Tim Boyd's Blog

If your hope never comes to a realization than your hope was not only useless, it was harmful.  If you really place your hope in something or someone and it does not work out - that is a harmful sense of hope.  It's setting you up for a colossal failure or pain or frustration or hurt. So, where is your hope?  You live with a sense of hope.  Probably.  Actually, you may not.  The CDC estimates that 1 in 10 Americans lives with clinical depression (yes, clinical).  That means if you are in a group of only 20 people, 2 of them are clinically depressed.  Doesn't that break your heart?  I wonder how many people I talk to each day who are suffering from severe depression.  Do I realize it? There are so many reasons in our world to lose hope; unemployment, divorce, affairs, gossip, unwanted pregnancies, racism, child-molestation, mortgages going under, sex-trafficking, porn addicted dads, alcoholic mothers, and more.  We are all affected...

In his commentary on Luke, theologian N.T. Wright pens this: "The Kingdom that Jesus preached and lived was all about a glorious, uproarious, absurd generosity.  Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person, and go ahead and do it.  Think of the people to who you are tempted to be nasty, and lavish generosity on them instead.  These instructions have a fresh, springlike quality.  They are all about new life bursting out energetically, like flowers growing through concrete and startling everyone with their color and vigor." As we approach Christmas we see a short view of the life of Christ: 1) He had to leave Heaven and the presence of the Father in order to come to a corrupt and painful world marked with hate and greed. 2) When he was born the King wanted to kill him 3) He was born outside to an unmarried poor couple. 4) He came preaching a message of forgiveness of sins and then people wanted to kill him 5) During much of his ministry there is a...

I have met many, many people who live with the false sense that they are supposed to forsake their families for the Kingdom of Heaven.  Some of these people understand this outright and some don't even see it but are driven by this principle from somewhere deep in their soul from somewhere they may not even know.  Their is this sense that they should only pursue God and His Kingdom work in order to please God.  It's as if their family is more of a hindrance to the pursuit of DOING God's work (which of course, humans can never really do God's work, God is actually quite capable Himself). People see verses where Jesus seemingly shuns his family and says that his real family is the brothers and sisters in Christ.  He tells a young man not to say goodbye to his family because the Kingdom is of more value than his stupid family anyways (maybe not a a good interpretation of those verses hmmm?)  They read that Paul said we shouldn't really get married unless we are s...

I used to be encouraged by very popular verses in the Bible.  Verses like “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and “For to me to live is Christ and to die is Gain!”  which are both found in Philippians.  Those verses are still wonderful but they don’t encourage me like they used to.  I have to find new verses to inspire me.  The following verses have been like food for my soul the past few months. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”  Isaiah 40:8 I put those verses by my desk because they give me strength.  I don’t mean that they make me feel nicer.  I mean that those verses encourage me to do my best, to work hard, and to try to continually become the person that God has made me to be. A few years ago I was going through a particularly rough patch in my lif...

There have been people throughout my life that I have really, really looked up to.  Over the past few years I have figured out that every one of them has let me down.  MAYBE THAT'S WRONG! Here we go.  Maybe, without knowing it, I have made them an idol.  Someone is so nice or smart or caring that I figure that they can do no wrong.  I try to emulate them.  I start thinking thoughts like "what would so-and-so do if they were in my situation."  I take this little bit of knowledge that I have of them and....I.....get it wrong.  I build them up to a place in which they don't exist.  I don't look up to them as much as I look up to my idea of them .  The problem happens when my idea of that person clashes with the actual person .  Then I am hurt and angry.  "Why would this person let me down?"  Have they actually let me down or have I built them up to a non-human level and set them up as an idol? Is this how pornography rea...

In our men's study last night we looked at the armor of God found in Ephesians chapter 6.  This is a very popular scripture for guys to study.  For good reason I think.  It's interesting.  It shows us a larger picture of reality than we are normally given.  It shows us that battle that is going on.  It shows us that the Kingdom of Heaven is, quite honestly, more real than the world that we see.  Time after time Jesus tells us that the kingdom of the world will fade away, but His kingdom will endure forever. In the battle that is happening at a cosmic scale we find a place.  What's the best way to win a fight?  Probably to not let your enemy know that there is a fight.  Satan has done an amazing job convincing many people and christians that there really is no "battle" happening.  From reading the Bible it is simply impossible to not realize that there is a battle happening. One of the pieces of armor that God has given us is the...

