose to take it off when you go into the Lord’s house. I really wanted to say something smart aleck but I didn’t. I didn’t say nothing. As long as they arsn’t gonna turn on the heat I will wear a toboggan. If I am ever approached I guess I’ll respond that I can’t afford to get sick just because they won’t turn the heat on, my family depends on me going to work to feed, cloth, and house them. God sees the inside of this cup, He knows I mean no disrespect by keeping my head warm, He also knows that I love Him and have a desire to serve Him(although I do a lousy job sometimes). This is something I must commit to prayer, while I have strong feelings about it I don’t want to disrupt harmony and cause a stink with the preacher.

Let me give you an example of this. During the last presidential election we had a dude come walking into church wearing a white t-shirt and in magic marker he had written President Bush eats s***. He wanted to come protest. When he came in some of the leaders saw him and escorted him out and told him he had to wait outside and then protest from across the street. I originally agreed with the guys who did this but now I arsn’t so sure. I think maybe they should have shook his hand introduced themselves like he was anyone else. They should have taken him down to the front pew and sat with him. This way he would hear the sermon and hopefully get saved. He wasn’t a christian, that was revealed while talking to him after church while he was protesting and shouting George Bush is the anti-christ. We sing as an invitational hymm Just As I Am. It goes something like just as I am I come to thee O Lord. We rejected Bill(the protestor) just as he was. We should have accepted him just as he was the same way God accepts us into His kingdom, just as we are, sinners. By that rejection there was nothing we could say to the dude that would change his mind about christians and us in particular. To get back to using Bill as an example, if he had come into church wearing a suit we would have welcomed him and shook his hand and been nice even if he had been a terrorist wanting to blow the church up. In conversing with Bill his biggest gripe was that he has a sickness that he beleives more stem cell research could help. That was what was in his heart the fear of his sickness, we rejected him and possibly condemned him to hell by our actions and by looking at the outside of the cup only. We could have offered him a healing that would have lasted an eternity instead we refused to even offer it to him because of his appearance.

I sincerely pray that if I am wrong that my belief on this will change and if others are wrong then there belief will change. The ironic thing is that our church is a friendly, accepting, and loving church most of the time.

I reckon I is through for now Dairy, see ya later.

MATTHEW 23:27 WOE UNTO YOU, SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, HYPOCRITES! FOR YE ARE LIKE UNTO WHITED SEPULCHRES, WHICH INDEED APPEAR BEAUTIFUL OUTWARD, BUT ARE WITHIN FULL OF DEAD MEN’S BONES, AND OF ALL UNCLEANESS.

I AM VONSTEGALL AND I LOVE MY CHURCH, MY PREACHER, AND MY LORD!!!

Hello Dairy,
How am you today? I’m fine, I getting recuperated. It’s been a busy week. I’ve worked some overtime, and even did a wash job this week. Let’s me see if’n I can recollect any highlights. Let’s see, oh yeah thursday I was gonna take it easy all night since I had a wash job scheduled, but the machine ran so good and at nights end I had a record run going so I figured I’d go for it. My previous high was 602 thursday I nailed 611. That’s the best on my machine for a 17 inch tire.

Let’s see again, oh yeah, I was doing my wash job. I finished up the garage and the homeowner’s were parked about midway in the driveway. I had not talked to him and I went up and asked him how long he was gonna be there. He gave me a rude, sorta harsh answer. I politely told him I was about ready to wash the driveway and he says “O your pressure washer, I thought you was the heat and air guy and I was about to go off on you. I’ve been looking for those &%&@#& (*#@$^%&^ guys.” I think he felt bad cause he kept telling me how good I was doing after that. Man that was a long day. I worked my 8 at the plant and then worked about nine more washing. I tooked a days vacation for friday and have been recuperating since. I probably set a record with gallons of water also. I don’t know for sure how many I used but I would guess 2 thousand gallons.

Hay Dairy, we eated out with the sinklayers. We had a good time, but when we was leaving I opened the door and their cat took off out the door. Well that wasn’t enough when I saw the cat go out Hannah screamed close the door, well I did Dairy, but Hannah was chasing the cat and I closed the door real quick like and hit her with it. At first I thunk I had tagged her in the head but it was just an arm hit.

Let me see, what else if anything happened. Oh yeah, I telled ya about our next mission trip to Grifton to work on substandard housing, well we may have as many as 7 people going so far. We will see.

I also think I may have lost a little wait. I mean a real little bit, maybe half or three fourths of a pound. Any way I are eating better and doing a little exercise, not much mind you but a little.

Hmmm… I recollect that is all. See ya later.

HOSEA 4:17 EPHRAIM IS JOINED TO IDOLS: LET HIM ALONE.

I AM VONSTEGALL AND I BUILT 611 TIRES AND USED 2,000 GALLONS OF WATER IN ONE DAY, BOY IS I TIRED!

