Sunday, July 30, 2006

Catch One For The Fishes

I saw this kid on the fence at the San Clemente Pier. Makes me happy that he's trying to catch his own lunch. I guess you need to start em' early.

I had a good weekend. Bethany's brother and a friend came from the Marines and stayed at our apartment. It was a good time. After staying up late and eating cookies, we awoke the next day and drove a long time. We took those Marines back to their base near San Diego and made a stop at the San Clemente Pier which was fun. We just walked around and I got to take pictures for like an hour. I was stoked. I guess that's really the summary. I really like I'm putting the cam back into shaycam these days. I don't want to post a blog without a good picture anymore. I mean, I live in the 21st century and my mind is a visual mind. I want to see everything. I don't just want want to read the story, I want to see the pictures. It makes sense to me.

Ok, getting to bed is the priority. I haven't been blogging at night, but this just felt right. (that rhymed so it had a "lyrical" feel to it... excellent). Ok, onward to my dreams.

Posted by Shay Thomason at 10:31 PM

0 comments

Friday, July 28, 2006

shaycam : redefined

Welcome to my, "hey, I'm bored.. what the heck, I'll redesign shaycam.com."

It's been a while since I've had the urge to do something like this, but I thought it was fun. I figured well, I got a new cam, might as well get a new shaycam.

Let me know what you kids think. I think this one is going to stay for a while.

Posted by Shay Thomason at 12:41 PM

2 comments

Thursday, July 27, 2006

"Beautiful Sunset, Better See"

The truth is, I miss the sunset. That is, I miss the desert sunset. You see I grew up in a place that had beautiful sunsets. I haven't been there much since I went to college. In fact, I think I've only been back there about 10 times in the past 4 years. It's just a reality of life that we grow up and move sometimes. Not everyone does, and that's OK. We don't need to leave our home towns; there's no law that says you have to go to college, get married, get a job, move far away, etc., etc.. Wherever God needs you, that's where you'll live. Recently there have been a lot people at my church and close friends who have either moved or are in the process of moving. It's just their time. Sometimes circumstances don't allow us to stay on here any longer and we are forced to move. I mean, living in California for instance isn't the most economical, so some move. Other people just need to get away. It's not an issue of money, it's just they feel it might be time to move on. I don't know.. I guess I'm rambling.

Anyways, I shot that picture of the sunset last night at Lancaster Jethawks game which we took our youth ministry to. We had a good time, and the hotdogs were only $1! I also got a picture with the "Jethawk" so enjoy.

Posted by Shay Thomason at 2:59 PM

0 comments

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I Wish We All Could Win

I received something via UPS yesterday. It's fun. It takes pictures. It's a camera.

I like my new camera. I enjoying seeing the world through it's lens. Sometimes I feel as though a camera should be attached to me wherever I go. It just feels at times I need to take a picture or something. Maybe that's why I'm shayCAM.

It's been too hot lately. Seriously, I went outside at like 9:30 this morning to take something to the post office and I'm using my AC in my car. Then I felt I needed a Slurpee so I went to 7-11 and picked one up. It's really hot. They say California is in trouble. Too much power being used to cool us down. It's a funny thing to me. We rely on the fact that not everyone will use their power at the same time. So then we overload the power grids when we all want our living spaces nice and cool. Sounds to me like whoever designed this power grid did it during the winter, forgetting about the hot hot hot summer. Nevermind the power.. aghh.

Here's a cop at 7-11. Honestly, I felt safer.

Posted by Shay Thomason at 11:26 AM

0 comments

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

5 Years in the Blogging Industry

Wow, I'm a nerd. No, really. I had a blog over 5 years ago. Today marks the 5th year of what I called "Shaycam 2". Shaycam 2 was my effort to revamp my entire shaycam site before July 19th, 2001. Before that I believe that my site was only visited.. well.. by me. In an effort to bring in more visitors to shaycam (5 years ago) I added sweet features like a daily journal, photos, and even an "about me" section (which I believe was completely pointless). Now, the better option would've been to change that weird hair, but oh well. We live and learn.

So, 5 years in the blogging. I've been typing away and the clock is ticking away. So many days have passed. So many blogs never written.... so sad. But that's OK. I wonder where I'll be in 5 years. Do you ever think about that? I mean, 5 years seems like a lot of time. I might even have kids by then? Wow, that would be crazy. Little shaycam's running around. Haha, makes me laugh.