Do you find it harder to forgive someone or to ask for forgiveness from someone? I think it's easier to forgive someone because I have control over that.  I don't have to ask anyone else I just have to decide to do it.  Right? No way!  How hard is it to forgive someone who has really really hurt you and doesn't ask for forgiveness or even care about you? BUT, how hard is it humble yourself and ask someone for forgiveness? What do you think?

I still can't get this thought out of my head.  This is my article for the Beecher Paper.  If you aren't familiar with central Illinois, Beecher is a town of about 400,000 and the paper is circulated around the world.  It is frequently on Huffington Post.  (None of this is true - Beecher may be smaller than Cowden). Have you ever thought about the hands of Jesus?  What did they look like?  Were they smooth or rough?  Were they large or small?  Were they clean or dirty?  I’ll bet they were very, very dirty.  In Luke chapter 8 it is recorded that Jesus had encounters with two very unclean women.  They were unclean for very different reasons, but they were unclean nonetheless.  In both cases these women needed healing.  They needed the healing that could only come as a supernatural miracle.  Jesus of Nazareth offered that hope.  One woman reached out and touched Jesus as he walked by.  One woman was already ...

"In whatever problem or suffering we face, Jesus getting his hands dirty with the problems of this world is what we need and what in the gospels we are promised."  NT Wright This quote is the key from Wright's commentary on the passage in Luke 8:40-56.  I have been thinking through this quote for about 10 days now.  The more I think about it the deeper it becomes.  It's like a Chinese Finger Trap.  The more I pull at it the tighter it grips.  It's starting to get really tight now. As a Believer and admitted Follower of Jesus I have chosen to try to understand his teachings and then form my thoughts and actions around my understanding of those teachings.  In this particular case it means that I must get my hands dirty.  I like to have clean hands.  I like to help people that don't make me uncomfortable.  I like to spend time with people that think and act somewhat like me.  That is not what Jesus did.  In the case of these v...

In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Peter Scazzero writes the following, "Contemplative spirituality focuses on classic practices and concerns such as.....developing a balanced, harmonious rhythm of life that enables us to be aware of the sacred in all of life."  Mmmmm...that feels nice.  "A harmonious rhythm of life" is certainly what many people, if not all of us, are looking for.  You can hear it in conversation.  You can listen to it in songs.  You can see it in advertisements and commercials.  You can watch it on TV and in movies.  You see it in sports and hear commentators.  You can see it everywhere.  There is a deep human desire to live in rhythm.  We all want a certain cadence to our lives.  A life that is harmonious.  A life lived out of our passions and strengths.  A life like that would bring peace and fulfillment. The second part of his quote may be a bit more telling, "that enables us to be aware of t...

I don't know if God is trying to teach me something here but "repentance" has been a dominate theme in most of my study over the last month. On Sunday nights we have been looking at the book of Isaiah.  The theme there is: things are bad and they will get worse until you repent.  When you repent things will get better.  So why not just repent now?  That  is theme for each of the nations that are being judged.  If you would just repent you would not have the terrible time that is coming to you.  You are too proud to repent so you will be smashed.  If you would have repented you would have no problems, dummy (I added the last word for emphasis.) On Sunday mornings we are in the very beginning of the book of Acts.  Peter has two sermons to start it off.  He preaches one right after the Pentecost.  He preaches the second right after a healing is performed.  In both cases people look to Peter and ask him, "What must we do to be ...

I am teaching through the book of Isaiah and using Warren Wiersebe's book as a reference.  On page 45 I came across a wonderful quote: The Jewish political leaders were asking, "Is it popular?  Is it safe"  The prophet was asking, "Is it right?  Is it the will of God? I wonder how many decisions we make using the first set of questions.  I'll bet it's far more than half.  In our churches.  In our lives. That's a sad state to be in.  It didn't make me feel good.

