I would like to leave negative feedback on the pre-owned manager at Texas Nissan of Grapevine (1401 W State Highway 114 Grapevine, Texas 76051). The pre-owned manager (Michael Peace) committed an out-the-door price to me in front of a sales rep and then called the sales rep a liar when he took my side in front of the owner of the company. My overall experience was terrible.
5.22.2008
Texas Nissan
Mike Peace (Sales Manager)
Nissan North America
Better Business Bureau Tarrant County
NADA Association
Cars.com
5.21.2008
One law is causing oil prices to go through the roof
Shipments of oil headed west have shown serious declines during the month of April, down 800,000 barrels per day in the week before the publication of the report. Now, let me give you the first line from under the Westbound Oil shipments chart: "In the west, a big share of any oil stock building done this year has happened offshore, out of sight.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
5.19.2008
5.14.2008
NY Times Does Nice Piece on Denton
Check this out! A nice lengthy article about how great Denton, TX is??? I have lived here my whole life and not noticed this. Maybe it's like those people that live in the northwest or coast of CA and just take the beauty for granted. I need to get plugged into my own community!
5.13.2008
Cowboy Fans Rejoice!
I'm a huge Dallas Cowboy fan but not so much a fan of Jessica Simpson...good news for me and others like me.
5.10.2008
Myranmar Update
Email from my friend Bryan that left for Berma Thursday:
They are currently in Thailand, they landed and got there
safely...unfortunately their luggage did not. However, they were
pretty brilliant and checked their luggage, but carried on the 2 water
filters they had flown to LA that purify over 3500 gallons of water a
day. They are hoping they will be able to use this to get clean water
to the survivors who are still without clean water or food.
Here's the update on getting into the country....
They are in an area where the government is issuing day passes into
Burma. The only catch is that they are only allowed to go in about 5
Kilometers, meaning they wont be able to get anywhere near where the
majority of the damage is. They are very excited to be able to at
least prayer walk on Burmese soil.
Another problem: other trucks and people that have gone in have had
everything they had with them confiscated. Also, the UN was allowed to
bring in tons of food today, but it is currently sitting in storage,
and the government is refusing to give it to the survivors. Please
pray that God would sustain the Burmese people until they are able to
receive food and clean water.
Please pray that God would soften the hearts of those in power, that
he would take the blinders off their eyes, and that He would convict
them of their evil hearts and fill them with compassion. Also pray
that the contact that these officials have with foreigners would be
with God fearing men and women, who, even when it seems impossible,
would treat them with respect and mercy, and be a picture of Christ to
them; ultimately glorifying God with their Christ-likeness and
witness, and hopefully gaining trust for the International community
that longs to help the Burmese in this time of need.
Pray that if they are allowed to get in with day passes, that the
government will see how much they want to help, and not confiscate the
filters. Their hope is that since they are only allowed 5 Kilometers
into the country, they will meet nationals (hopefully some believers
if there is any connection to the underground church) who they will be
able to train to use these filters, and take into the hardest hit
areas. Pray that God would lead them to honest, caring, Burmese men
and women of integrity who would follow through with helping their
people. Also, pray that if they are able to pass the filters on to
Believers, that this would strengthen their witness in a very dark
place.
They are waiting to see what happens after Burma has it's election
today on some new policies, and they are hoping this will produce some
changes in the way they are handling foreign aid.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7393588.stm
The team will try to apply for visas first thing Monday morning and
see what happens, but for now, pray that God would give them wisdom
and discernment in their decisions and protect them, that he would
lead them to all the right people, that he would strengthen them in
their weaknesses as they may very soon encounter some very difficult
things to see. Pray He would make a way for them, and others into a
place where their immediate felt needs are great, but their Spiritual
needs are even greater.