Hey Dairy,
I’m sorry I have neglected you this week. I have sorta been in the dumps. I arsn’t sure if’n it is the situational dumps or the its just time to be a little depressed kind of dumps. Whichever it are I just feel like crap. It’s sunday maybe going to church will help me feel better.

It’s amazing that I may be losing my job and that don’t bother me. Yet something as small as a butthole coming to visit my parents and I let it get me feeling like crap. I guess the worst part is not the butthole coming but the way my mom makes out like I’m the one who is in the wrong. This just drives me nuts, she lives in a fantasy world that says if you ignore something or pretend it did not happen then things will be better. Unfortunately she are wrong, it actually makes the situation worser.

Other than feeling like crap it was a pretty good weekend. We went to South 21 and got the world’s best trout and tartar sauce. Then we went to Krispy Kreme and got some hot doeknuts. Yeah I know I arsnt suppose to be eating things like that but Dairy, I did so good all week one day wont hurt. Heck I even took it easy at the men’s breakfast at church saturday morning. I enjoyed the fellowship also.

ISAIAH 43:1 BUT NOW THUS SAITH THE LORD THAT CREATED THEE, O ISRAEL, FEAR NOT; FOR I HAVE REDEEMED THEE I HAVE CALLED THEE BY THY NAME; THOU ART MINE.

I AM VONSTEGALL…….

What up Dairy?
Yesterday we wented to get Kimmie a cockatiel. We called a dude and he said he had about eight or nine that were ready. Actually they was older than we wanted. He said he would have some new borns in march and that they would be ready to sell by first or mid april. The younger you get them the more likely you can train them to talk some. We lefted it up to Kimber and I was proud of her dicision to weight for the young ones. I know she really wanted a younger one, but she also wanted one right now. Since this dude arsn’t as expensive as the pet shops and cents his set up looked real clean and nice I am glad she decided to wait.

That is all for now see ya next weeks.

MATTHEW 18:3 AND SAID, “VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, EXCEPT YE BE CONVERTED, AND BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN, YE SHALL NOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.”

I AM VONSTEGALL AND HAVE DONE SITUPS AND PUSHUPS EVERYDAY THIS WEEK!!

Hay Dairy,
I got my double shift in, it weren’t so bad as I thought. My machine ran real good, that always helps. The company and union had another round of negotiations today. They got nothing resolved. They made an annnouncement on all the local network news stations. They had originally said that if we didn’t cave in by the first of the year they would layoff. We did not cave. So they announced a two stage layoff, 250 in march and 250 in june. We still did not cave. So now they are saying that it is gonna be on 500 person layoff in march. We still arsn’t gonna cave, no one wants to accept the cuts. At some point they are gonna have to quit threatening to layoff and actually do it. I are’s ready, in fact the closer march 15 gets the more ready I get. Heck I need to lose wait anyweigh so a layoff will mean oatmeal for breakfast, rice for lunch, and pinto beans for dinner. I wishes they would let us vote on the cuts and see no one wants them. I wheel not work as hard as I do for 35% less pay.

Dairy, Kimmie wants a bird. I thank we has agreed to it too. She is trying to decide between a parakeet or a cockatiel. She really wanted a parakeet real bad at first and I put my foot down and told her no parakeet, she could only have one. We had talked about getting a cockatiel a few years ago and then didn’t do it. I think she will have her bird in a couple of weeks.

Dairy, I’m through for now it are bedtime. Goodnight Dairy.

PROVERBS 16:26 THE WORKERS’ HUNGER HELPS THEM, BECAUSE THEIR DESIRE TO EAT MAKES THEM WORK.(NEW CENTURY VERSION)

I AM VONSTEGALL AND I WILL WORK BUT NOT FOR 35% LESS.
I AM VONSTEGALL AND I DON’T JUST READ THE KING JAMES VERSION, DON’TCHA KNOW!!!

How do you do Dairy?
I’m good today. Tomorrow I will be like crap, I is supposed to pull a double shift friday. Sadturd day I will most likely lay around doing very little. I guess I had better get it while it is there. You know Dairy, I just wish they would tell us we gots a job or we don’ts. Even if’n we ain’t got a job at least we can get on with our lifes. It’s kind of scary that I may lose my job, but it is also kind of exciting. I will either have time to work on my writing or have no time at all due to wirking 14 jobs to make ends meet. Then there are the possibility of going to school and doing something completely new. I have thunk of CNC training, while that is at the top of the list due to access of a job I may take a look sea at what elses they have available. I know whatever I do will have to be a community college deal. I just don’t have time to go to brain surgery school.

Whatever I do I needs to make prayerperations. That means I gots to pray and seek God’s will. I know if’n I lose my job He will takes cares of me’s. He always has.

Oh yeah Dairy, I had a physical and got the results back. I have terrible cholestorol. I need to make an appointment to get therapy, I reckon that means he is gonna give me medicine and tell me to eat better and exercise. Guess what Dairy, I’ll take the medicine, I’ll even exercise a little(I did 20 sit-ups and 10 push-ups this morning) but I can’t make no promises on eating better. I can eat oatmeal for breakfast, that ain’t to bad and it is suppose to be good for high cholesterall, but I arsn’t so sure about much more than that. I will make an appointment this week. I have to check my schedule first, I am suppose to work some overtime the next few weeks, and I also have a wash job to do next week, so the doctor will just have to wait his turn. He gets low priority.