This is a great post by a blog of the Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-howard-merritt/church-charity-in-the-21s_b_673254.html

This morning I was thumbing through a parenting magazine and I read an amazing tip.  This medical doctor gave the following advice for parenting.  Paraphrased by me. "When you are on the phone and your 3 year old child is trying to talk to you tell them to do something else and you will be right with them.  For example you can say something like this, "Mommy is on the phone right now please go play with your blocks and when I am done I will come talk to you."  When you are off the phone make sure to find them and reward them for listening to you." That is groundbreaking advice.  I would have never thought of that on my own.  "Excuse me Doctor?  Um, what happens when my child starts screaming because I won't talk to her?"  "Also, Doctor do you by any chance have a phone AND a child?  I don't think that you do." Do you give advice like this?  Please stop. I read this and I immediately think of all the christian catch-phrases that we te...

This is a fascinating little read on the blog of Al Hsu. http://thesuburbanchristian.blogspot.com/2010/08/evangelical-tribalism-big-sort-or.html

How long has the Kingdom of Heaven been around?  Is it one of those things that just always "has been" and "will be?"  Like God?  Or is it something new that came when Jesus came to the earth?  Yes, no, and sort of... In Matthew 5:19, Jesus teaches, "Anyone who breaks one of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." In this teaching, Jesus is telling them (and showing us) that he is continuing the message of the Old Testament.  He is teaching that the old way of doing things is not being thrown away, rather it is being fulfilled in Him.  He is the finish of the Old Testament.  He is the completion of the law.  He teaches the same things in new, more challenging and much more personal ways.  He serves as our Mediator, or one between us and God the Father.  Now we can do things much di...

What's exciting about the references to the Kingdom of Heaven in chapter 5 of Matthew is that Jesus is ushering in the Kingdom.  He isn't just explaining what it is like - he is telling us that it has come.  The Kingdom of Heaven is being announced here. "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." You are not supposed to be poor in spirit.  This isn't a law that Jesus is handing out.  He isn't issuing a rule. He is making an observation followed by a promise.  You aren't supposed to make sure that you are poor in spirit.  Jesus is telling them (and us) that we are blessed because the Kingdom of Heaven is ours.  It is right now. We learn from this that the Kingdom of Heaven is different than what we think of as "Heaven."  The Kingdom of Heaven is something that is happening here on earth as a result of Jesus coming to earth.  The moment that Jesus crossed over from Heaven to earth the Kingdom had arrived.  ...

Matthew 4:17, "From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." Repent does not mean to feel bad or guilty.  Repent means to change direction.  Those are very different things.  Repent has very little to do with feelings and much more to do with action.  Now action and feelings are generally tied together by the human psyche but, in this case, it is a call to action not a call to "feeling." Jesus is telling people that they need to stop and change direction because something new is coming.  There is a new Kingdom and we are invited to change our direction and join into this kingdom instead of the kingdom's that we are under now.  In their case, they were under Roman rule.  They were a province of the kingdom of Rome.  As the Israelite people were awaiting their Messiah - they were hoping for a king and kingdom that would overthrow the present kingdom in power.  In the United States we put a lot of hope...

This is simply a miracle. http://markonefoods.com/index.html

There are 31 references to the Kingdom of Heaven in the book of Matthew (NIV).  I called my blog "the simple guide to the Kingdom of Heaven" so maybe this would be a fitting study.  I have been wanting to look at each one of these references for a couple of years now.  I didn't want to make them a sermon series just yet, and I didn't want to do a Sunday school class with these references.  I have finally figured out the venue I would like to present these in - my blog. So here is mention #1 - Matthew 3:2.  This scripture is the first mention of the Kingdom of Heaven and it is presented by John the Baptist.  John was clearing the way for the King to come.  He was baptizing people in water to cleanse their sins.  He was preaching that the Kingdom was coming.  So he said to get prepared.  Make sure that you are ready.  The King is coming. Repentance is a way to make room for the Kingdom of Heaven.  The people repented of their...

