"...open the floodgates of Heaven..."

My sincerest apologies to all of you (both of you) who have been awaiting the latest edition of "Four Little Ladies". I have been so busy that I just now heard that we were in March. Wow, time flies! Anyhoo, I have been busy experiencing the supernatural favor of God in my business. God has literally "opened the floodgates of heaven" and poured Himself out on me. I have experienced His favor and blessing like never before! My sales are pouring in and the energy and motivation to keep up with them is multiplying daily and minor physical ailments that have hindered me are no longer a factor. God is so good and as I reflect back on the blogs I have posted in the past couple of months I can easily see the shift that has happened in our lives. Thank all of you who stood with us through those times and continue to stand with us through all life has to offer. I see the purpose for which God has created me rapidly coming into focus. It is exciting to be sure of what you are and who you are, and as Becky says, "Whose" you are. It makes life so much more fulfilling and meaningful!

Not Much

Hello Just about to hit the sack and wanted to say howdy to all my peeps in Blogland. If you haven't been turned on to Air1 yet, 90.5 are the numbers. It is great and helps me through a lot of lonely road every day. Not much else right now. Much love!!!! B

broke back billy

Well, after an excruciating Thursday, today was much better. Yesterday, I ran out of gas while delivering two buildings to Weatherford (Note: I did not run out of gas because of lack of competence on my part, but rather, because of a faulty gas gauge in the truck) and had a horrific experience. I started walking toward, what I believed to be, the nearest town to me. Yep, I was walking down the I-20 access road in search of fuel. Good thing it was daytime! Because I'm so tired and sleepy, I am going to wrap this up. I walked two miles in a direction which did not produce a gas station. So, I had to walk those two miles back to the truck and then two miles the other direction to the "real" gas station. Several other ridiculous circumstances ensued that helped lead to another really long day that was incredibly frustrating. Lucky for me I am an optimistic head-strong man or I would have had a breakdown while being broke down right there on the side of the highway. Keep praying for me all my peeps! I'm averaging about 14 hours every day and make it home to kiss the girls right before they're asleep. This getting going is brutal but I know it is going to be well worth it in the long run. In the famous words of Tigger, "T-T-F-N Tah Tah for now, hoo-hoo hoo-hoo!"

Quick Humor from a 6-year olds point-of-view

I was reminded of a little conversation I had with Bailey last Saturday, the 27th of January, on the way to her basketball game. In conversation, the fact that I was working with Hawk Portable Buildings again came up and "got her going". She said, "I can't believe you are working at Hawk Portable Buildings again. You already worked for them...... then you quit there and worked at the church......then you worked at Blake Fulenwider......then you worked for Jeff(Spencer)......and now you're working at Hawk again! Daddy, you need to just stay at one job and quit doing so many jobs. You should just stay at the same job and not be doing so many other jobs!" I just looked at her and grinned and said, "you know, you're right Bailey. Thank you for telling me that." She said, "I know, you need to keep the same job........" and that's when I changed the subject, "So, you ready for the big game today?" After all, enough's enough, right? I love the way the 6-year old mind works!!!!!

The few, the proud, the Overlooked!

In a rushed effort to convey a heartfelt gratitude to a group of people too long to list in one blog, I realized I had left out some very important persons in that group. Brandi and Randy Wilson and Cody and Ashley Caperton. Now, obviously there are so many key people in our lives who have done and do so much for us, whom we owe our lives to for all they've done, but these folks have really done dramatic acts of kindness and giving at just the right moment; right at the "boiling point", so as to lead me to believe they really heard from the Lord and acted swiftly in obedience much to my benefit. You guys are never overlooked and never underappreciated, so forgive me for leaving you out of a blog which sheds light specificly on people like you! Much love!

And so, it starts!!!!!!!

I would like to send a shout out to all my homies out there in blog world! It is so awesome to have people who love you and are standing with you and praying with you and giving to you. You all are incredible! You know who you are. We have received money, food, prayers and encouragement to overcome this state that had attached itself to us for the past few weeks. With gifts from friends, the start of the new job and the annual blessing via the government called "Income Tax Return" we are in a good place and are propelling toward the goal and the promise at a steady rate. The next time I am scheduled to play guitar on the worship team, it will be with my precious guitar that I had to part with for a very brief but difficult period. Credit cards which once labeled themselves as our possessions now are screaming "bloody murder" in a thousand little shreds at the bottom of the Hafner family trash receptacle. And so, it starts! The age of the fullness of the blessing of the Lord toward the Hafner family. The placing of ourselves under His "open window". The window of blessing which is always open yet not always positioned directly above us, (because we haven't put ourselves in the postion under it). I am encouraged and thankful, yet again, for His perpetual faithfulness. Thank you, my dearest friends, Kevin (and Ashlee), Erica (and Tim), Monica (and Doug), Brenda (and Jim), Trish (and Joel), Aaron (and Rachel), Jennifer, Becky (and Bryan) and all of you who selflessly have given of yourselves in some form or fashion for the benefit of myself and my family. Your kindness is exemplary of our Savior and will not soon be forgotten for it was the very thing(s) that got us through this season in our life. We love all of you and are eternally grateful for people who actually "are " the body and don't just "Talk" about being the body. For the "are"s can impact the world around them and make a REAL difference whereas the "talker"s are only hypothetical and theoretical. Thanks again all of you who "are" what you "talk". It has changed my life and I love you all for it.

