It's Always An Adventure [when Dad gets left alone]

This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the [guilty] innocent.

*****

Mom was helping out her mother-in-law one Saturday, so Dad and his two boys, Jackson and Jacob, were together for the day. Dad had signed them up for the Walk For Life that was to take place that morning at 9:00am, so the boys started getting ready to go. At 8:30am. And it's a 25-minute drive. Late already.

Dad hurriedly dressed the boys, himself, and out the door they went. At 9:00am. Still late.

They arrived at the State Fairgrounds at 9:30am, parked, loaded up the stroller and headed for the check-in as most walkers were crossing the finish line. Thankfully there were still two people manning the check-in table as Dad joked, "I think we're a little early."

"You missed the walk," the lady said.

"That's OK, we'll walk the loop anyway," the Dad told her. He collected their T-shirts, signed the waiver [good thing...], and headed back outside.

Dad decided that they would just do everything backwards. The walkers were finishing and heading for the snacks and bounce houses with their kids. Dad and his boys would too! So, Dad took Jackson's shoes and socks off, let him play in the bounce house, slide down the big slide, shoot baskets in the pop-a-shot, and have a grand time. Meanwhile, Jacob was content to let Dad hold him and watch his big brother play.

As the crowds grew, Dad and the boys decided to head to the snack table and then out on the Walk. Dad grabbed some coffee and water, as well as an oatmeal cream pie for all three. The boys headed out on their walk, with Dad pushing Jackson and Jacob in the stroller. They didn't even get to the starting line before a bump on the sidewalk caused the almost-hot coffee to splash all over his hand and Jackson's shoulder/arm. Crying, consoling, drying up the spill with the new shirt we got, starting the walk again.

Dad realizes that the level of difficulty for this walk just went up, due to trying to push two boys in a stroller one-handed while [trying not to spill] holding the coffee in the other.

Remember the oatmeal cream pies? At the halfway point, Jacob has managed to eat most of his, but his face, both hands, clothes and stroller have little pieces of cookie/icing everywhere.

Nearing the end of their own walk now, Jacob has become bored, and has arched his back in such a way that he is hanging, half-in and half-out of his stroller. Dad pulls the tray off the stroller, Jacob slides down farther and wedges himself even more between the front of the seat and the "safety bar." So, they all stop, while Dad keeps the stroller from moving with one foot and tries to unwedge Jacob from the stroller with both hands. He contorts Jacob this way and that, finally getting him back into a sitting position on his seat.

As they return to the truck to head home, Dad cleans up both boys and himself with diaper wipes, loads everyone up and starts the drive home thinking the adventure is over. With Jacob [detesting] loving the car ride home, Dad hands him toy to entertain him. With an old sucker stuck to it. That Jacob proceeds to hold in both hands and sticky himself up again. The Dad just [sobs uncontrollably] laughs, knowing this is just another chapter in the adventure that is parenthood. Then he takes the sucker away so that it doesn't end up in anyone's hair.

*****

There is a reason that Moms don't [run away] get out much without the family in tow. It's not that they don't need it - they do. It's just that they never know what story(ies) they'll hear about from Dad when they get home.

The Power of One

The following was taken from All Pro Dad "Play of the Day" for December 25, 2008.

In 1926, Dr. James A. Francis wrote, "Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office.

He never owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He had no credentials but Himself.

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves.

His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying -and that was His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Twenty-one centuries have come and gone, and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of progress. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life - Jesus Christ."

God's faithfulness

That's it. I'm back. I've waited entirely too long to post, and with so much spinning in my head these days, it's time to get it out!

God is so good, and He is so faithful. I'd like to say that better, but sometimes simplest is best.

Before our 2nd son Ben was born in June 2008 - or even conceived for that matter - Sarah and I dreamed of the day she would be able to stay home full-time with our children. It seemed a long way off with me in a mediocre IT career that wasn't really headed anywhere. My incoming was certainly smaller than our outgoing at that time. It was close, but we were not there.

We had discovered Dave Ramsey by that time, we were trying to pay off our remaining debts as fast as we possibly could with 1.5 incomes, we continued to give to our church and prayed for a way.

Fast forward to Spring 2008. We're debt FREE! But I was in a job I hated, Sarah was pregnant and due in June with our precious Benjamin, and my salary still could not even equal what we needed on a monthly basis. So we prayed and prayed about a job change that could potentially provide enough for us to live on a very tight budget, continue to give, but at the same time would allow Sarah to be home with our boys once Ben was born.

