Things I've learned recently (or again)

I really, really love my wife. She is the most giving, sweet, God fearing woman I think has ever existed.

 

I really enjoy Colorado weather.

 

My kids are the best ever. My girls are amazingly talented and aware of things that need to happen (they get that from their mom). My boys are little lightning bolts. Anxious to excel at whatever they are attempting to do.

 

My pride is an amazing crippler. However, knowing it and learning from it, I am starting to understand what it means to rely on God.  Was that prideful to say? ;-)

 

My job is just a job – there is nothing in it that I can take to add significance to my life except what God commands us to do. If I am taking things from work and making them significant in my life, please see the paragraph right above this one.

 

I love playing music. Whether the drums or guitar or whatever. I like it more when my kids sing while I play and my daughters play piano or keyboard or drums.

 

I miss taking photos. Not for money…(although that would be nice..we definitely need it) but, just capturing the memories and keeping everyone up to date, etc. with them.

 

I am out of shape beyond belief. I have been riding my bike to work for the last couple of weeks and it’s helped a bunch…but, it’s only 2 miles so it’s not enough aerobically to really do much. I am playing flag football and I really see how slow I am getting. Plays that I would have easily made 2 years ago are a sweet memory now. I am not giving up though!

 

IPODs are the best invention – if not the best…one of the best….ok, they are pretty convenient. I am happy with mine. Thanks kids!!

 

Teenagers are sweet, great, wonderful people. Sometimes, a little confused, but wonderful nonetheless. Luv ya Meg and Lane.

 

I once was lost…but now I am found. Really… ask me about it sometime. I’ll be happy to explain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting saying

"We reproduce who we are not who we want to be."

We can not teach what we don't know. Not knowing Greek, could I possibly teach my kids accurate Greek?

I am in a conference and hearing some great stuff. I'll see if I can expound later...

Weird things

Isn't it funny how when you plan things out in your head those things go so smoothly. But, when you act them out they rarely go as you planned. I read a quote one time that went something like, "planning is a waste of time, but absolutely necessary." I really butchered that, but I only recall the essence of it. If you don't plan you plan to fail, if you do plan you waste your time...but you're more prepared for the changes you will surely have to make from your plan.

So many time I have planned out the best soccer practices..those are usually the most miserable. However, I am able to make adjustments with the things that we are struggling with. I don't really hafta worry about the content. I know what I want to accomplish, I just have to change the how...if I didn't plan, I wouldn't be prepared for what or how.

Different topic;
The water heater dude charged us 125 to tell us the furnace needs more air and we are overusing it. Since we've left the door open the water heater has stayed on. We'll see....

Burnin'

Ok, my minds on fire. I just got done having lunch with my pastor and we were discussing a plethora of things and we got on the topic of outreach and what his heart was for that. My mind started racing and I wanted to post these ideas to keep them fresh and memorable. Some may be stupid…those were probably the pastor’s idea ;0) lol

 

Idea 1. – Free movie night at the church.

Idea 2. – Ties into idea 1, have a mini church service prior to the movie – grow that to a full worship service with small groups/accountability,etc.

Idea 3. – Hot Cocoa ministry – go to the people with hot cocoa just to warm them with the love of Jesus. (Maybe even put that on the cups that will get thrown away…but, who knows who it might reach)

Idea 4. – Fish and Chips music and comedy – dinner and music/comedy for a small fee to cover some of the food…but have local talent or shipped in comics with dinner…small sermonette in front.

Idea 5. – Free daycare for single moms/dads. -

Idea 6. – Free eldercare – Sound impossible?

Idea 7. – Free hospital – All things are possible with God

Idea 8. – promote\support other churches outreaches i.e. Hands of the carpenter. – with time/money/prayer/love…

Idea 9. – Mom’s wife ministry – Help for moms and raising kids.

Idea 10 – Just for Men – Being a dad and raising kids, being a good husband,

 

Start Saturday night service with the movie. Advertise on the billboard, let God do the rest.

                Need CCLI information on playing the movies

                Sing a few songs – modern, loud and in touch OR!!! How about a couple of music videos or inspirational videos too. (When I was a kid and we went to a movie..there was always a cartoon…like that)

                Small sermonette FULL of truth and BOLD

                Snacks/Food - FREE

                Cleanup

                Setup

                Music ministry

                Teaching

                Flyers / ads

                Prayer from the body

                Rules and guidelines for attendees –

                                No cussing.        

                                No outside food or drink.

                                Be kind to each other.

 

 

Meet the lost people’s needs..take care of our own people… Love everybody. Tough love, soft love…real love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend, waterheaters...wow!

