MYGRAHAMS.COM

YARD SALE POSTPONED

2011-05-20T14:33:31Z

Due to family medical issues, we have to postpone our yard sale promoted in the Barrow County News. We apologize for any inconvenience. We expect to have a GREAT yard sale in the next couple of weeks. Keep your eye out! THANKS

The Spiritual Implications of Snow in Georgia

2009-03-02T17:26:00Z

I’m sure my friends from cooler climates might scoff at this post. I think of my friends Derek and Kim Spain in Lake Placid New York where they have ankle deep snow from Thanksgiving until Mother’s Day. They’re sure to miss the point of the romantic nature of snow. To them, and others like them, snow is a pain. But they both are from Georgia so maybe they can remember what it felt like before they moved to the icy tundra of Lake Placid. Perhaps most of you readers will understand.

When snow falls in Georgia so many things happen that to me resemble what happens when God’s Spirit begins to move. Read on and see if you agree.

The Forecast: A spirit of expectancy takes us over. Children begin praying for snow to fall - especially on a school day. It’s all anybody is thinking about. Total strangers will begin communicating at the gas station and in the grocery store lines. A unity of expectancy takes place where before we would never interact with so many different people from so many different backgrounds. The TV stations have round the clock coverage and study all the computer models available. Because snow in Georgia is a rare thing.

The Preparation: Once it looks like snow is definitely coming the stores are flooded. Everyone needs BREAD and MILK - even though we might not even eat that much bread or drink that much milk. For us it was a frozen pizza, some ice cream sandwiches and lots of 2 liter drinks…you know, the important stuff. And then there’s the “what if the power goes out” drill. You have to: find the candles, find the flashlights, find the battery powered radio, park the cars in places you know you can get out of and avoid tree branches falling, make the outside faucets drip, bring in some firewood or get some at the store, pull the snow clothes out of the attic… and so on. When snow is coming in Georgia - you don’t want to be found unprepared.

The Arrival: Perhaps the most magical moment of all. When the first bit of snow begins to fall it’s as if the world stops. A stillness fills the air and all worries seem to drift to the ground. There is a purity in the air that seeps into our minds and causes us to be different. Grown men begin walking through parking lots with their tongues hanging out trying to catch a flake of snow. There’s a euphoria that comes over Georgians causing us to embrace a perfect stranger. As we travel through the magical white fluffy substance back to our prepared homes, we might stop to help a stranded motorist or pick up fallen limbs off the road to help the guy behind us. The “spirit” of snow in Georgia has permeated our hard calloused hearts and we sense life.

The Lock-Down: This is perhaps the most powerful part of the Snow in Georgia experience. You can’t go to work. You can’t go to school. You can’t go to the store or the movies. You have to sit in your home or play outside with your friends and family. There are no other options. The sun reflects on the snow covered ground and tree limbs and the light envelopes us like no other time. It’s as if the snow beckons us to come and enjoy it. Make a snowball. Make a snowman. Make some Snow-Cream - just avoid the yellow snow right? Regardless of how we enjoy it - we enjoy it. The evening news replaces their usual list of crime stories with images of kids sledding and dad’s doing crazy stunts with their four wheelers. We’ll linger over a cup of hot chocolate. We’ll sit around a table and play a board game with our kids. Why, the snow has slowed us down long enough to see the things in our lives that truly matter.

The After-effects: Snow doesn’t stay around long in Georgia. It’s usually a one or two day event. And once the pure white snow melts away we see very clearly how truly UNPREPARED we were for it. Tree branches that should have been pruned out long ago snap under the weight of the snow and sometimes leave painful damage. The ground becomes saturated in a sloppy mess of slush and mud. Slowly our lives get back up to speed like they were before the forecast - but the snow has left its mark. It has made a difference in our lives.

The Point: I’m praying for a spiritual Georgia snow storm in our hearts. The forecast builds expectancy in our hearts that the God of the universe has plans for our lives and wants us to encounter His Spirit. Will He speak to our church body THIS Sunday? Like children awaiting school closures, let‘s pray for God‘s arrival in our hearts.

And lets PREPARE for it. We need to put within easy reach the tools that God uses in our lives during a visitation like this. His Word is a (flash)light unto our path. Prayer and confession are the provisions to ensure we are fed during His visitation. And like finding the right place to park the car, let’s park our hearts in the path of least resistance for God to move.