SIDE TANGENT: Do you ever fret over a fork in the road for a long time, wrestle with either potential outcome, pray so much about it that you think you might be annoying God? That was us on this job change. And once you decide on change, have you looked back and wondered, "What was the big deal? It was a no-brainer!" That was us after I decided to join Smart IT Staffing, the job I now love.

Things started slowly for me as a recruiter, which I'm told is typical, but was also concerning since Sarah's paychecks were due to stop on September 1. But just in time - God's typical way of operation - things took off for me in August and September with placements and income, and God validated our prayer for Sarah to stay home! We were and continue to be thankful for that.

I tell you our story to enforce this thought you may or may not have heard: you cannot out-give God. It cannot be done. Malachi 3:10 says, in a discussion about giving and or not giving to God:

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

My story is the story in Malachi. God continues to provide for us beyond measure; He continues to pour out blessing. Earlier in December, we were marveling as all of the following took place over the last few months:

Our gas bill dropped by $19 per month.
Our mortgage dropped by $45 per month, then again by $45, plus we received a large escrow refund.
Our car/home insurance dropped by about $15 per month.
Our cell phone has dropped by $70 per month.

This Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus, we are thankful because He is faithful. In spite of tough economic times, in spite of a year's worth of job uncertainty for me, He is faithful. Our cup is full and overflowing. Thanks be to God!

Legacy

I was headed to a conference in Evansville yesterday, and headed west out of Indy on a familiar stretch of road on I-70. This was the road to my beloved grandparents house, and since I had three hours in the car, I reflected on their lives:

• The first memory is that of myself as a child going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Just west of the Linton-Brazil exit, we could always count on Mom saying "There's the mine!" As a child, your heart starting beating faster because "There's the mine!" always meant "We're almost there!" We couldn't wait to get to their house!
• I thought about their example in their marriage. They married young...I think around 20 years old...and had been married in the neighborhood of 65+ years when my Grandpa passed away. What an example for today!
• I thought about the legacy of faith that they left behind in their family. Three kids who love the Lord and, as a result, numerous grandkids that love the Lord. That's what I want Sarah and I to be remembered for when we leave this Earth and head Home.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20 "19Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

I'm eternally grateful to have a powerful example of this in my lifetime in the form of my grandparents. I'm humbly honored to continue that legacy in my child(ren) as well.

Back From Vacation

We just returned home from vacation. Our little family of three went to Gatlinburg TN for a week of relaxation and sunshine. Spending that much time in the mountains and forests and streams of God's creation stirred me to think [and research] on the topic:

Isaiah 6:3 describes what the seraphs were singing when Isaiah saw the Lord - "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

David has this to say in Psalms 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

God has given us a beautiful creation to enjoy, to tend and to reflect on Him who created it. It is a daily reminder of how great, how big, how awesome is our Lord God. I praise Him today for this gift to all of us.

Following God II

Our family is at a crossroads job-wise and could use the prayers. We are both searching for the place where God will use each of us and are unsure where He will take us. We are thankful that we have good jobs that take care of our family needs - a lot of people don't even have that. But it's a scary feeling not knowing what is next and yet, still trying to get there. It is also a comforting feeling - a feeling of peace - knowing that God is in control; He knows where we'll be and what we'll do for Him.

We just have to trust in Him to care for us. And keep putting one foot in front of the other. And continue to spend a lot of time on our knees.

Following God

I'm reading through the Old Testament currently, and I can't help but want to scream at the Israelites. Over and over, God tells them what to do and they do differently. Over and over, they are punished because of their disobedience. I think to myself: don't they get it? They have God - WITH them - and yet they continue to do what He doesn't want them to do! I would NEVER disobey like the Israelites if God were that present here in 2006.

But I do.

God is everywhere: inside of me by His Holy Spirit, standing over my shoulder while I'm typing this post, in China where they are probably sleeping right now, in India where our missionaries are currently serving...everywhere. He is with me always, and I'm just like the Israelites. I continue to mess up, then ask for forgiveness, then mess up again the same way as before, then ask for forgiveness.

I'm so glad that God gives us more than one 2nd chance, aren't you? I'm so glad that He gives us His Word to teach us how to live. I'm so glad that He sent His Son - His only Son - to pay the price for all those times I mess up.

Church Signs

These are so creative sometimes. Don't you just love the signs outside of churches? There is one church near my house that has this sign, and I love it:

Beat the Easter rush.
Join us this Sunday!