The pot at the end of my rainbow!

Is That PaPa from West Virginia?

These were the words from Justin when he saw the bottom picture on www.foxnews.com. The top picture is of my dad, the bottom is of a Sen., from Idaho that is in trouble from some bathroom scandal. They do look somewhat alike.

The Ellison's

I do not post this picture so that everyone can see it, but I am trying to use it elsewhere and to do so it needs to have a URL. In my illiterate way, this is the only way I know to do it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Joke of the Day

Chelsea asked her mom, "Do all fairy tales begin with once upon a time...?" Hillary Clinton replied, "No. Some begin with 'After I'm elected...'"

The Hallenbeck's

The view from Grandpa and Grandpa Hallenbeck's is amazing. It was such a beautiful day when we arrived. It was in the 70's and a small breeze was blowing. It was such a wonderful break from the 90 degree weather we had been experiencing in PA. It is so peaceful here in Duanesburg, NY.

Schenectady Pilgrim Holiness Church 50th Anniversary

Carol DeSorbo, Vonnie's Aunt.
Donna Peak back in her "home" church.
Cheri Spangler was another special speaker.
Homer, Vonnie's Uncle, Former Conference President

Bro. Whitney and Brian Spangler.
Cheese!

The Schenectady Church is a beautiful church.
Tents were in place for the festivities.
Two large cakes were devoured easiliy.
Four generations in Christian service.
Justin & Kayla.

The Schenectady church is pastored by two ladies, Pastors Wallick and Dickerson. They planned for a whole year to make this occassion special and you could tell. They did a great job. Friday evening we heard from 5 former pastors. On Saturday, there was "Reflections from the Pew". Over the past 50 years, nearly 100 people have left the church and went into ministry of some sort. Sunday morning they had a passing of the torch ceremony. My wife's two grandfather's, Don and Valerie Hallenbeck, Vonnie and Just represented 4 generations involved in Christian work. It was a neat time. Congratulations Schenectady church.

New Email Address

I am so excited. I now have DSL internet. No more dial-up. I know this experience is probablly old hat to most of you, but it is great. It is so much faster I can hardly believe it.
Because I have switched, so has my email address. For those concerned it is: mattellison@windstream.net

I'm Moving

As many know, I have attempted to lose weight numerous times but I have failed just as many times. So I decided to move to Varallo, Italy. The mayor of this town, approx. 7,500 in population, started a campaign to help its overweight citizens. Any male can earn $70.00 a month for losing 9 lbs. each month. A female can earn the same amount for losing 7 lbs. The kicker is, that if they keep it off for 5 months, they will receive an aditional $280.00. I think I could dig that campain!

Attention Aaron McCarty!!!

I see that you have read my blog recently. Since you are looking at my sight more than you are your own, I leave this comment...Please tell me that the Weiner-mobile has not been the most exciting things in your life as of late. Please at least Post a comment on your own blog!!

New Atheletic Event in 2007

If you have followed the news lately, you will find this picture entertaining. I am glad to see that Nike, Reebok, Upperdeck and other have dropped him as a sponsor. He has lost millions from endorsements. Not that I relish in his downfall, but there are consequences for such unruly behavior. But a better punishment yet would be to let Mr. Vick in a ring with the very dogs he abused and raised to fight. That would be cure all for sure.

And To All, A Good Night

"Don't chew with your mouth full."

Every-so-often you hear a phrase that just sticks out. This is one of them. Campmeeting is great because of the spiritual emphasis, but also because you meet up with friends. The McCarty's and the Ellison's met at O.I.P. (Original Italian Pizza) one afternoon for lunch. This was the advice Melissa McCarty was giving her son, Ean, at the table.

Chatterbox Cafe

The Chatterbox Cafe Crew: from left to right -

Gwen, Randy,Vonnie,Wes,Dwight,Lois,

Sarah, Steve, Matt, Laura

Fruit cups were the hot item this year. We sold

nearly 50 cups a night.

The crew at work.

The lines were long.

Wes working the salads, wraps and Cheesestix.