When the Arrival of His Spirit comes, the fellowship among other believers will be heightened. Our petty differences will melt away and we will know that we are a part of God’s event. We’ll sense our hearts reach out to one another in love. A fresh spirit will fall on our churches. The music will seem more dynamic. The preaching will be more piercing. The fellowship will be sweeter.

And when the spiritual lock-down happens. I pray for the moment where we’ll forget about time and space and be on our knees being ministered to by the Holy Spirit. We’ll stay together as a body of believers as long as it takes for us to know we’ve done business with God. Perhaps a move of God’s Spirit will flow from this revival falling on us - that whole communities will get saved. Entire school faculties or office staff will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and we’ll see life differently because we’ll know we were a part of God’s visitation.

Finally, the after effects will reveal where we weren’t disciplined to prune the dead branches from our soul. We’ll live a more Christ-like life and our hearts will be saturated with God’s goodness.

I’m looking for this kind of stow storm next Sunday - how about you? I gotta go get my boots on and play in the snow that’s here right now.

God Bless, JON

The Wedding Is Approaching!!!

2008-05-29T00:39:00Z

Well, we're frantically preparing for the wedding. Here's three important links.

1. If you missed our engagement video: here it is again.

2. If you'd like to view our engagement pics - go here...

http://www.lscphotography.com/proof.htm

3. If you need turn-by-turn directions to our wedding venue, click here...

MAPQUEST

4. If you received an invitation and have yet to RSVP, please visit here and use the event code in the invitation.

www.RSVPit.com

See you there!

Zach's Baptism

2008-03-10T16:08:00Z

One of the proudest days of my life . . . Zach's Baptism. We're serving at a new church plant with no Baptistry so since one of the men getting baptized owned a Hot Tub store, we decided to make that the place of our baptism. Praise God - all the Graham grandkids are saved and baptized. Following is the video clip... followed by Josh (Graham's) prayer.

Happy New Year - 2008 updates...

2008-01-15T14:43:00Z

It was a glorious Christmas and we're so amazed how good God is to us. And Jon is especially excited that it's ALL PAID FOR! (He's a serious Dave Ramsey disciple.

We're now members of Connecting Point Church. Jon started as the worship pastor back in October and we took a few months to transition the family but we joined this past week and we're so excited about all that God is up to there. The fields are white unto harvest and God is bringing folks in like crazy.

HOME RENOVATIONS: Crystal had a few weeks before starting back to TFC for her final lap! So she decided to bunk at Jon's parents home and give step-mommy-ing a trial run. She seems to be enjoying it (except for a running feud with Jon's chihuahua) and Jon and Crystal actually took on some major home improvements. Inspired by HGTV, empowered by a Christmas gift card to home depot and assisted by Jon's dad, there is now a renovated bathroom with new tile flooring. The kitchen also got new title flooring and cabinets are being refinished. Everything looks wonderful!

BRAG ON DANIEL: Daniel took a "STAR" test at school this week. It's a reading comprehension test. He scored in the 99% and had a reading equivalency of a college freshman. He's playing bass every chance he gets and baseball will start soon - he finds out this week what role he's been cast in for the spring musical "Charlie and the Chocolate factory"

BRAG ON ZACH: Zach continues to amaze his teachers and his scope teacher. He's reading on about a 4th grade level and is fascinated with Egyptian mummies and all kinds of archeology. He's got another loose tooth and is mastering "LEGO STAR WARS" on the Wii.

BRAG ON CRYSTAL: Crystal has successfully completed two days of substitute teaching and getting the front line experience. We heard today of an opening in her field and hope to see what God might bring about there.

WEDDING: Not much has happened here - we've been quite busy with life - although we've gotten the ball rolling on the honeymoon accommodations and Crystal might have found her dress.

Keep us in your prayers.
Jon, Crystal, Daniel, Zach, Tiny and Chili

Merry Christmas from Us Elves!

2007-12-11T13:58:00Z

Click for a special Christmas greeting from the Grahams.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE GRAHAMS

"A Black Tie Affair"

2007-12-11T03:30:00Z

Jon and I attended Toccoa Falls College's annual Christmas Banquet at the Gainesville Civic Center. It was a great evening of jazz, excellent food, and fellowship. I had fun getting Jon to match my dress. I'm not sure he enjoyed that part of it, but he loved the jazz.

They had a bunch of props you could pose with for pictures. Here we are acting silly with my good friend Brent Cagle, a fellow senior.

