I didn't get to my normal Monday posting of the random ravings of a modern lunatic (or my blog entry as it is more commonly known). I had a meeting at the unGodly hour of 7 a.m. yesterday in Manteca, CA, a 70 minute drive if you push the speed limit and at that hour you can. The Mustang cruised at 70 miles an hour and I showed up right at 7 a.m. after leaving the house at 5:50 a.m. As this job continues to confound me, the meetings and the drive to arrive at them have become more of a hassle. I displayed my unhappiness in the meeting and was supported by the other underwriters. The problem that I'm having is that my agency plant is made up of habitational agents and our companies do NOT have competitive rates in this class of business. I've been floundering as I attempt to keep my agents happy and interested, but I'm losing the battle. I've been branching out to other agents and picking up some contractor's agents and I'm just staying alive, but I'm not thriving. It's frustrating.

I'm continuing to build my business while looking over my shoulder and talking to other potential employers. Darla and I leave for Hawaii in four weeks and I'd like to get this settled so that I can relax on the beach and not carry the burden of my employment woes with me. I have interviewed with Keenan and Associates, a broker who handles insurance for school districts in California. They are the 4th largest broker in the country and are hiring a new Account Executive to replace the current AE, who is being promoted to Vice President in the Northern California office. I had a very good interview with the Assistant VP last week and hope to meet with the Vice President in the next week or two. I have a lunch meeting with Burns and Wilcox this Thursday. The Vice President for the west coast region is in town and I will meet with him and the local branch manager to discuss joining their firm. They are also a Surplus Lines broker, but have a national footprint and a corporate structure, which is unlike the family-owned firm that I'm working for now. I underestimated the power of a franchise when I joined Richter-Robb. Burns and Wilcox is owned by The Kauffman Group and is the second largest surplus lines broker in the United States. THAT is a BIG footprint. It will all work out and I'm leaving it in the hands of the Lord, who has never failed to provide for me, even in my bleakest moments.

The boy's football program took on Folsom High School last week. Daniel's game was on Thursday night and his team took a 22-0 lead, only to lose the game 36-34 in the last minute of the game on a furious comeback by Folsom. It was a tough game to watch, certainly because our boys let one slip away, but even more so because they had the visitor's bleachers closed and we had to sit on the Folsom side of the stadium and listen to the screams and yellls as they made their way back to win the game. The fans were stomping on the metal stands and causing a virtual headache to become a literal one. Daniel played well on both sides of the ball, but was pretty down after the game.

The Varsity played on Friday night and we expected this to be a tough game. Folsom has one of the top rated quarterbacks in the area and is a Division I school. Woodcreek has three junior quarterbacks (including David) that are still learning the ropes and the game plan is to hope that they can hand off the ball and not make mistakes that will cost us the game. Our guys played a whale of a game and David was one of the standouts. Unfortunately, he plays free safety and when your free safety leads the team in tackles, it's NOT a good night for your team. David also had an interception that he ran back 25 yards to the Folsom 8-yard line. Unfortunately the strong safety grabbed one of Folsom's players by the jersey and threw him to the ground, earning a flag. The penalty was after the interception, but it cost us field position. I was afraid that David was going to make it into the end zone as I saw the penalty on the return. We lost the game 21-6, but had plenty of opportunities. Our quarterback only completed one pass for minus three yards and was intercepted twice. Worse than that, our starting tailback fumbled the ball away four times. The defense played great. We intercepted their all league quarterback three times and sacked him four times. He had three touchdown passes, but one of them came with thirty-four seconds left in the game, when he should have taken a knee. I think we embarassed him in the game. Our quarterback earned a spot on the bench and our backup will start in the next game. David earned the "hammer" award, a tee shirt that the coaches present to the player who best lays the wood to the opposition. David had a play in the third quarter where their qb threw an out pattern to the tight end and David read the play beautifully and arrived with a full head of steam just as the pass arrived and blew up the tight end, knocking him one way and the ball the other. The tight end got up, grabbed the ball and threw it at David, drawing a penalty. The Folsom bench exploded after the penalty and drew another fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. So the result of the play was no gain followed by thirty yards in penalties. David was down after the game, but he is living up to the coaches' opinion that he will be an all-league safety in his junior year. It was by far the best game I've ever seen him play on defense. He has a real nose for the ball and plays with an intensity that is contagious.

Enough crowing about my sons, eh? David did pass his driver's test and is now enjoying the freedom that having wheels gives a young man. I talked to Dad over the weekend and he said that David is living one of the favorite times of his life right now, whether he knows it or not. He is a football player, he has a new car and the freedom that that represents and he is living the American dream.

We did get moved into our new church building this weekend and it was incredible. The church is absolutely beautiful. The church body has gifted the pastor with a two-week, paid vacation to wherever he want to go. He'll probably take his family to Orlando. He deserves this gift as he has worked so hard to build this church, from 100 members meeting at the elementary school to a church of 5000 attenders now meeting in a 3000 seat facility. We are so blessed with what the Lord has provided to us. David and Daniel are again involved in the high school program, attending their own church service during the eleven o'clock hour. We are so thankful for the Godly influence in the boy's lives. The high school group is now meeting in our old worship center, now that we've moved into the new building. God is faithful and we are blessed.

Stay focused on the ways of the Lord and NOT the ways of this world and you will feel real contentment in your own life. Ciao.