The Last Laugh

Well, as I return to blog-ville, I try to muster up the courage and dignity to express what I feel right now. I have never actually been in a "real" fight, but the picture I've seen many times of the guy who has just got the crap kicked out of him and is in a fetal position fighting to get back up just to greet yet another swift kick to the ribs; yeah, that's me right now.
Since posting a blog about great success and wealth to come to me and declaring a bold statement about being a millionaire, it has been straight up Hell! I have gone two weeks without a paycheck, begged for food for myself and my children, pawned my favorite guitar(which is easily in the "Top 2 Most Depressing Moments in My Life", received a ridiculous electric bill and "borrowed" my nine year old's allowance that she has been saving for some time. Not to mention, my sister-in-law has been having to dish us $$ for gas and I just scrounged up enough change "laying around" to get some milk and bread for the kiddos.
What the Hell is going on? I don't mean to have to post an "R" rating on my blog, but come on. throw me a frickin' bone here! I mean, I know what's up and everything, how the devil works and how things work in the natural progression of life in certain circumstances. Unfortunately for me, though, that knowledge has no nutritional value.
Perseverance sucks hard sometimes; well, most of the time; okay, All the time!!! I can see the other side and I believe it and I am ready for it!! The valley between here and there is just tough sometimes you know? That's all right, though; I know that I'll get the Last Laugh! Will you laugh with me!

I can't take the PRESSURE!

Okay, so Francesca decides she's gonna write a bunch of really exaggeratedly sweet things about me for all the world to see. Now, all of a sudden, I feel this tremendous pressure to live up to the expectations of, not only my wife, but everyone else that knows me. I'm torn. It isn't my nature to just responsibly start washing the dishes every time they need to be washed. But now, every time I see one dirty plate or cup in the sink, World War III erupts inside of me. The responsible, wanting-to-live-up-to-this-great-husband-that-she's-made-me-out-to-be part of me versus the lazy oh-I-worked-all-day-and-am-tired-so-that-should-be-plenty-of-justification-for-not-doing-the-RIGHT-thing part of me. But what the hay! I guess that is part of the maturing process. Learning how to shut the one up and listen to the other. Hey, thanks for reading. Gotta go; I've got some dishes to wash!!!!!

Right on Cue!

It is funny to me how whenever you say something out loud or make a public declaration or recognition of something, you are almost immediately faced with opposition to that something. Francesca is taking a class at CJC this semester so she can begin medical transcription work in May. Today was the last day for her to pay for the class before she would be dropped from the class. Wouldn't you know that the weather would turn out ridiculous all week long leaving me unable to work, as I am working outdoors right now, and therefore, unable to make any "dinero." So, on the heels of a bold public declaration concerning my financial situation, I am faced with a financial dilemma to where I have to call my sister-in-law to "bum" enough money from her to complete the transaction for Francesca's class. This only serves to confirm that if you speak things out, you had better be ready to face some opposition because it is coming. No sweat, though. I was ready. Can't take my joy devil! Whenever you try to come against me, guess what? I'm coming right back. Right on Cue!

I guarantee ya.....

I was thinking about John Hawk today and about some of the things that he has said; and continues to say today; and will be saying tomorrow, too; and in twenty years from now(the man's never gonna die, you know) N...E...WAY, you get the picture! I remember him always throwing out his "guarantee". "I guarantee ya that......" he would say, as I rolled my eyes inside, and get on his soapbox about, well, you name it. Smoking, dipping, cussing, ethnicity(to be politically correct), work ethic, Endgate's bull-riding, "Bam's" tennis, Kathy-Lou, Betty Sue, "Candy Kisses", oh, and "what the preachers should be preaching.". If his mouth was open, he was talking about one of those topics. And don't hear me wrong when I say "talking". What I mean is preaching. Not in a typical biased, informative persuasive fashion, but rather, in the type of intimidating, finger-in-your-chest manner one would expect to experience from a car salesman on the last day of the month, one unit shy of "bonus" quota at a quarter to six (and I should know; been there, done that!)
It is this very statement, resounding in my ears as I type, that takes up residence on the tips of my fingers awaiting the "green light" to blurt out for all the world to hear, or see, I guess. I would like to be so bold as to offer this guarantee for anyone who stumbles across this blog. Are you ready?
I have decided that I am going to walk in the full potential of what God has created me for. I am going to succeed in everything that I put my hands to. And the guarantee, you ask? I guarantee that I am going to be a millionaire in the next five years. "Whoa! Hey man, that's a little overboard, don't you think?" "Big deal. Who cares? What about it?" Well, I'll tell you 'what about it'. I am acting on what God has given me. From now on. And you know what? I have been given a whole lot! I'm tired of being the latest generation of "do-nothing, have-nothings" in my family lineage. In my book, "The Buck Stopped Here", I talk a lot about the breakthrough that has taken place in my life because of the shift in my thinking and the recent motivation that has fueled me in the direction I am now going.
Okay, so I don't have a book, yet! It is in the works, though. I do, however, want to encourage you to dream big. I have squelched my own dreams and desires for most of my life because of a conservative belief that it is a very, very small fraction of a percent of people who actually experience success on a broad scale, and why risk the chance of failure and disappointment. But I have kicked that thinking to the curb. My BIG dreams are going to be realized and enjoyed by all, not just my family.
I GUARANTEE YA!