Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Where Did November Go?


Tomorrow is December 1st.  That is really hard to believe.  It seems like yesterday that Sheryl and I were in Australia getting married. Now, in 14 days we will be going to Juneau, in the snow, to visit Hernan, Lisa and the kids.  It’s going to be cold, but hopefully not as cold as it could be.  Yesterday it was warmer in Juneau than Atlanta.  I’m praying for a warm spell while we are there.  But no matter how cold it is, it will be great to see all the family and spend time with them.

But, back to the end of November; time is just passing too fast.  I think dad said this the other day.  “It seems like every nine months a new year begins.  I say that it seems like every six months a new year begins.  Things are moving fast, and I am at the point in life where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  That only makes me want to run faster.  The closer to the finish line I get, the more that I want to see accomplished.  Sometimes I seem driven, but it is not anything that is consuming, it’s just that I have so much that I want to do, and so little time.  No, I don’t feel that I am going to die or anything like that, but I have fifty years worth of dreams to squeeze into the remaining productive years of my life. 

At the same time, I am being pulled to just travel the world and have fun.  I would love to spend a month in England, and maybe a month in Italy.  A week is no longer enough.   I want to be able to savor the country and all that is in it.  How does all this play out?  How can I afford to do that and still work for Delta?  What’s more, how can I afford the time for these trips and still accomplish the dreams that I have been given.  What is right and proper?  These are the questions that are running through my mind.  How does one desire play against the other? Is one right and one wrong?  Or are they both right, but in moderation?  If they are both right, how does that work out?

Questions to ponder and seek His face about.  I want to totally be in His will, but I know that dreams come from Him.  The on going question is can I fulfill both dreams?  I don’t know, this is something that Sheryl and I have to seek His face about.  How it works, only He can say.  Tune in, someday I will have the answer.  I don’t think it will be today.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Winter?

Well, it finally looks like winter is coming to Atlanta.  Today I think the high was around 42 and cloudy. It will warm up to 52 tomorrow, but then drop down into the high 20’s tomorrow night.  I talked to Lisa this afternoon, and I think the tempretaure in Juneau was higher than it was here.  Weird weather, but in reality, the cold is probably where it should be this time of year. 

At any rate, it’s time to look for a gym, before the first of the year when everybody and their brother will be out looking for one.  There are a number to choose from here in Peachtree City, but I just have to go check them out.  Tomorrow I work a B period, but hopefully I will be through around 1:30.  There is much to do to get ready for our Sozo Team party this year.  Even now, Sheryl is putting up some decorations on the mantel.  The last two days have been busy with school and meetings.  We both agree that last week was fun.  No meetings or school or work to speak of.  It was like a vacation without having to go somewhere.

Tonight at school we had teaching on the prophetic and them we had AMT’s.  We are teaching Sozo, but we have a very small class, which could be a lot of fun.  The class is very interactive  and that should make the time fly by.  We have four more classes to teach it but it will be broken up so it will run well into January.  The Christmas holidays are coming up.  We only have two more weeks of school before we have our break.  Shoot, the day after our break, we leave for Alaska.  That is almost two weeks away.  I can’t wait, but it is so hard to believe. 

Not much else going on tonight.  I’m enjoying the fire sitting here writing this post.  It’s good to be in the Christmas season, I love the old Christmas tunes.  Well, it’s late, so I’ll close until tomorrow. Hopefully I will have more to talk abut then.

Freedom Can Sometimes Be Messy


The reason Religion places so many rules on us is that Religion is all about order and the appearance of respectability.  In the Spirit there is freedom and when there is freedom, sometimes things get messy.  So, what is so hard about living in freedom? That is the question that we in this country and we who live in the Spirit constantly have to ask ourselves.

Freedom requires responsible actions.  Rules just require blind obedience.  If you live in a dictatorship, you just do what you are told.  If you live in a democracy, you have input into what you can do.  The same thing happens in the church.  If we live in freedom, then we have to weigh our decisions and how they affect others.  Sure we are free to do whatever we want, but there still can be repercussions.  With great freedom comes great responsibility.  That’s why most churches live by rules and not freedom.  At our school, we don’t have many rules because we want our students to learn how to handle freedom.  For the most part they do pretty good, but every now and then, some of them make mistakes.  Shoot, we all make mistakes.  But, mistakes can be messy.