Pray that what Satan intends for evil, God would use for good; with
the cyclone, the government, and the death and starvation and
diseases. Pray that just as the water and floods tore through the
country this last week, His Spirit would flood the country with an
even greater force. Pray that this would serve as a turning point in
Burma's openness to the Gospel, and that in their brokenness and
grieving, they would recognize their great need for a Savior. Pray
that the Burmese see that their idols offer them nothing, that they
can't save them, that they offer no hope, but that there is One who is
greater and offers hope and comfort and eternal life.
Pray that God would raise up laborers (Romans 9:37 & 38) not only for
disaster relief work, but long term workers who would give their lives
to see the Burmese come to know Christ and find true life in Him.
Christ is worthy of the worship from these people and this could be an
amazing time to begin to plant seeds of the Gospel deep in their
broken hearts.
"Worthy are you to take the book and break it's seals; for You were
slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, and
tongue and people and nation" Revelation 5:9
Thank God for HIS promises, and that He is faithful to keep them;
"...I looked and there before me WAS a great multitude that no one
could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and
tongues..." Revelation 7:9
Praise God for His sovereignty and His hand in all of this, that He
would receive the glory and worship due His name.
Thank you for praying for Burma and the team, I'll keep you updated as
I hear more.
For His Glory,
Abbey
They are currently in Thailand, they landed and got there
safely...unfortunately their luggage did not. However, they were
pretty brilliant and checked their luggage, but carried on the 2 water
filters they had flown to LA that purify over 3500 gallons of water a
day. They are hoping they will be able to use this to get clean water
to the survivors who are still without clean water or food.
Here's the update on getting into the country....
They are in an area where the government is issuing day passes into
Burma. The only catch is that they are only allowed to go in about 5
Kilometers, meaning they wont be able to get anywhere near where the
majority of the damage is. They are very excited to be able to at
least prayer walk on Burmese soil.
Another problem: other trucks and people that have gone in have had
everything they had with them confiscated. Also, the UN was allowed to
bring in tons of food today, but it is currently sitting in storage,
and the government is refusing to give it to the survivors. Please
pray that God would sustain the Burmese people until they are able to
receive food and clean water.
Please pray that God would soften the hearts of those in power, that
he would take the blinders off their eyes, and that He would convict
them of their evil hearts and fill them with compassion. Also pray
that the contact that these officials have with foreigners would be
with God fearing men and women, who, even when it seems impossible,
would treat them with respect and mercy, and be a picture of Christ to
them; ultimately glorifying God with their Christ-likeness and
witness, and hopefully gaining trust for the International community
that longs to help the Burmese in this time of need.
Pray that if they are allowed to get in with day passes, that the
government will see how much they want to help, and not confiscate the
filters. Their hope is that since they are only allowed 5 Kilometers
into the country, they will meet nationals (hopefully some believers
if there is any connection to the underground church) who they will be
able to train to use these filters, and take into the hardest hit
areas. Pray that God would lead them to honest, caring, Burmese men
and women of integrity who would follow through with helping their
people. Also, pray that if they are able to pass the filters on to
Believers, that this would strengthen their witness in a very dark
place.
They are waiting to see what happens after Burma has it's election
today on some new policies, and they are hoping this will produce some
changes in the way they are handling foreign aid.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7393588.stm
The team will try to apply for visas first thing Monday morning and
see what happens, but for now, pray that God would give them wisdom
and discernment in their decisions and protect them, that he would
lead them to all the right people, that he would strengthen them in
their weaknesses as they may very soon encounter some very difficult
things to see. Pray He would make a way for them, and others into a
place where their immediate felt needs are great, but their Spiritual
needs are even greater.
Pray that what Satan intends for evil, God would use for good; with
the cyclone, the government, and the death and starvation and
diseases. Pray that just as the water and floods tore through the
country this last week, His Spirit would flood the country with an
even greater force. Pray that this would serve as a turning point in
Burma's openness to the Gospel, and that in their brokenness and
grieving, they would recognize their great need for a Savior. Pray
that the Burmese see that their idols offer them nothing, that they
can't save them, that they offer no hope, but that there is One who is
greater and offers hope and comfort and eternal life.
