Happy Texas Independence Day!

Because I was born in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex in Texas and have lived all around the state and because, of course, Texas is the best, Texas holds a dear place in my heart. So today we take a break from the news and thoughts of Kevin C. Burns and celebrate Texas Independence Day (we'll resume typical blogging at the bottom of this post)...

On this day, March 2, in the year 1836, the great state of Texas declared its independence from Mexico. The Republic of Texas nine years later became the 28th state of the United States. To help you celebrate Texas Independence Day, here are some facts from Wikipedia...

*The Texas State Constitution, adopted in 1876, is the second oldest state constitution
*The Texas flag colors stand for loyalty (blue), bravery (red), and purity (white)
*The Texas legislature has one session every two years. Only the governor can call for a special session.
*Approximately half of the state's population lives in the metropolitan areas of Houston and Dallas-Ft. Worth.
*69.1% of Texans polled support the death penalty
*Texas holds the record for most executions at 381, Virginia is second with 91.
*Texas has 254 counties, the most of any state
*In 2006, Texas had the second-highest Gross State Product at $1.045 trillion, trailing only California.
*Texas is the largest exporter internationally of any state
*In 2005, Texas had an approximate population of 23.5 million people, a 12.7% increase since 2000.
*The Houston skyline is the third tallest skyline in the United States and in the top 10 of the world.
*Texas is the only state to have three cities with a population of one million or more: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (and I have lived in the metro area of all of them)
*Texas has 10 Division I-A college football teams, the most of any state.
*Texas is the second largest state in size (behind Alaska) and population (behind California)
*Texas is the best!

That concludes your lesson on Texas. For further reading, visit the Wikipedia page for Texas


We now resume our regular programming...

It rained a little yesterday morning but the rest of the day was nice. Today's high is supposed to be in the mid 60's and sunny. A little chilly tomorrow with a high of 50 and a little chilly on Sunday with a high of 54. But the 60's return Monday...

The Benton Panthers' guys basketball team won their first-round game on Wednesday but fell to #1 Forrest City last night.

Because of the basketball game and a play at the school, attendance was down Wednesday night at IMPACT. The service was good. I was back in the booth running LiveWorship and PowerPoint. I'm learning and it's going well.

Heroes was great. I forgot that I didn't have enough room on my hard drive so the recording cut off at 45 minutes. I was able to finish the episode on NBC.com.

LOST was good. More comedic than action-packed but it was a nice, light-hearted break from the action and mythology. But the action kicks in next week with perhaps some mythology too?

I guess that's all. Welcome to March, the month of March Madness! The Madness begins in less than two weeks. Winter Jam comes to Little Rock on the 11th. Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman come on the 22nd. Beach camp in Alabama begins on the 25th. I take the SAT on the 10th. And somewhere in there, a trip to Texas! Busy month...

Go celebrate Texas Independence Day!
-Kevin C. Burns