Ok, one last thing. I thought it would be fun to show you what I wrote on this day only 5 years ago:

July 19th 2001

Today I am bringing you the new and improved shaycam site. It's been an excellent journey along the cam "road" and I hope that you will join me with a new look to the site that I am calling "Shaycam2."

I will periodically be updating this journal with information about my daily life and what's going on around the cam. Also I'll try to put a few special cam pictures on here. Check here daily for any new posts I might add. ok.. peace out.

Posted by Shay Thomason at 1:00 PM

3 comments

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

What About Integrity?

Please play this video before reading any further:

The other day my wife and I were watching a new show called "Treasure Hunters" which we are really excited about. The first week of the show had a lot of hype and we were excited about it. The basic premise of the show is that all these teams are out to find treasure worth millions and there are clues all around the United States (If you have seen "National Treasure" it has the same concept). Yet when they were introducing the contestants of the show we were intrigued to see that a pastor, his wife, and his daughter were a team in the competition. As a Christian it is always intriguing to see when other claiming Christians are on TV shows, especially reality type shows.

That's when we saw the above clip. It was actually the first interview they showed of the "Fogal Family." To be perfectly honest, it really made me mad. I didn't even really want to blog about it, but I feel it is necessary to say where I stand on this issue, the issue being integrity. In the above clip you will see that Brad says that they are basically willing to lie to get ahead in the game. In fact, he goes as far as to say that they can "ask for forgiveness later".. and ".. I don't think we're beyond that." You don't think you're beyond that?! Did Brad leave his faith at the door? I am really not one to try and bring down someone or publicly shame them, but this man is a preacher of the Word of God and that's pretty serious. In fact, it's a lot more serious than the millions of dollars he has a chance to win. Why did he compromise? That's my question. I guess my heart is really in tune to this lately as we have been studying the life of Daniel in church. Daniel was such a man of integrity that even when it meant his certain death, he did not compromise. Even when it meant he would lose face in front of the entire kingdom, he did not compromise. Even when it meant he would lose his job, he did not compromise. And even when it meant he would be thrown into a den of lions, he did not compromise. But the Lord blessed Daniel. Daniel was saved from the mouths of lions and saved from the hands of evil men.

When someone compromises they lose any integrity they once had. Though this man Brad may be a long time pastor and preacher of God's Word, the entire nation now knows that he is willing to lie to get ahead. He is willing to openly break God's law for the sake of some gold coins. I am the first to admit that I am not perfect and won't be until Jesus Christ returns, but I understand the job of any pastor or man in leadership or any Christian for that matter. When Brad made that statement he not only brought a reproach upon himself, but upon other Christians as well. Because of his position (as a pastor) he is usually seen as the "elite" or "MVP" of the Christian faith, and when he decides to toss his integrity in one sentence it doesn't really help those other Christians who are trying to walk rightly and witness to their friends.

Let me finish with this. In Proverbs 25:26 it reads, "Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked." Basically, it's saying the person who compromises ("gives way before the wicked") is useless. It describes this person in the terms "polluted well" or "trampled spring." A well that has been polluted is no good. It might have been a great source of nourishment and refreshment before, but now it is dangerous to drink because of the pollution. If you are reading this and you are brother or sister in Christ, hold fast to your integrity like the men and women who have done so before us. The Lord will bless you and even a chest of gold isn't worth the loss of your integrity and God's blessing.

PS. A link to Brad Fogal's bio can be found here.

Posted by Shay Thomason at 5:19 PM

2 comments

Free SLURPEES!

WOW! I have known about this rumor for a while now, but today I found it true! Free Slurpees at 7-11! They come in what my wife would call "cute little" cups which are 7.11 ounces.

Here are a few pictures of my free Slurpee cup

The history of Slurpee can be read here! Also click on FACTS for some fun stuff about the great Slurpee drink!

Posted by Shay Thomason at 4:48 PM

0 comments

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

The Weekend in Review

Here is the weekend in review... we might call it, in a nutshell. Had the opportunity to be with a family from our church this weekend at their lake house at Lake Isabella. These pictures should help sum