Pray that God would raise up laborers (Romans 9:37 & 38) not only for
disaster relief work, but long term workers who would give their lives
to see the Burmese come to know Christ and find true life in Him.
Christ is worthy of the worship from these people and this could be an
amazing time to begin to plant seeds of the Gospel deep in their
broken hearts.
"Worthy are you to take the book and break it's seals; for You were
slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, and
tongue and people and nation" Revelation 5:9
Thank God for HIS promises, and that He is faithful to keep them;
"...I looked and there before me WAS a great multitude that no one
could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and
tongues..." Revelation 7:9
Praise God for His sovereignty and His hand in all of this, that He
would receive the glory and worship due His name.
Thank you for praying for Burma and the team, I'll keep you updated as
I hear more.
For His Glory,
Abbey
Oil's surge echoes dotcom bubble...
A sudden surge in oil prices has dominated the headlines over the past week. The run up over the past few years is similar to the surge in the NASDAQ index in the late 1990s. Back then we were told things were different because of the arrival of the internet.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
5.08.2008
Baby Ducks on 17?
My in-laws live on a little par 3 with a water hazard and love to watch nature. About a month ago my mother-in-law was cleaning out flower beds. When she went to move back the branches of one of the bushes there was a duck hiding on a nest. After watching for the duck to leave she went out and counted 15 duck eggs in this nest.
Today they finally hatched and here are the pictures of the ducks headed to the hazard on 17.
Today they finally hatched and here are the pictures of the ducks headed to the hazard on 17.
I Love My Church!
Here is an email I received from our pastor regarding the crisis in Myanmar:
--
Dear church family,
Once again, I tip my hat to you. Thank you for responding with passion to the plea that went out earlier this week about the relief trip to Myanmar.
Five members of The Village will board a plane Thursday morning on their way to Myanmar to assist in relief efforts for the next 14 days. They'll be working with an agency called Thirst No More, and their main goal will be to provide clean water to the area.
Thank you for making it possible for the five to go. In all, we had more than 100 of you respond in a matter of hours, with offers to sponsor someone or make the trip yourself. Matt Elkins, our church's short-term missions pastor, and Josh Drew, worship pastor at the Denton campus, will be joined by Ashley Massingale, Lauren Taylor and Brian Padgett. The group will be leaning heavily on our prayers.
Officials now estimate the death toll at more than 100,000. It's hard for me to imagine that. I beg you to pray for this country and for our five-person group. Pray that amid horrendous devastation that our Lord's name will be glorified. Pray fervently for the things our group will see, feel and touch ... that God will draw them closer through this experience. We'll keep you updated on the group's progress as soon as we hear from them.
When our church responds like it does to these calls it reminds me that five years ago we decided that we would not gauge our success here at The Village by numbers. We weren't going to simply look at weekly attendance or offerings to judge our success. We made our mission at The Village to glorify God through lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why I have loved the video testimonies we have been showing in the weekend services. They reveal that we are doing what we set out to do. Lives are being changed. They are being changed by the gospel of Jesus, and those lives are glorifying God. It's easy to preach after those videos.
I want to invite you to join us next Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. at the Denton campus where we are going to get together to do a little bit of worship and a lot of praying. We'll do the same in Highland Village on Tuesday, May 13. The last nine months have been crazy with the addition of the Denton campus and the purchase of the Flower Mound campus. We want to come together again and ask God to bless us, to cry out that He is what we want, He is what we are after, His name exalted, worshiped and enjoyed. We want to ask God to protect us and guide us through the next few months. There is nothing more important that we can do than humble ourselves before God. Please join us at one of the gatherings.
This weekend, we'll be talking about the eternal purposes of why we live where we do, work where we work, have the friends we have and enjoy the games we play. I can't wait to see you.