We had a tremendously busy/fun weekend. It started off with a Rockies Baseball game on Friday. My office gave me 11 free tickets to take all my kids and there were about 800 tickets that CCU handed out total. I also received a phone call from my mother that they drove up from Texas and would be at my house around 3:00. That’s good news. So, we left LB, and the 2 littlest with Grandma since she didn’t want to go to the game. Grandpa went with the rest of us. While we were gone Grandma baked some eggrolls. I was skeptical but they were delicious as usual. Not as good as fried, but still delicious!!  Saturday morning we had 3 back to back soccer games. JD’s team lost, CT’s team tied, and JM’s team won. We saw the full spectrum of soccer finishes. Saturday night we went to my aunts to eat and have birthday cake for my mom and sister since it Friday was their birthday. Very good food! When we got home, put the littles to bed then Meg and I practiced the worship songs for Sunday. Sunday we went to church, watched football, mowed the back yard, sealed around the vents and other misc openings in the roof since we had that leak the last time it rained, replaced some light bulbs, had date night with the wife, threw the football around a little, played a little trade wars and had a really good talk with our oldest daughter that went until 11 pm. 

 

Phew.

 

To top it all off, a weird thing happened:

I was in the bathroom washing my hands and my mind went back to when we had water heater problems and how God had saved us from the ridiculous charges that the plumber wanted to charge to replace the part. A quick recap, my son had asked about warranty and it turned out that the water heater was still covered by the warranty and we got the parts for free! – it went from an estimated charge of 600 dollars to 0. I replaced the part and the water heater was working great. Fast forward to now – as I was saying I was washing my hands and thanking God for saving us from that. I turned on the shower to find that the water wasn’t getting hot. It was almost time for church so I just jumped into a cold shower. As we checked the water heater we found that it is down again. I am going to call that company again…but, found it very strange that even as I was worshipping in thanks for saving us from that, the problem resurfaced. I know many people think that God doesn’t interact with us at the little things level but, I disagree. There are many scriptures that refers to His intimacy with us. In light of that, it makes me wonder what will become of this…and I am amazed at the coincidence in the timing of it all.

 

Not related:

In a study I am doing, the book stated that God doesn’t get angry with us anymore (since we have Jesus). I don’t know what to think about that. My pastor made some excellent points about discipline v. anger… but, I really have to research this. Any thoughts?

Inspired by my wife's blog

I just read my wifes posting here. That's why I know God blessed me. "To find a wife is a good thing." I have a doozie and she's good lookin' to boot. ;-)

We have shared the same word from the Lord on this matter and I'd like to add a little more about some of the positives I have seen in our lives due to this one-ness.

I know that most people think we're freaky and over the top on all this "religious jazz". But, God has been very good to confirm what He's told us. Here's one example of SOOO many.

We were sitting at the dinner table over something yummy and the topic of Halloween came up and the question of what we would do this year. Most years we hide out in the basement or something and keep the porch light turned off. We used to take the opportunity to create tracks (scripture) to hand out with the candy...but, the heart of a child will reveal much and the first scary thing that came up sent our kids running. We knew then, something was wrong about the whole thing. The kids were fleeing from evil (just like scripture says to do). Had I become that callous? Anyway, I am getting off track. We were sitting at the table and I was asked what we'd be doing this year. Well, I said something to the effect of "what do YOU think we should do?" My oldest son piped up, "In pastor Les' sermon, he stated in John that if you even welcome anyone that is evil, you'd be sharing in their wicked work."

Should he be in youth group? No, not ours. God's word does not return void. As long as the pastor is preaching Gods word, what is the point of going somewhere else for something watered down? For years I couldn't pin down the exact thing that made me feel Halloween was "bad" for us. He nailed it at 12.

So, what am I saying? That I think I've arrived? That I know the secret of how to raise kids? It wasn't anything that we did or do. I do not boast that we are doing things better than others or have unique knowledge. Quite frankly, I am pretty sure that I am NOT a very good father. I am easy to anger and quick to speak. What I am saying is that following God's advice has been a very rewarding experience even in some tough times. He is the one that has written in His book things of life, warning us of the things of death. He has made it easy to understand, not hard. The requirements are few but it's a lifelong commitment. I fail miserably and fail repeatedly. We abuse the Lord's mercy...thank you Lord for being long suffering for me. No, I don't think we've arrived. No, I don't think we have the answers. I have faith that we are not raising ax murderers or anything. I just want them to love the Lord by loving Him myself. I fail at that too. Jesus said that if we love Him we will follow his commands. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and these things will be added unto you.

I am sure this post will not get across what I am trying to say. It sounds to cliche if I say that any good in my life is from the Lord...but, it's true and I am trying to encourage you with that. That is my intent.

Boom, bang, boink, bonk

I was sitting on my pc in MY office and all of the sudden it sounded like a bowling ball was dropping down the stairs. I whipped around expecting to see something that shouldn't be tossed down the stairs come into view...I was correct in my expectation. From my office, I can see the bottom 2 stairs and as I looked in that direction my baby boy was bouncing down. YIKES. I run over there and he is pretty mad. He's bawling and grabbing his head. I pick him up and he's pretty upset. All the others come running and when mom gets there he definitely wants her instead of me.