We had a few students make a mistake over the holidays.  Luckily it wasn’t a mistake that couldn’t be corrected, and it was corrected tonight.  But it was a reminder of what is involved in walking in freedom.  I once heard someone say that “Freedom is giving your kids wings, even though you know that they will fall sometimes.”  That is true.

I would rather give someone wings and watch them fall as they learn to fly than keep them in a pen on the ground like a turkey for the rest of their lives.  Sure, freedom is messy, but it is the only way to learn to fly.  I want our students to be able to fly in the Spirit and if it takes a mess every now and then, it is a small price to pay for freedom.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree


Tonight I am sitting here listening to Joy to The world by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.  It really does bring back old Christmas memories.  AS we put the tree up yesterday, I remembered many of the times that mom would take us to get the tree.  Then I remembered the times that we got a live tree when the girls were growing up.  I love a live Christmas tree.  There is something about the smell and the feel of a real live tree.  And the adventure is in going to pick it out.  It doesn’t matter whether you go to Home Depot, Kroger or the woods.  It’s still an adventure.

Most years when the girls were growing up, it would be a family affair.  We would all load up in the car and go out looking for the perfect tree.  It was the one tree we never found.  It’s because live trees are like people.  No one is perfect.  The only perfect trees that I have found have been artificial.  If you think about it the only perfect people are artificial too.  But let’s stay in trees tonight.  You can imagine what it is like trying to get four people to agree on anything, especially a Christmas tree.  Size was very important.  It couldn’t be too small, but it couldn’t be too big either.  Price figured into size too.  The larger the tree, the more expensive it was, so size could be limited by budget.  Then the shape came into play.   It couldn’t be too skinny or too fat.  It had to be full through out, otherwise it would have gaping holes.  In reality it could have a weak side if it was going to stay up against the wall.  Anyway, getting four people to agree on these variables was almost impossible.  Eventually as the girls got older, Julia would send me out with them to get the tree.  That was a little bit easier, but we always had to worry about whether or not Julia would approve when we got it back home.

 The girls and I had a good time, and that went on for years.  Somehow Jennifer got too busy one year to help and it wound up just Lisa and I picking out the tree.  That worked better, and when Jennifer went to college, Lisa and I did that until she went away to school.  Then, it was left up for me to pick out the tree by myself, and the fun went out of it.  Slowly we wound up with an artificial tree.  They are easier and they are “perfect”.  But it’s still not the same.  Some of the best memories I have growing up and then as a Dad, are going to pick out “the tree”.  When you go to an artificial tree, you don’t get a chance to build new memories or relive old ones. 

So, for the past ten to twelve years, I have had an artificial tree.  No fun!  The good news is that for a few of those years I have been able to help Lisa and her kids pick out their live tree.  It’s not about the tree; it’s about making memories.  If we weren’t going to be out of town so much during the holidays, I would have a live one this year.  Maybe we can get it next year.  It’s always an adventure when you set out on the journey for a real tree.  We have enough artificial things in our lives; Christmas Trees shouldn’t be one of those things.  

Saturday, November 26, 2011

A Roller Coaster Day


I’m sitting here in the sunroom tonight.  I’m listening to Christmas music sitting next to the Christmas Tree.  It looks beautiful, and it is in a perfect place.  Since we live on a corner lot, you can see it from the road.  The sunroom has three sides that are all windows and it is sitting toward the back.  It’s the only room that a nine foot tree can fit in, and it looks great.  So, this morning I got the tree out and put it up before the Tech – Ga game.  I said this was a roller coaster day and it was.  One of the lows was the game.  Tech’s defense was terrible as usual and it couldn’t hold a good Ga team.  So for the 10th time in the last 11 years we lost.