For the joy of all people,
Matt Chandler
--
Dear church family,
Once again, I tip my hat to you. Thank you for responding with passion to the plea that went out earlier this week about the relief trip to Myanmar.
Five members of The Village will board a plane Thursday morning on their way to Myanmar to assist in relief efforts for the next 14 days. They'll be working with an agency called Thirst No More, and their main goal will be to provide clean water to the area.
Thank you for making it possible for the five to go. In all, we had more than 100 of you respond in a matter of hours, with offers to sponsor someone or make the trip yourself. Matt Elkins, our church's short-term missions pastor, and Josh Drew, worship pastor at the Denton campus, will be joined by Ashley Massingale, Lauren Taylor and Brian Padgett. The group will be leaning heavily on our prayers.
Officials now estimate the death toll at more than 100,000. It's hard for me to imagine that. I beg you to pray for this country and for our five-person group. Pray that amid horrendous devastation that our Lord's name will be glorified. Pray fervently for the things our group will see, feel and touch ... that God will draw them closer through this experience. We'll keep you updated on the group's progress as soon as we hear from them.
When our church responds like it does to these calls it reminds me that five years ago we decided that we would not gauge our success here at The Village by numbers. We weren't going to simply look at weekly attendance or offerings to judge our success. We made our mission at The Village to glorify God through lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why I have loved the video testimonies we have been showing in the weekend services. They reveal that we are doing what we set out to do. Lives are being changed. They are being changed by the gospel of Jesus, and those lives are glorifying God. It's easy to preach after those videos.
I want to invite you to join us next Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. at the Denton campus where we are going to get together to do a little bit of worship and a lot of praying. We'll do the same in Highland Village on Tuesday, May 13. The last nine months have been crazy with the addition of the Denton campus and the purchase of the Flower Mound campus. We want to come together again and ask God to bless us, to cry out that He is what we want, He is what we are after, His name exalted, worshiped and enjoyed. We want to ask God to protect us and guide us through the next few months. There is nothing more important that we can do than humble ourselves before God. Please join us at one of the gatherings.
This weekend, we'll be talking about the eternal purposes of why we live where we do, work where we work, have the friends we have and enjoy the games we play. I can't wait to see you.
For the joy of all people,
Matt Chandler
5.07.2008
5.06.2008
Respond Now to Opportunity in Myanmar (Village Church)
The possibility of sending up to five people from The Village Church to Myanmar (Burma) to assist in relief work as a result of the typhoon that hit the country Sunday exists, but persons must move quickly.
The country's death toll is expected to exceed 15,000 people.
The five people from The Village would assist a ministry called Thirst No More. The president of the ministry called the church, wondering if we could provide some manpower. The individuals going would provide basic relief for the people and help provide clean water. Those interested would need to be willing to leave as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and be gone for 10 to14 days. At this point we don't have an exact cost, but it could be as much as $4,000.00.
Three categories of what we need to make this happen:
1. Those who are willing to go AND have the money.
2. Those who are willing to go but DON'T have the money.
3. Those who CANNOT go but are willing to sponsor someone to go.
The urgency of this is VERY high, and names are needed (as the names appear are on a passport) of those who can fulfill one of the three needs above.
If you submit your name to go, you must be serious, and know that there is a chance that we will not get the visas to go. There are a lot of unknowns right know, but we just need some commitments to move forward. Please contact Matt Elkins immediately at 972-215-9077 or melkins@thevillagechurch.net if you can fulfill one of the three needs above.
The country has recently been one of the most closed off countries in the world to the gospel, and the humanitarian crises there had been escalating as the government continued oppressing its people. In light of the natural disaster, the doors to Myanmar are opening as the level of need is beyond anything we can imagine. Please keep this country and its people in your prayers.
The country's death toll is expected to exceed 15,000 people.
The five people from The Village would assist a ministry called Thirst No More. The president of the ministry called the church, wondering if we could provide some manpower. The individuals going would provide basic relief for the people and help provide clean water. Those interested would need to be willing to leave as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and be gone for 10 to14 days. At this point we don't have an exact cost, but it could be as much as $4,000.00.