This is a post from Dr. Lowery from Lincoln Seminary .  It is a great thought from a very prominent Biblical scholar.  It's a quick read and really encourage you to read it. http://rlowery.com/2010/06/29/a-message-from-the-lord/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rlowery+%28Robert+Lowery%29

I definitely recommend this book.   Dungy has a wonderful story of a man living with the knowledge of God's reality and presence in life. I was fairly apprehensive to embrace the Dungy phenomenon.  Just because someone wins a Superbowl doesn't mean that they should be able to write men's bible curriculum .  When I was in the beginning stages of planning our men's bible study I really wanted to stay away from his stuff.  So I read through a lot of other curriculum.  I eventually picked one and it was pretty terrible.  It took me a few months to finally give in to the hype and get his men's small group stuff.  It was fantastic!  Guys were sharing more and I was able to make more sense of it.  It was good common-sense Bible teaching geared towards men. As we traveled through the curriculum I finally decided to get his book Quiet Strength.  It was a wonderful read.  I really like biographies and this did not disappoint.  Any p...

I never imagined that I would be preforming 5 funerals in 2 weeks (I also went to 1 visitation in that time span as well.)  I really hope this slows down.  They were all such good people that had lived good lives.  Through these experiences I have learned more and more just how important family is.

It was super-hot in the gym and I know that most people wanted me to make it short.  So I tried to make it funny and give the graduates one main thing that they can remember.  In terms of what people came to see, I was last on the list.  So here it is: My daughter just finished 1st grade.  She is all of 7 years old.  I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up. She told me that she wants to be a teacher or a doctor. My son is 5 years old and just finished preschool.  He will be in kindergarten next year at this fine institution.  He has not narrowed it down quite yet.  He wants to be a cowboy, pirate, policeman, sword fighter, army guy, or superhero.  With the exception of pirate, I would be proud of him doing any of those things. You probably have nieces, nephews, and cousins that are similar to my kids.  Every little kid wants to be something cool right?  That all want to do something that we think is pretty awesome. In ...

What has two thumbs and is speaking at graduation for the Cowden-Herrick Class of 2010 tomorrow?  This guy.  I desperately want to start off with the quote from Michael Scott in the office, "May your hats fly as high as your dreams."  Alas, that would only be funny to me.  So I won't do it.  I am really looking forward to it.  I have been told, by everyone, that I should keep it short because it gets really hot in the gym and nobody really cares what the minister says anyways.  Needless to say, I am honored that they would pick me as the guy to say something quick and not be remembered. That has presented a challenge.  I have come up with a pretty good opener, followed by an easy to understand Bible parable from Jesus and then I will finish with a celebrative-style repetition.  All in all it will be less than 10 minutes and I think it will be memorable.  We'll see how it goes. The graduation is at 3pm and I am supposed to be there by...

1.  I am not smart. That was easily the first thing I learned.  Wow!  These people are insanely intelligent.  They seem to have read so many more books than I have read.  They can recall Bible verses on any subject at hand.  They have mastered their craft.  I am talking about the students.  The Professors are at a whole different level.   Dr. Hall , Dr. Kurka , and Dr. Snell are worlds smarter than I am.  It was impressive just to hear them speak each week at class.  This guy's helped me to realize that there is plenty that I don't know. I took the first semester of Hebrew and after a few weeks I realized that most everyone was getting it.  I was not.  It was the first time in my life where I honestly felt like the un-smartest person in the room.  If you know me well, that's a great thing for me to have to feel :) ! I was humbled and encouraged this year at school realizing that I am certainly not as smart as I...

Yesterday I had the joy of watching my almost 5 year old boy ride his bike without training wheels.  He could not have been more proud of himself.  I admit I was pretty proud too.  He could finally ride on the grass and rocks without getting slowed down by the training wheels. He has always loved to ride his bike and now he loves it even more.  I asked him why he liked it so much and he told me because he could go fast and could ride through grass.  I think he was describing the new freedom that he had. Two days ago when I took off the training wheels he was very afraid to get rid of them.  He was mad that I was taking them off and told me that he couldn't do it.  The training wheels had been eaten through and they were turning in to training blocks.  His bike was super loud and he could not keep up with his older sister.  He got mad at me and cried.  I finally convinced him to try it. "On the grass dadda." "Alright - try it on t...