One of the highs of the day was decorating the tree with Sheryl.  We talked about our ornaments and the history behind some of them.  It was a great time building good memories for our first Christmas together.  She brings such joy to my life.  Sometimes I think that I don’t deserve her, but then I realize that God gave her to me, so it doesn’t matter what I deserve.  Anyway, the high of the day was spending time with her as we decorated the tree and took a golf cart ride this afternoon.  Tonight we were able to finish up some more decorations and then watch some TV.

Emotionally it was an up and down day as well.  Putting the tree up and getting out some of the Christmas decorations stirred up memories.  They were good memories, but today being Julia’s birthday, the memories were mixed as I thought back on times past.  I did talk with both of the girls, just to check in on them.   I’m sure they were dealing with memories of their own, but they seemed to be doing OK.  I know that this Christmas is going to be hard for them because we won’t be together.  Last year, this tree was in Hilton Head and we all decorated it.  It’s hard thinking we won’t be together.  I am so grateful that I do have Sheryl, and that our love blocks out so much of the pain that I might feel.  The girls don’t have that luxury, and I feel for them.

But the highs exceeded the lows today.  Maybe I am getting too mellow in my later years.  The sting of defeat wasn’t so great this year.  The tree looks great, and it represents a symbol of new life, and new growth.  That’s what I am after, and I am well on my way to finding it, even in the midst of some turbulence.  Turbulence during this season is to be expected, but I have my eye on the prize and someone to walk with me through it all.  This is going to be a great Christmas.  I just know it.  

Friday, November 25, 2011

Christmas Season Begins


Yes, it’s black Friday.  Last night it began at Wal-Mart at 10PM and then at other stores at different times of the night.  At some Wal-Mart’s, the people wouldn’t wait and broke down the barriers to get to the stuff early.  In California, some woman set off a bomb of pepper spray to make sure she was able to get her TV.  If you look at things like that and other incidents you will wonder what this world, and our country in particular, is coming too.  I’m glad I didn’t go out last night or today.  I did do the majority of my Christmas shopping in the past two days, but I did it online, over the Internet.  If this is all Christmas is about, then I don’t want any part of it.  Of course this has nothing to do with Christmas, and everything to do with human greed.  One of the very things Christmas came to save us from is what we are dealing with here right now.

Well enough of today, right now I’m sitting by the fire listening to Bing Crosby singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”.  This brings back such good memories.  It seems like I can’t associate Christmas with anyone else but Bing Crosby and Perry Como.  Of course I do put Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops in with that mix.  Sure, I listen to lots of other Christmas music, but these are the tunes that really stir up my old memories.  I can remember being over at my aunts “Sisters” listening to Bing Crosby singing Christmas music.  I remember Perry Como on TV and Dad had a Christmas album by Arthur Fielder that we wore out every Christmas.  Now I have them all on my Ipod Christmas play list. 

It’s amazing when you think about it.  I buy Christmas presents for people in Alaska and Florida while I live here.  I don’t have to wrap them or mail them.  I just purchase them over the Internet and have them shipped, usually for free, to the proper address.  I probably have over 300 hours of music on this little device that I can put in my pocket.  I can talk on a phone and see who I am talking to.  I can do all this, yet it is still so much fun to listen to these old songs and think about all the “good old” days.  Were they really so good?  Probably not, but that’s how we remember them.  If we are lucky, God edits out the pain and bad memories with time. 

Tomorrow we will try to get the tree put up. That’s a secondary focus of mine.  The first being the game, of course.  I really hope we will win, but it doesn’t look good.  Well, I guess that is why they actually play the game.  Oh well, I’m going to stop now and listen to the music, Bing is singing “White Christmas”.  I guess we will see that in a couple of weeks in Juneau.  I really do love Christmas.  It’s my favorite time of year.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving Day


This is a note to anyone who still reads this blog.  I pray that you have had a blessed and happy Thanksgiving day.  Whether you are in the US or somewhere else around the world, even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving day the way we do; Happy Thanksgiving.  You see, every day should be a day of Thanksgiving.  We should all be thankful for all that we have and the blessings that we enjoy.  I hope that over this year, I have been able to release some joy and passion into your life, because life in the Kingdom is filled with joy and passion.