The Ticket Stubs

2007-12-07T15:50:00Z

Many of you know that Jon and his best friend Brian Wages do a weekly movie review radio show/podcast called "Take Two With The Ticket Stubs." We also review traveling Broadway productions which come to Atlanta. I am the Classic Film Correspondent for the show. My brother V.J. Demsky is an occasional guest host on foreign films. Click on Ticket Stubs for a link to our website. From the website, you can download and listen to the show. Please leave comments and check back frequently for giveaways (movie tickets, DVDS).

**Wedding Connection: I started guest hosting on the show when Jon and I were first dating. This is part of the reason for his video proposal (see Jon's entry "She said Yes") which used classic film footage and for our Oscar Party themed wedding reception next summer.

Pray for Daniel as he takes the ACT this Saturday.

2007-12-07T14:32:00Z

Please allow us to brag on Daniel for a moment. Based on last year's CRCT score (6th grade), Daniel has been selected to participate in the Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program) 7th grade talent search. TIP works with gifted and talented students throughout middle and high school by helping them to reach their potential through standardized testing, summer and weekend independent study sessions, and on line classes. Daniel is taking the ACT in Lawrenceville at 8:00 AM this Saturday December 8. Please keep him in your prayers.

Watkinsville Christmas Parade

2007-12-05T02:21:00Z

Connecting Point Church in Bogart, where Jon is Worship Pastor, entered a float last Saturday in the Watkinsville Christmas Parade. The church family worked together to build a really cool giant sleigh (on the back of a flat bad trailer). The Praise Band/Worship Team, all of the instruments, a bunch of kids and teens (including Daniel; unfortunately Zach was sick and was unable to be there) piled on the float.

Jon and I had a blast singing and ministering to those who came to the parade. My cousin Elizabeth and I sang back-up for Jon along with our bass guitarist Stephen, electric guitarist Louis, drummer Scott, and keyboardist Jonathan. We did three songs from Third Day's Christmas Offerings CD "Joy to the World," "O Come All Ye Faithful," and "Jesus Light of the World." It was so much fun.

Sunday morning Pastor Tim shared with us that someone who saw our float called to ask him questions about the church. The person shared that they loved the float, loved our church website and wanted to know more. We were all very excited to hear that God used our efforts on Saturday. Please keep praying for our church and Jon and I as we work on building relationships that will change people's lives for eternity.

Good News--I passed both my teacher certification tests!

2007-11-30T04:58:00Z

I just wanted to share the news regarding the results from the GACE tests I took in October. I took both the Middle Grades Language Arts and the Social Studies tests. I found out Monday night that I passed both tests! Thank you so much to all of my family, friends, and the churches who prayed for me. Your prayers are the key to my success. Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare to student teach at Stephens Middle School in February. I will be teaching 8th grade Language Arts. Thank you again for all of your prayers and your support.

Crystal

Wedding Details

2007-11-14T02:41:00Z

The wedding is Saturday June 7, 2008 at 5:00 PM in Winder, Georgia.

Jon's sons Daniel and Zach will be our attendants for the ceremony. Daniel is the Best Man. Zach is the Ring bearer. Jon's father Dr. J. B. Graham will perform the ceremony.

The ceremony will be at the Colleen O. Williams Community Theater/Winder Cultural Arts Center, which is located at 105 East Athens Street. The reception will be held at the Winder Community Center (the building facing out in the picture), which is adjacent to the theater (the building in the background)  . The reception theme will be a celebration of our love of film with an atmosphere of old Hollywood elegance in the style of an Oscar after-party. We are planning some unique decorating ideas which will complete our theme. The food at the reception will be catered by
Magnolia Place Restaurant and will be served buffet style with a choice of two entrées, vegetables, bread, and a salad station. Of course, there will be wedding cake for dessert. We want our reception to be a lot of fun for all of our friends and family. Our hope is that this party-like family atmosphere will allow everyone to relax, eat, dance, and rejoice with us as we celebrate the beginning of our new life together and the blending of our new family unit.

Our Engagement Pictures

2007-11-14T01:07:00Z

These are our engagement pictures. They were taken July 14, just three days after Jon's proposal on July 11. I love that the pictures look like E-Harmony.

HERE'S THE VIDEO PROPOSAL...

2007-07-13T14:59:00Z

"She Said Yes!"

2007-07-12T12:40:00Z

I thought I'd offer all my web-savvy friends (who typically prefer electronic communication) an account of my proposal for marriage to one Ms. Crystal Demsky.

A few back-story bullets to speed the story along ... I'll try not to bore you.
Crystal and I met via eHarmony. We were first "matched" in early June '06 but we didn't connect until late August '06 after I "nudged" her (an eHarmony term that means "hey, I'd really like to talk to you. Please quit ignoring me.") YES IT'S TRUE ... IT WORKS!