He has been struggling with following the rules of "going down backwards" and wants to do it his own way. As I look back on the incident it makes me reflect on my earlier post regarding spilled milk. Should I have been harder on him? Or, should I have just gone, "awww, ain't he cute trying to do what HE wants instead of what I tell him? Good luck with that baby boy. Let me know how that turns out!"

Seeing events like this really reinforce the training kids need. Left to their own devices they would surely perish. We were blessed here that it wasn't worse than a little bump on the head and a scared little boy. If you play out the scenarios in other aspects in life it is clear that they need training...for crying out loud, I still need the training. I don't think there is a single soul that has "arrived". Why would we shirk our responsibilties to our little ones when they need it most? Why do people think that when you get on your kid for spilling milk and going down stairs incorrectly that we're being hard on them? I guess those type of folks think that we do it for ourselves. That we only have OUR best interest at heart and don't want the kids to have any fun or something.

He has encountered an event that reinforces what we tell him and he will be the wiser for it. We will, more than likely, see the fruits of his folly well beyond this as we continue to train him. If not, you can bet I'll recall this to use it to help explain why we do what we do!

I am glad he's not hurt. Phew.

Saturday fun

It was a fun day today. However, I didn't get the leak fixed and guess what it started doing just after dark...RAINING. At least it didn't start raining until after dark so our day was full of fun.

1st - My oldest boy, his mother and a friend headed out to Boulder for his league game. I wasn't able to go since my 3rd oldest boy had soccer almost at the same time and I am coaching the under 6 team. I called CT as we were leaving JD's game to go to JM's. CT informed me that they won 3-2 and he scored 2 of our goals! Wow, what a game for him! I wish I had seen it in person. My wife video taped it and I was able to watch his goals. It wan't near as good as being there to see them.

2nd - JD had a game while CT's game was going on. JD did fantastic again and actually, it appears that the whole team is improving. I am proud of them all and I hope they are having a good time.

3rd - JM had the last game of the day. It is always fun watching him control the ball. What a player! He's very good and he scored several as their team won.

4th - We had a picnic with some new friends. Played flag football until dark and then after it was good and dark, the old folk took on the young 'uns. Needless to say, the old folk SMOKED the young whipper snappers.

5th - as the day winds down and my wife and I are battling for computer time I grab this nice little interview with her. (It also includes an office tour. Yes of MY office!!)

Roof leak

What in the wild, wild world of sports causes a roof to suddenly start leaking? Last year we had a roof leak when we first moved in. I bought that sealant that you can put on while it's raining and it's done well to this point. But now there's a NEW leak somewhere else. How does that happen? It's fine for a year, then drip, drip, drip. Makes no sense. Does it wear out? Does it crack? For crying out loud.

Argh!

Crying over spilled milk is good - to me.

I have been thinking a lot lately of how I have been with my kids. I have been relatively short and abrupt… perhaps not as often as before, but, I don’t think that quantity matters in regards to such things. My heart really desires to be patient and kind…like a TV dad. That’s not me though.  I hope that I do the things I do to make them better at…well, at life.

 

Here’s a funny story: Mayf was sitting at the table and suddenly his cup slams the table, he’s all wet and his cup falls to the ground. By the time I look at him he is already looking at me and defending himself, “I was just holding the cup right and it did this”. LOL He was immediately distraught and just kind of hung his head. “Mayf, “ says I…”how about getting it cleaned up?” “ok”. A little later I overhear him telling his mom, “I was just holding the cup correctly and it spilled. <sniff> ”

 

In my house, spilled milk is something to cry about. I really don’t jump them too badly, but I do want them to know that being careful and mindful is part of their responsibility. Carelessness is something that’s kind of important, but most don’t agree. To me it’s like saying, go ahead and cross the street whenever you want. I want you to be careful, but if you look occasionally and you happen to get hit by a car and maimed for life or killed, it’ll be just fine you’ll do better next time. I know you really didn’t WANT to get hit by the car sweetie. WHATEVER!!! Nope, responsibility and being careful is either important or it’s not. How confusing is it to a child to say, this is very important and I want to you FULLY consider this everytime…don’t screw this up. Those things over there, if you mess up I’ll give you a hug and say it’s ok. So, in my house…when you spill milk you get a slight tongue lashing and a crooked eye from dad and told to be careful and mindful of what you are doing. Being careful and mindful spreads from spilling milk to putting away scissors, to riding their bike in the street, to driving cars. It’s a mindset that can be learned. As the Star Wars saga carefully repeats to it’s padawan learners “Be mindful young padawan …”  Even in poorly written space sagas they teach their young ones to be thoughtful and not absent minded.

 

Now, I agree with the fact that kids NEED to make mistakes. And spilled milk is one of those absolutely harmless things that afford a great opportunity at a minimal threat to life. The ratio is perfect. Low risk to child injury to very high great life lesson. When I think of other mistakes that teach life lessons like burning your hand on the stove, not looking where you are going when you ride your bike, changing the radio station or talking on your cell phone as you drive through a school zone….crying over spilled milk doesn’t seem so bad to me.