This morning we woke up with a sense of anticipation.  We knew that we still had a lot to do before everyone started showing up.  We had been aiming for this date as sort of a target date to have the house in order, and we met that deadline.  Thanks mostly to Sheryl; the house looks complete.  Sure there are a few things left, but there are pictures on the walls and all the furniture is in place.  It is a very comfortable house and a great place to live.  As we figured, everyone loved the sunroom the most.  In fact, that seemed to be the center of the afternoon.  We had a total of 17 people for dinner and 6 more came by during the afternoon.  It was a very busy time.

I was glad that we got to go by my Dad’s and see my sisters and Dad and Allene before our company came.  They ate around 12:30 so we got to see everyone but Jodie and Jeff who were late.  It was a quick visit but a good one.  We did Facetime Lisa and the family for a little, and I talked with Jennifer later in the evening.  But, we had company up until about 10PM, and then we still had to clean the kitchen.  It was definitely a busy day.  Tomorrow will be good, I don’t work and will be able to run and do some things around here.

It was a very good Thanksgiving; my only regret is that there are so many of my family and friends that I didn’t get to see.  I miss you all, and look forward to seeing each of you at different times over the holidays.  Thanksgiving means giving thanks, and I give thanks to God for each and every one of you.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving Eve


In about an hour it will be Thanksgiving Day 2011.  Time really goes fast, especially the older you get.  So, it is officially the beginning of the holiday season.  For all the shoppers, black Friday comes and then the annual Tech – GA football game.  Yes it will be an exciting weekend.  But back to Thanksgiving; I’m sure that all over the nation there are millions of turkeys thawing or cooking right now.  We had a tradition when the girls were growing up.  We all had a cranberry in our plate, and one by one, we would pick up that cranberry and say what we were most thankful for.  We would do this right before we started eating.  It was very good, most of the time and it was a great idea to get everyone thinking about what is important.

So, tonight I am going to pretend that I have picked up that cranberry, and that I am sitting around the Dining room table sharing with each of you what I am thankful for.  First, I am thankful for Sheryl and her love for me.  This year is so different for me.  Last year, I was surrounded by people, but constantly lonely.  This year, she has helped wipe that loneliness away.  I didn’t know that I had the capacity to love again.  I’m glad that God brought her into my life for this time.  We are going to have a great time together tomorrow, and I am thankful for all the years that I will have with her as we move into the future.

I’m so thankful for my girls and all their families.  Jennifer, Sean, Adair and Meleah as well as Lisa, Hernan, Anna Roan and Julia Anne.  They are the light of my life, and I am going to miss them so much tomorrow.  But I am thankful for their lives and everything they are involved in.  Now, I have even more family to be thankful for;  Scott, Lacey, Orren, Judah and Ava as well as Levi, Amber, Mecheal and Mason. And then of course I am thankful for Dad and Allene and Laura and Kay and all my nieces and nephews.  I am thankful for all my friends that love us, especially John and Biddie and Bud and Cathy.  But there are so many more that I can’t name them all. 

I am thankful for churches like Bethel Atlanta and Riverstone that are going after the things of God and pushing to bring His Kingdom here on the earth,  I am thankful for a God who loves me with an everlasting love and is willing to allow His son to die to save me and bring me into His kingdom as a brother and heir to the King.  Yes,Ihave so much to be thankful for and I hope that tomorrow I will get the opportunity  to express it.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Making Progress


I’m sitting here tonight with two cars in the garage.  I also have the golf cart, my Harley and two bicycles in there as well.  This is the first time since I moved my stuff down that we have been able to get both cars in the garage.  I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it really is a big accomplishment.  When I started this afternoon. I didn’t know where I was going to put everything.  I certainly didn’t expect to be able to get the second car in tonight.  But I just kept at it.  I moved everything that I wasn’t using to the basement.  I was able to get the pressure washer and the lawnmower under the house in the crawl space,  Then I was able to break down all the cardboard boxes except the ones that I have stuff in,

So, it really did all come together easier than I thought it would happen.  But when you think about it, my garage is something like my life.  It gets scattered and cluttered with other people’s agenda’s and meetings.  Then you begin to get bogged in what other people think and what their issues are.  We as leaders have to learn that we can’t do anything alone.  Someone is always there willing to help us, and they normally have answers that we haven’t even thought of yet.  We have to be willing to open our selves up.  Sometimes that is a hard thing to do, especially when you have been hurt before. 