In just a few hours a lady is coming to our house to conduct a "Home Study."  It is protocol for adoption and foster care.  First Mindy and I had to fill out a ton of papers.  We had to write, individually, about each one of our kids strengths, weaknesses, and personalities.  Then we had to fill out papers on our growing up, our parents, our families, and our own personalities and parenting styles.  We also had to write, individually, about our marriage.  Now this lady will come to our house for a few hours and interview Mindy, me, and the kids. We have placed ourselves out in the open in hopes of adopting a child.  We have opened our lives, thoughts, problems, hopes, fears, and weaknesses.  The home study agency will then use this time of meeting with us to see if our written word matches up with our actions.  You could say that they aren't taking us at our word, but they are coming to see if we walk the talk (or in this case - live like t...

This story caught my eye this morning.   http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/apr/04/father-wants-biology-book-ban/   This dad is going to be viewed as a bigot and narrowminded person.  I think he is doing the right thing.  He didn't rally everyone together to hate the school and call the school a "den of snakes" or anything like that.  He didn't burn all the biology books or refuse to let his son attend class.  He simply disagreed with a text book and brought it to the school board.  Isn't that how it is supposed to work?  I commend him (based on what I know from the story.)  I wish more Christians would express their beliefs without having to overreact and hurt the cause.  From the little excerpt that I saw I can see his dissatisfaction with the book. This is from the quote: On page 319 of the text, the authors describe creationism as “the biblical myth that the universe was created by the Judeo-Christian God in 7 days.” There ...

I have started my study on the Book of James for the 5 week sermon series. The book starts with these words; "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of any kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James starts the book with a clear indication of his answer to the question, "What is the meaning of life?"  In one verse this guy writes more meaning than I have in my entire life.  Man, what is the purpose of life?  I guess most Americans would agree that we are looking for happiness, peace, and security.  None of those are bad things...inherently.  I say this because that's what I feel.  That what I see advertised on TV.  That's what I hear shared for prayer requests, as well as what I share for prayer requests.  James then concludes his opening thought like this, "Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." What is the purpose of li...

Mindy and I watched "Changeling" last night.  I really didn't want to watch it, but I was tired so I assumed that I would fall asleep.  The first 20-30 minutes was uninspiring and I was starting to give up on the movie and ready myself for a late night nap. Then the movie started to follow two different stories.  The police captain and the mom.  The captan knows what he is doing is wrong, yet he continues to do it because he doesn't want to do the hard work of figuring out what's wrong.  The mom goes the correct way and continues to search for the truth.  She puts in the hard work that comes from living with integrity and doing the right thing. The mother is hiding nothing.  She has no regrets.  She is searching only for the truth.  She wants to know where her son is. The captain continues down his wrong path and works within his corrupt police system in order to do cover his poor work.  He is worried about image, his and the polic...

8 Sermons done.  Hard to believe the series "kicked-off" on Superbowl Sunday.  I finally feel like I have a decent grasp on the Book of Revelation.  What has been a mystery to me my entire life is now a letter that I can read and see patterns, themes, and understand the images and what they represent. All in all there is just under 4 hours of preaching on Revelation available on my podcast found here .  If you would like more info I have two suggestions for you: Start following the blog of Dr. Robert Lowery , a Professor at Lincoln Christian Seminary . Read the book, Discipleship on the Edge , by Dr. Darrell Johnson. Download all 8 sermons from my podcast or email me to get them on 4 CD's. Up next?  The Book of James.

How great is it that April Fool's Day and Maundy Thursday are the same day this year?  (Maundy Thursday is the day we remember that the Last Supper and everything that went down in the Garden of Gethsemane.) 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. I believe that God came down to earth in human from through Jesus Christ.  I believe that Jesus was fully God and fully human.  I believe that he actually died and then came back from the dead.  I believe in that one act, the Resurrection, that he was able to conquer death and provide everlasting life for those who would claim him as savior.  Those who would then die to themselves, be buried in the waters of baptism, and then live their new lives with Him would receiv...

It was my turn to give the devotion for our Upwords Basketball League today.  I gave the same devotion 4 times at the half time of each game.  I proudly donned my Nebraska Cornhuskers 2009 season Coaches Shirt (black).  It was only the second set of games that we had so there had only been one other devotion given. I decided to go with Proverbs 22:6.  It went something like this: Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it."  We don't really have to much trouble with the first part of that.  It makes sense.  We know that kids need to be trained.  We have all seen kids that live around our neighborhood that need to be trained.  We understand that we need to help our kids understand how to function in this world and be successful in life. But the verse doesn't stop there.  What about "in the way that they should go?"  I have a friend by the name of Dave...