One of the points we matched on was our love for movies. I started a movie review broadcast/podcast about two years ago and she loves classic film (me ... not so much) and after we had dated a few months I asked her to become my 'classic film correspondent'. We've seen a TON of movies and Broadway plays together. We also attended The Robert Osborne Classic Film Festival which this year featured a viewing of "An Affair to Remember" with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

If you're not familiar with the film, Socialites, Grant and Kerr fall in love on a transcontinental cruise ... unfortunately they're engaged to other people back in New York. As they are disembarking they pledge to take 6 months to settle their affairs (pardon the pun) and meet back atop the Empire State Building... presumably to propose. They both head that way on July 1st but on the way Kerr gets in an accident that leaves her crippled. Grant is disappointed that she doesn't show. Her pride forbids her from telling the truth. By the end he discovers her handicap and why she didn't make their date. He then pledges his love to her again... roll credits.

THE PLAN
As I was considering good timing to propose to Crystal I noticed in some research that "An Affair To Remember" first premiered in New York on July 11, 1957. So I decided July 11, 2007, 50 years later, would be the night. The Empire State Building of the south is the Westin Peachtree Plaza featuring the Sundial Restaurant. And Crystal had often commented how she'd like to visit there some day.

THE PREPARATION
My parents took my kids on a Summer trip to NY to see Cooperstown and then I joined them on July 1st in New York City. We went to the Empire State Building and I filmed myself proposing to Crystal on top of the Empire State Building. I shot other footage that parodied some of the sequences in the film. I also filmed my boys and random New Yorkers shouting "Say Yes" into the camera.

When I got home I edited scenes from "An Affair to Remember" with the footage from my trip as well as a few from the original story from 1939 and the updated version, "Sleepless in Seattle." I also created a parody of the DVD box with several hidden messages that pointed to some of our dating memories. The main cover that used to feature Grant and Kerr was replaced with an image of the two of us and instead of a silhouette of the Empire State Building (ES, the Peachtree Plaza was inserted (you gotta love Photoshop).

By Happenstance, my mom gave me a picture of the boys that was taken that night in New York. It was in a frame she bought at the ESB gift shop. I thought it would make a wonderful complement to my proposal to have their picture on the table with us.

A few other specialty gifts were also prepared as keepsakes of the night.

I decided the night would take place in three acts (another nod toward our Arts and Entertainment persuasion). Each act would include a message and a gift(s)

THE PROPOSAL
ACT ONE: We met about 5:40PM on Wednesday afternoon at the parking lot of the Mall of GA (we've been there a lot!). She looked amazing - as she's prone to do! I presented her with a card (message) and two dozen red roses (gift). We had prayer together in the shoulder of the on-ramp to I-85 South and then we proceeded to Atlanta.

ACT TWO: After a delightful meal at the Sun Dial restaurant featuring live jazz and amazing food, we decided to share a dessert (see picture). You could call this the "before" picture.

This was a perfect opportunity for me to come to the opposite side (her side) of the table. I reached in the bag I brought with me and pulled out the picture of the boys and a portable DVD player with headphones. As she watched her 7 minute video proposal and both our hearts began to race, I reached in my pocket and pulled out her ring. I got down on one knee and asked her in person, "Will You Marry Me?"

She said yes, we hugged and ... well you get the idea. Here is the "after" picture.

We took some time wandering around the restaurant and found a viewing area all to ourselves so we slow danced to the live jazz above us for about 30 minutes with the Atlanta night lights in the background. That's Amore!

ACT THREE: (perhaps a bit anti climactic) Since movie going has been so central to our dating, we went back to Mall of GA and saw "Licensed to Wed" with Robin Williams - a lot of fun. In the film Robin Williams presents an engaged couple with a journal to write their own wedding vows. When we got back to the car I gave her (and myself) a journal called "What I Love About You." It has 90 pages worth of questions with blanks to fill in. Over the next few months of our engagement, we agreed to fill that book and present them to each other after our wedding.

EPILOGUE:
She looked absolutely stunning and I rejoice that God has given me such a great woman to spend my life with.
It was an evening that rivaled the best romantic film. We were filming some scenic shots of Atlanta with my camcorder and just so happened to leave the camera running while I was proposing. It's all on video! Maybe I'll post it online after I do some editing.

Thanks to everyone who helped me put the evening together.
Crystal... i love you!