But at the same time we have to realize that our focus is primary. We can’t let the needs of others and their agenda cause us to lose focus on what and why we want to do something.  Today, it was my focus on the task at hand that caused me to succeed.  I had to keep focus on cleaning out the garage and moving boxes,  In live, there are two many other ways to do what I need to do.  I have to seek His guidance and then proceed as if it were the only answer, 

You also can’t just work.  You have to mix life into your schedule.  And by live, I mean fun life.  This afternoon, I got out the golf cart that I had spent so much time getting a place for it to be parked in the garage.  We grabbed the map and went out on an adventure.  We wanted to go to Kedron Village.  That’s a shopping area that has Target; Kroger; Bed, Bath and Beyond and many more shops.  It was definitely an adventure on the cart paths, and then it was an even greater adventure coming home on the paths in the dark.  We did make it back, and it was a fun adventure.  That is what you can expect.  We need to make sure we schedule some down time in the spiritual as well. 

So, even though I had an A period, today was really tired tonight it was a great time.  I have learned to rest in the midst of chaos.  That is why I am able to continue on less sleep.  I know that I need sleep, don’t get me wrong.  It’s just that I can do without if necessary as long as I can remain at rest and in a state of peace.  Sure, I sometimes get knocked out of this state.  Everybody does!  But I know that if I can settle back into His peace, then life will move on, and we will be able to move into a deeper relationship with the Father.

Monday, November 21, 2011

A Week Off


Wow, it’s good to be home tonight.  We have this week off for Thanksgiving and there is no school tonight or tomorrow.  We also have no staff meetings, so I was able to get some much needed work done around the house today and I also got out to do a run.  Then we were able to get over to see Dad and Allene for a little while.  So all in all, it was a very good day.  I do work early tomorrow, but that is the only time I work this week.  I guess we have to begin to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  We are having about 16 people over.  Lacey, Scott and the kids and also Hector, Terri and their family along with a few students that don’t have anywhere to go for thanksgiving.  It should be a good day.  Still I wish I could see all the kids.  But that is impossible.

The holidays are fast approaching and it’s hard to believe it will be Christmas so soon.  What to get everyone, that is the question.  I know that in many ways the holidays are going to be different.  Last Christmas, I was able to get the whole family together.  We needed that and it was so good.  This year we will be scattered, and I know that it will be harder for the girls not to be together.  It will be harder for me too, but we will get to see them both.  They won’t be able to spend time together.  I am going to ask Lisa to make the coconut cake for Christmas while we are there, but it won’t be the same without Jennifer being there too.

Well, I don’t have anything profound to say tonight, just thinking about amily and Christmas.  I do have an A period in the morning, so I think that I will go to bed and get at least 5 hours sleep.  Maybe I will be more inspired tomorrow.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

What is My Focus?


I think that this is a question that we all need to ask ourselves periodically.  It is evident to me that day to day living can easily get me off the main focus of my life.  In fact, over the past month or so it probably has.  It probably began when we started packing to move Sheryl out of her place into the house here, and it increased exponentially when we started packing my stuff. I know what my focus should be, but I also realize that I have been off focus for a few weeks. When we get off focus, our lives get out of balance and that is not a good thing.   I believe that my focus is in three main parts. 

First and foremost, my focus needs to be on my own relationship with my Father.  Papa as I like to refer to Him is good and is in a good mood.  But He desires intimacy in relationships.  He desires my sole attention to hear and hang out with Him.  That is why I was made, and to get off focus can be really disastrous because I miss everything that He wants to give me.  I need it all, and by missing His love, I am robbed of a great treasure.