Disgrace

I rarely post anything from the sports world. But this I must get off my chest. I am greatly disappointed to see many of today's athletes disgracing the sports world. Sports carries with it a sense of respect, dignity, and honesty, but today that seemingly is being destroyed by money hungry, selfish pigs. For example, the referee that has been implicated in a gambling fiasco that included his betting on games he officiated. But my biggest aggrivation is with Barry Bonds. Bonds is at the center of a huge invistigation involving steroid usage. What makes this doubly frustrating is that he is only three home runs away from breaking the long standing home run record held by Hank Aaron. It is usually awesome to watch an individual in the chase of breaking such records, but today I'm aggravated through-and-through. Hank Aaron set his record honestly, but Bonds has had to use steroids. To me, he will never rightly own the home run title. I have a great suggestion that would keep him from obtaining the title. This controversy has left Bonds almost freindless in the NBL. I think all of the pitchers should join together and intentionally walk Bonds every time he steps into the batter's box. Even if it cost them the game...Bonds should never be able to hit another home run again. It would be great to see him three home runs away, but never hit another. A cheater doesn't deserve to hold the title that someone else has earned honestly. This is my humble opinion...Bonds has disgraced baseball.

Golfin'

Dad putting up his driver on hole number 16

on the Vintage Course at the White Deer

Golf Course.

Ready for another great shot.

Justin getting ready for the golf course.

Teeing it up at the driving range.

Another bucket of balls finished.

One of the fun things that the men in our family enjoy is golf. It is a great sport. You play only as good as you are. Dad and I have had some great times on the golf course. We look forward to playing everytime we can. In a couple of years Justin will be able to join the fun.

Mt. of Blessings Camp '07

The campers are here. All but one spot was

taken this year.
The kids. They ake up a large part of this camp.

Over 70 kids stayed the grounds.

A morning service, Attendance was up this year.

The Tabernacle!

The crowd.

Vice President Van Dorman acting intelligent! The servers.
Some of the best volleyball games are found on the mountain top!
Forth of July celebration.

Mt. of Blessings has become a bright spot in our families life. We look foward to it every year. Mt. of Blessings is different in many ways, but the main difference is that it is a family camp. It is very laid back. There is a great mixture of activity and spiritual emphasis. This year our attendance was up on an average of 30 people per day. God's presence was there and people found help...that's what it is all about.

27-28

The offical number of miles I get per gallon in my new car. I am so happy. We were debating on getting a 4 cylider because of gas milage, but I am not a big fan of putt-putting. There are times I want to step on it and go, that's why I got the 6 cylider. But I was afraid that I had been a little stupid considering I spend much time on the road. But as long as I am getting 27-28 miles to the gallon around town, I'm happy.

VBS

Yesterday was a long day at New Columbia GMC. After morning worship, 14 people came to the parsonage for lunch, after which we went VBS calling. Vonnie prepared a wonderful meal of ham, potatoes, macaroni & cheese, fresh rolls and a veggi tray served with ice cold pepsi! We then spent the afternoon calling only to return to finish preparing for a special themed service for the evening service. Our theme for the service was "Heaven". We had special singing throughout the service with Michael DeStefano playing a medly of song about heaven. Pastor Tolley and myself both preached, two points a piece. The outline was: The Design of Heaven, Directions to Heaven, Destiny - Heaven, and Heaven - it's your Decision. There were many posotive comments and people were encouraged. Now for a week of VBS!!!

The Masons

The Masons are soon leaving our congregation. They are under appointment from HIM to be missionaries to Mexico. I have had the wonderful privilege to dedicate their two children to the Lord. Here is a picture from just a couple of weeks ago when we dedicated little Taylor Scott. Last year we dedicated Kyle. What a talented family. Our prayers are with the Masons as they prepare to answer God's call.

Finally...Excitement to Report

This is a picture of Walnut Street in Mifflinburg, PA around 11:30 last night. We saw this scene as we drove by. I was curious and drove around the vlock. Police were everywhere. Telling us what alleys to use. Today's paper said 52 year old, Mr. Showers, had called to report a dog "pooping" on his lawn. When police arrived, he had a loaded handgun and was pointing it at the police officer. A standoff took place until 1:00 am this morning. No one was hurt do to fine work from our local tactical team. All of this over dog "poop".