Callen Joshua Nudd

Our baby boy has arrived. Heather started laboring Sunday afternoon Oct 31. Finally, 2:30 AM, Nov 1 we headed to the hospital. And after being here only two hours, Heather delivered our little boy. His name is Callen Joshua Nudd. Born on November 1, 2010. He was 7 lbs. 1 ounce and 18 1/2 inches.

People have asked us about the name. So here it is.

Callen (Cal - en) I'll break it down to make it easy. You pronounce it like "Cal" in California and "en" is pronounced like "an." We didn't pick it because of it's meaning. Heather and I heard it, thought about it for awhile, and really liked it. I guess we heard it as a last name, but never as a first name before.

Joshua - This I liked because of Joshua in the Bible. Also it means "God is salvation." I love his character in the Bible, his courage, faith, and leadership. Also, probably one of my favorite texts in the Bible, if not my favorite comes from Joshua 24:15, "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Today we are in the hospital and my mom has been able to come down and watch Owen. But, it has been fun to watch Owen look at his new baby brother. He says the baby is laughing every time he actually is crying. I'm sure he will learn soon.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. We love you all and feel blessed to have this new gift.

Week of Prayer - Growing In Grace

The week of October 23 - 30, the Hiram church hosted a week of prayer with the theme Growing In Grace. It was a tremendous blessing. Anne B. our prayer ministry leader planned the entire week, even taking off work to lead out in it. Also, we planned four speakers from our church family, Eddie, Godwin, Devon, and myself to each speak two nights. It was a great experience and the Lord worked in wonderful ways. We had guests many of the nights.

During the week and before, I was worried that our baby might be born in the middle of the week. However, the guys who were speaking were great and ready to be on stand by just in case we did go to the hospital. Eddie kept telling me the baby wasn't coming until after the week was over anyway, so not to stress about it. They had prayed for it to happen like that. And it did. I just want to thank God and all the church family for this blessing. I loved the experience and learned so much. We have a wonderful church. Praise the Lord.

Concert - The Story of Your Life

A week ago Heather and I went to a concert in Powder Springs. It was Josh Wilson and Matthew West. I was a little worried with Heather being 38 weeks pregnant, but she made it. We went to the church where the concert was and were able to sit anywhere we would like. That was nice for Heather's sake. So we sat in the front of the balcony just in case people started to stand a lot. You never know how some concerts turn out. Anyways, it was great. Two great musicians with wonderful songs. But, more importantly it was very inspiriting and uplifting.


The neat thing that Matthew West did was for his newest album he asked people to write letters of their life story. He received over 12,000 letters. After he received them, he took two months in a cabin in Tennessee and read through many of the letters. And from that he wrote songs about 12 of them. Thus he entitled the album "The Story of Your Life." It was a blessing. Here are a few YouTube songs from them.




Josh Wilson

Savior Please

Amazing Grace










Matthew West

You Are Everything

Lakeview Young Adult Campout

This was an experience I will never forget. The long awaited Young Adult campout at Red Top Mountain. I am not normally worked up about a camping trip. I have been on many before. However, not like this. Owen has never been before. And Heather is 36 weeks pregnant. Those two points are what made this trip an experience like never before.

We went Friday evening to meet everyone as they set up. We however, had to go to Hiram for church. That was probably a good thing for the sake of Heather and Owen. So, Friday evening we set up our tent to save our place, and then drove home.

After church on Sabbath we headed back up to the park. It was great. And we had incredible weather. Owen ran around with the other kids. And we were able to have a good time talking with everyone. We had supper and then had worship Sabbath after the sun set.

Owen was getting tired and we asked him if he wanted to sleep. He said, "OK." This is where the fun began. We went back to the tent and the air mattress that Heather was going to sleep on was half flat. I tried to blow it back up, but it wasn't working that well. When I laid on it again, it was just as bad. So, I blew up a camping pad and also had an extra sleeping bag for Heather just to use a cushion. Then we got everything settled except Owen. Once we put Owen in his pack-in-play he kept saying, "I want out. I want out." He was all over the place. It took over 2 hours for him to fall asleep. Finally, he did. We got a few hours of sleep. In the morning when Owen woke up at 7:00 I asked him if he wanted to go on a walk. He said, "I walk home." I concluded at this point that this camping experience wasn't his favorite experience.

Once we finally had breakfast, Owen had a great time. But, I know Heather and I did not get any sleep. Besides the sleep it was a great two days. I had a great time and I thank the young adult leaders for putting together a great weekend.

Hiram Comes Over

Two weeks ago we had the Hiram Church over to our house for a Sabbath evening AY, vespers, and games. I think we had nearly 40 in our house. Owen loved it. When the youth came in, he was running around trying to run the show. He was getting toys and handing them out. He was also trying to make music with his little guitar. It was a blast. There were several times I couldn't hear myself talk. But, it was great. I'm glad everyone came.

Thoughts on "To Save A Life"

This past week I was recommended the movie "To Save A Life" by our friends and youth leaders at Lakeview. I took it home not knowing what to expect and watched it. It was powerful. It was real. It is what many high school and academy students face each and every day. Plus, it taught me a lot as a pastor. (All of this will make sense after you actually see it.) I must say that in all the good themes that were portrayed, there were some very real scenes that would not be appropriate for younger kids. Yet, I still would say for the youth and young adult, it would be good to see.

Here are some questions and thoughts.

1. Why is high school so socially tough?

2. Why do we often care so much about what people think about us?

3. Why do we focus so much on ourselves?

4. How do we change who we are?

5. How much more important is someone else than me?

6. Can I make a difference in some one's life?

7. How can I come along someone else?

8. Can Jesus be seen in my life?

9. It is not about me. It about helping others, loving others. It is all about Jesus.

I'm reminded of a quote I heard back in academy.

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Maybe that is how our lives need to be lived. We often want to leave some type of legacy. However, it is usually not for the right reasons. If the legacy we leave is done out of selfish ambition, it really doesn't matter. The legacy that lasts is the one that touches the emotional core of anothers heart; if we meet their need.

I may never see if I make a difference in someone elses life here on this earth. But, I want to try. I don't want to always focus on me. I want to love and help them. And if I do, it will be worth it in heaven.

Hiram Church Picnic

On September 11, the Hiram church had a picnic out at White Oak Park. We had a wonderful time and many people came. I enjoyed the afternoon socializing with people. And I also was able to take a little walk with Owen down to the pond and playground. Here are some photos from the day. Thanks Christian F. for your work with these pictures.