There are lots of songs that deal with Heaven.  The best, of course, is Guns & Roses " Knockin' on Heaven's Door ."  This was first performed by Bob Dylan and then covered again by Eric Clapton .  Clapton wrote "Tears in Heaven" after the tragic death of his son.  Everyone from aging rocker Bryan Adams to Warrant , to the Los Lonely Boys have discussed Heaven in some way.   Kenny Chesney stated that "Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to go now." So what is Heaven?  Is it a lot like earth, but better?  Is it a place where we sit on clouds and play harps?  Will we know other people in Heaven?  Is Heaven boring, because all the fun people are in Hell? What are your thoughts on Heaven?  What have you been told that you believe or don't believe? This will also be my facebook status to see if there are any responses there.  Please tell me what you have heard. Tim Boyd Create Your Badge

Here is a link to a post by a guy I went to high school with.  He is a Catholic Priest.  We are different, but a few things remain the same.   http://whitearoundthecollar.blogspot.com/2010/03/heath-care-reform-repost-of-old-homily.htm l

So I am watching " Life " on the Discovery channel.  The video is amazing.  It is really great that these people were able to get, probably, the greatest events in the world captured so that everyone can watch it.  The thing that is really bothering me is the audio.  It is all about ingenuity and adaptability.  It is all about evolution.  There is no reference to "created" or "creation" or anything to do with the God who created all these amazing animals. I guess that sounds about right.  Humans are so amazed at themselves.  We, as a society, think that we have risen to the top and are the best of the best.  We believe that there is nothing better than us.  We are the geniuses that have survived.  We are the adaptable ones.  That is a lie. We are created in the image of God, by God.  All these animals are a testament to the amazingness of the Creator.  Amazing video, but they have really missed the point.  Th...

To prepare for the sermon on Revelation chapter 19 I have been reading about ancient wedding customs.  It's really interesting.  We have lots of wedding customs and some weddings are very lavish.  There are huge weddings with large wedding parties that make it to TV.  But they aren't even close to the standard of Weddings a few millenia ago. This understanding will also help us read through all the wedding language that Jesus spoke in. So here's a quick taste of how a wedding, marriage, and party went. 1.  The groom would leave his father's house and go to the bride's house. 2. The groom would pay a "purchase" price to the father for his new bride. 3. They would then drink wine from a cup to legalize this and make a new covenant. 4. The man and woman were then legally married, but the husband would return to his own father's house in order to set up a room for him and his wife.  This may take up to a YEAR! 5. The bride was betrothed and woul...

Music is a language all it's own and it fascinates me.  I have no musical ability.  I can not hear music and pick out anything.  I can barely distinguish between the sound of the piano and the guitar.  When God was giving us gifts, music was not one that came to me.  That's fine.  I don't have to make it or understand to be moved by it.  The song that has recently been playing in my head is Fidelity by Regina Spektor.  The first verse goes like this: I never loved nobody fully Always one foot on the ground And by protecting my heart truly I got lost in the soun I hear in my mind All these voices I hear in my mind all these words I hear in my mind all this music What a sad and beautiful statement.  I can not fully love my wife if I have a back-up plan.  When I asked her to marry me, I laid it all out there.  I didn't tell her to think about and come back to me if she thinks nothing better would come along.  I think that's why ...

Oh Cowden - you rule!  We are taking a little loss on the sale of our house so we need to get a small personal loan to cover the loss.  We are hoping to pay it all off by this fall.  Anywho... So Mindy calls Bank of America this morning and talks with them for more than 30 minutes and is transferred 6 times!!!!  No one was able to answer her simple question. So I walked to down to the bank.  Yah, I walked to the bank.  Stepped in to an office and explained my situation face-to-face in about 3 minutes.  He replied that they could help.  I asked how long it would take and he said, "How long do you want it to take?"  So I am going to see what the final balance is after the sale is finalized and walk to the bank and get the loan.  This all (walk included) took about 15 minutes. Cowden is better than your town.  I don't really even care what your town is.  Cowden is better.  I thoroughly endorse our local Shelby County Ba...