Three categories of what we need to make this happen:
1. Those who are willing to go AND have the money.
2. Those who are willing to go but DON'T have the money.
3. Those who CANNOT go but are willing to sponsor someone to go.
The urgency of this is VERY high, and names are needed (as the names appear are on a passport) of those who can fulfill one of the three needs above.
If you submit your name to go, you must be serious, and know that there is a chance that we will not get the visas to go. There are a lot of unknowns right know, but we just need some commitments to move forward. Please contact Matt Elkins immediately at 972-215-9077 or melkins@thevillagechurch.net if you can fulfill one of the three needs above.
The country has recently been one of the most closed off countries in the world to the gospel, and the humanitarian crises there had been escalating as the government continued oppressing its people. In light of the natural disaster, the doors to Myanmar are opening as the level of need is beyond anything we can imagine. Please keep this country and its people in your prayers.
5.05.2008
Cannot Think of Age Appropriate Title
So after receiving 200 miles compensation I was unhappy with AA.com. Many people I work with were given 500miles plus 2 upgrades for the S-80 mess a few weeks ago. Here is the response from AA customer service.
------------------------
May 5, 2008
Dear Mr. Vinson:
Thank you for contacting us again. It gives us the chance to take another look at the
circumstances surrounding your experience. I have carefully reviewed your previous
communication (and our response) and I appreciate the opportunity to address your
concerns.
We regret that your flights were impacted the MD-80 inspection activity. We are not
unmindful of the related inconvenience to your travel plans. Nonetheless, the
compensation options recently mentioned in news reports were intended to mitigate the
negative impact for those customers who were stranded away from home. I apologize for
any confusion that may have been created by media reports or word of mouth. We
sympathize with your experience and we regret having to disappoint you further by
respectfully declining your request for additional compensation.
We know this situation was frustrating. Again, we apologize for the disruption of
your travel plans caused by the MD-80 inspections and the resulting flight
cancellations. Please fly with us again soon -- we'll do our best to get you to your
destination as planned.
Sincerely,
Tawnya M. Hendricks
Customer Relations
American Airlines
-----------------------------------
REALLY? "The compensation options recently mentioned in news reports were intended to mitigate the
negative impact for those customers who were stranded away from home." Is Orange County, CA away from home? Did I spend 2 days trying to get in contact with a customer service rep to get my flight home?
If only Delta had not pulled out of DFW airport. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would be jumping off the local air carrier. "We know why you fly..."
------------------------
May 5, 2008
Dear Mr. Vinson:
Thank you for contacting us again. It gives us the chance to take another look at the
circumstances surrounding your experience. I have carefully reviewed your previous
communication (and our response) and I appreciate the opportunity to address your
concerns.
We regret that your flights were impacted the MD-80 inspection activity. We are not
unmindful of the related inconvenience to your travel plans. Nonetheless, the
compensation options recently mentioned in news reports were intended to mitigate the
negative impact for those customers who were stranded away from home. I apologize for
any confusion that may have been created by media reports or word of mouth. We
sympathize with your experience and we regret having to disappoint you further by
respectfully declining your request for additional compensation.
We know this situation was frustrating. Again, we apologize for the disruption of
your travel plans caused by the MD-80 inspections and the resulting flight
cancellations. Please fly with us again soon -- we'll do our best to get you to your
destination as planned.
Sincerely,
Tawnya M. Hendricks
Customer Relations
American Airlines
-----------------------------------
REALLY? "The compensation options recently mentioned in news reports were intended to mitigate the
negative impact for those customers who were stranded away from home." Is Orange County, CA away from home? Did I spend 2 days trying to get in contact with a customer service rep to get my flight home?
If only Delta had not pulled out of DFW airport. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would be jumping off the local air carrier. "We know why you fly..."
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