Lucky

There have been a few weddings and proposals bouncing around. People that we knew as kids are now married and young adults we know now are proposing and accepting and planning their lives together...it starts the old noggin to thinking about my littles.

Here's the short of it. Some parents are going to be extremely blessed by whom their kids get attached and other parents, perhaps, not so much. What I mean is that there are kids I know that I wish I had a mate for so they would get married and I could have them in my family. Those kids would be just a tremendous blessing and add so much to our existing awesome quiver full.

Then I think about it from the other end. Are WE shooting out blessings to others? Will parents of others view our children as added blessings to their families? Then I think, "Well duh..." and move on. :-)

Yeah, my kids are flat. out. the. best.

Attitude

It's quite obvious that things happening in ones life can be reflected in their attitude. Perhaps they shouldn't, but in my case, I usually wear my feelings on my sleeve. It's amazing how hard it can be to alter the attitude without altering the happenings as well. What I mean is it's hard to adjust to the NEW happenings by just making a change in my attitude. Usually, I have to get rid of the stuff that is altering my attitude. Lately, I have been extremely terse, short, and generally cranky. When I reflect on the cause it points to how my life is upside down, how I am struggling with managing time, how my bible study times have been practically eliminated (they are now just reviews for teaching...not my own relationship) and how tired I am when it's bed time. Other things come to light as well; I am not spending quality time with my kids, there is no exercise to speak of, and the guilt of not being more studious really tugs at me. These all exacerbate the condition and a vicious cycle is created.

In my most public role, a youth soccer coach to 14 kids, it's even become evident. I had worked hard on not yelling at my kids in the past years. (Not that I was perfect)...but, would try to encourage the good and not blast out on the bad. With this condition I am in, I have absolutely regressed. It's so disappointing. But, this last game, I had added strength...It was a much more enjoyable environment for everyone.

So, as I try to point to the good and not the bad...please have patience with me. I have somewhat fallen off the wagon and I'm racing to try to jump back on. :-)

Thanks!

Choose wisely

I am feeling behind In everything, but primarily relationships. When times get busy, I tend to focus on low hanging fruit. Things that can be easily knocked out or marked as finished are my primary targets. It's a tactic that I've picked up over the years to make sure stuff gets done at the office. The problem is, strategies that are good in the office don't necessarily translate to smart decisions at home.

For example, this past Monday rain had caused our plans (soccer game) for the evening to be cancelled. It was our first free night in a long time. I quickly place myself in front of my computer, put on a soccer match on espn and started sorting through bills and address changes, etc. One of my boys wanted to shoot his airsoft gun and was asking permission. We hadn't messed with them in months and I told him the batteries were probably dead. But, he could take my BB gun out and shoot it. However, I didn't want him shooting it alone. I was hoping an older brother would volunteer to help him, but he didn't wait for me to set that up. He ran to the back and then ran to me and said "ready dad!". Don't you know that I never left that chair until after the kids went to bed.

I was extremely productive that evening and got a lot of work done that needed to get done. Low hangin fruit...check.

What category did I put my eager son in that evening? What category of his did I move into?

Yeah, crappy huh.

The water's fine

I believe one of the hardest things for me to accept about Christianity is that it's free. To make matters worse it compounds that by saying that anything you attempt to do is as menstrual rags...no matter how "good" we think it is. One of the stories that, to me, illustrates this well is the story of Naaman in the bible. See, Naaman had it all. He was a man of valor and blessed. His servants appeared to actually love him. There was one small detail in his life that was not really considered good, he had leprosy.

Naaman was told of a great prophet that could cleanse him. He approached his king and letters were written and a road trip was planned. He grabbed gobs of money and fine clothes for a gift and eventually visited Elisha. When he arrived, Elisha didn't even see him in person but sent instructions for him to wash 7 times in the Jordan river. You probably already know the story.

The part I really like is the indignation of Naaman at the proposed solution. He brought pounds and pounds of gold and silver, but the solution would merely cost him some trust and potentially humiliation. Doubt had to be prevalent.

It's the same with grace, isn't it? You can't one up Jesus by offering him a "fair" trade for it. It's priced the same for everyone...free. The catch is you have to believe and that may seem humiliating for some...

The waters fine, come on in!

Nice quiet evening

Awesome project

A friend of ours at church is kinda related to our land lord...he found out that Jdude is really into gardening and they started a project for a raised bed. Here's what they ended up with. Great job guys!!! Thanks Mr. A!!

Routines

I really feel productive when I get in a routine. Things are predictable and can be anticipated and that sure does make one look smart and feel prepared. Additionally, planning is simpler since you know what's coming up. Yep...It's always refreshing when a routine starts up.

But, the distance between routine and rut is very short. Those scheduled events can become monotonous. The predictability of it all is such a killer of spontaneity. We all know that a little spontaneous action adds excitement to ones life. :-)

It's such a difficult balance to try to maintain. Especially, now that the sale of the house is complete. It seems that we all want to be "done with it"...that we want to be back in our routines again. The problem is that we've only just begun...

Lord help us adjust to this "chaos" and remember to keep things important that are important...and help us not long for the routine, but the adventure You have us on. In JESUS name!!!

The last thing you see...

I am under the weather today - having an eye funk of pink fashion and a mild sore throat and stuffy nose. I couldn't sleep last night so I got up about 430 and started some laundry since we are so far behind with it since the move action started. Speaking of behind, there are tons of things i can't get done due to this mess, I can't wait until it's all finished. Anyway, in my grouchiness, my wife blessed me with some good advice. She said, "why don't you go take a nap!". In as nice a way someone says something without pushing the grouchy person into an argument possibly could. So, heeding the advice, here I am. Staring at the ceiling. One thing about this rent house is there's no escape. Nowhere that's quiet. So a nap with everyone jostling about is a bit unrealistic. However, I laid there staring at the ceiling.
For whatever reason my mind drifted and I started thinking about folks in a hospital where the last thing that they may ever see on this earth are ceiling tiles or light fixtures. It's really kind of a sad thought.

Then, thinking of mortality in general my thought is, what is the last thing you'd want to see? What would you want your last words to be? How would you want people to remember you?

I realize for some those questions are insignificant and they don't care. But, leaving a legacy is important to me. I want to have loved well and worked hard when I am done. The important thing with that thought is that it can't just happen 2 seconds before your last breath. You won't be able to say the right words and everything fall into place. It's the culmination of life events that shape those kinds of things. It's the everyday.

Then, thinking of how I spend my days reveals a lot of why I have a bit of angst in this arena. Perhaps I'm a little too worried about entertainment. Or, maybe too worried about my time and stuff. Maybe I am a little too quick to anger. Maybe too many things are about me.

So, what about you? How important is your legacy? Is it important enough to make a change today? I hope I do.

Hard work blowing up balloons

Fun with Grandma!!

Playing Korean games.