Hmmmm? Hmmmmm? Hmmmmm?

I reckon that’s all I gots to says right now. Sees ya later Dairy my old pal.

PROVERBS 23:21 FOR THE DRUNKARD AND THE GLUTTON SHALL COME TO POVERTY; AND DROWSINESS SHALL CLOTHE A MAN WITH RAGS.

I AM VONSTEGALL AND I AM NOT A DRUNKARD!!!!!

Hay Dairy,
I sure has misseded you. Oh it’s been so long cents we spoken to each udder.
Let me sea wear to start. Oh yeah, we went on our mission trip. We had a a blast. Me’s and Lynn and Eddie Dean the construction machine and his wife Carson wented. We got to do replacement windows four ann elderly woman and her husband. She was sew sweet. This was a project for substandard housing. I helpeded and watcheded Eddie Dean the window king do about four windows. We took off awl the curtains, blinds, hardwear, and casing. After taking out the old won we put in a knew won. It got to wear Eddie Dean the casing machine would put all the casing and stuff back own while I took the next one a part. Then awl of a sudden EYE started putting’em in awl bye my self’s, with Lynn’s help. Lynn and Carson did the cleaning, you no make mine and Eddie Dean the mess making machine’s crap look good. If’n you arsn’t figured it out yet I made rimes about Eddie’s name all weak ind. We got 14 windows reinstalled. There was won that they ordereded the unright size for it and there was a big bay window that was gonna take about three thirds of a day to install.

We also got back to headquarters in tyme to help put tarps over a load of sheetrock.

We had a good time sharing and cutting up with Mrs. Evertte(the home owner). I really liked her but I didn’t much like her son. She had to left for a little bit friday and he comed over. He watched us like a hawk and after talking to him for a little bit EYE realized why. He has that everybody are a thief because EYE are mentalitiy. We used his shop vac and it was a niced one and EYE telley him sew. He sayed he got lucky, someone lefted it own a jobsite and he got it before they could come back. He also said he gots a small business loan for $35,000 and that if they was dumb enough to give it to him that was there stupidity, he wasn’t gonna pay it back. He payed $1000 to take a course that teached him how to get govt money for free. That dude with all the question marks on his suit has gotten all us honest tax payers screwed. This dude used his stolen money to start a catering business. He said if’n your church ever needs a caterer give him a call. I axed him if’n he would drive 4 hours to cater and he said if ya’ll come down here and work for free you know I’ll go that far for money. He was also upset because he got denied on his application to get his windows done(thank goodness). He says wouldn’t that be something if ya’ll came and did my windows. I honestly hope we never do. The thing about it was that when we tried to steer the conversation to spiritual things he said he was alright with The Lord. I’m not saying he arsn’t a christian but his lifestyle doesn’t say he is. We tried to talk to him though, that is why we go on these trips. If’n we or someone else from the NC Baptist Men ever go to his house maybe we will be able to lead him to Christ or persuade him to live more like a christian if’n he is one.

We eight supper fri at Boss Hogg’s Barbeque. Man dem ribs was good. I eight a hole rack.

Hey Dairy, dude I really enjoyed being in there with the elderly women sunday morning. I don’t know what they thought but I thought it was a good lesson, especially cents they participated. Me and Jamie singeded in the choir, we enjoyed that also. We talkeded to the preacher and he wants to plan another trip to Grifton. He wants to try to get more participation so we are’s gonna plan it a little further off this time. I may end up going again before then anyway. Going to Grifton we can offer doing substandard housing improvements or helping in the warehouse for sending things to Mississippi.

Ok Dairy old pal I knows yure just dying to here what is going own at the plant after such a long quiet spell. I’ll tells ya. They delivered some great big crates to the warehouse. They have a crew of subcontractors putting them together. This arsn’t rumor it is fact, lots of people has seed them. Now romur or commoncents says they are gonna start packing machinery into them to ship to other plants, cents they are shutting us down, or at least cutting production.

I don’t no if I telled ya yet Dairy, that if you lose your job to overseas then you qualify to go to school and unemployment will pay for school and and pay you unemployment. At first I balked at the idea of letting the govt send me to school. But EYE come to the conclusion that EYE pay for all of my kids schooling and also help pay for the majority of everyone else’s kids to go to school. Sew I am gonna go to school to learn how to run a CNC(computer numerical control) machine. Dad has one of them and he also has all the mills and lathes that arsn’t computer controlled. I may a good oppurtunity hear. Or I may knot.

I know that was an ear full but it has been a while Dairy old pal. I’ll give ya rest now.

MATTHEW 18:11 FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.

I AM VONSTEGALL AND I HAD SUCH A BLESSED WEEKEND!!!!!