Secondly I need to refocus on my wife and then my family.  It is so easy to be doing instead of being.  This move has had me so busy along with work, that I haven’t been able to spend the quality time that I need to spend with any of them.  Plus, distance keeps us far, far apart.  I’ve only been married for not quite four months, and I still have a great deal of focus on our relationship.  But it is too easy to get distracted with all the things that need doing. 

It’s easy for me to allow my focus to drift to all the things that need to be done instead of who they need to be done for.  I have to gain perspective on all the things that still need to be done.  The key is remembering why they need to be done.  Who will it impact if I slow down?  What do I need to have accomplished?  The answers can help rearrange my day on the fly. 

Part of my focus has to be on my work and ministry, but this is not where life comes.  It’s where I can give life to others.  My life comes from my relationships.   It’s life that helps me finish my blog and get to bed at a decent hour.  My work sometimes gets in the way of my life.  I know that has been very true, especially in the past few weeks.  So, today as I write this, I have had a time to refocus.  We all need to do this periodically.   

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Champions


So, what does it take to be a Champion; a Campion runner or a Champion Husband or a Champion Father?  I ask this question tonight because I just got back form the Florida State Cross Country Championships in Tampa Florida.  It was a lot of fun, and I saw some really good runners there today.  But there are many good runners, but very few champions.  I am watching my granddaughter learn to become a champion.  My prayer for her is that she will not only become a champion in running, but a champion in life as well.

I believe champions are made and not born.  Sure, talent helps.  But talent will only take you so far.  I have seen many people with talent only go so far before they were left on the wayside.  So, what are the qualities that it takes.  I believe that the two main qualities that you must have to reach the championship level are will power and focus.  Focus is the most important quality because there is so much that we can be involved in, but if our focus is on the prize, then we will be willing to do what ever it takes to see it happen.  Focus gives life direction and drive.  Without focus, we can all be messed up. 

But almost as important as focus is will power.  It takes will power to sacrifice certain areas of your life to make sure that you have time and commitment to do want needs to be done to see that you make it to the next level.  There is always another level, and if it takes us time to get everything together then one has to be willing to sacrifice other things to make it happen.  It takes a lot of will power to be willing to give up things you like in order to reach your goals.  Most people don’t have the will power to see things through when they get hard.

As I look at Adair I see focus and will power mixed with talent.  These are the perfect ingredients for a championship cocktail.  I have seen it in her for a long time, but it is really beginning to stick out as traits now.  I see total focus on what it takes to reach her goals, and I see the will power to do what ever it takes to get it done.  Yes, Adair has talent. And that is important, but not as important as her focus and willingness to do what ever it takes.  I saw all three in her race today.  She came in ranked eighth in the state 1A schools.  Her Personal Best for the 5K cross country was 19:04.  Well, today she finished seventh in the 1A schools and ran an new Personal Best of 18:47.  That was an awesome race and I am so glad that she did that.  She ran the race that she wanted to run.  You have to be happy when you do something and I think that she was.

Yes, it takes people who are champions to make others around them champions,  I truly believe that Adair will win a championship race someday, but to me, she is already a champion in my book.  It was really fun to watch her run, and to be with the family today. 

In Tampa for the Race

Sheryl and I got up early this morning to make sure we were able to catch a flight down here without waiting around all day. It is good to be off today. Yesterday I had a double period at work and then did a Sozo last night after work. Needless to say, I was too tired to get the blog done last night. But we are here in Tampa tonight to watch Adair run in the state cross country finals tomorrow morning. My prayer for her in the morning is that she be able to run the race she knows she can run.

It is really good to see Jennifer, Sean, Adair and Meleah again. It's been way too long since we have seen them. Seeing Adair is hard. Most of the time she is with the team, but we did get to see her a little bit. It's a quick trip, but that is better than not seeing them. Tomorrow morning we will go to the race and then leave for the airport in Tampa. I am so glad that we have been able to make this trip.

This afternoon, we were unable to check into the hotel early, so we made our way to a movie. But traffic and other things made us late. We wound up in Ybor City. , it is a historical district that was the hub of American Cigar production in the 1800's. This place was the home to Spanish, Cuban, Italian and German immigrants. They were tobacco specialists. All the cigars were hand rolled back then. At the heigh of this industry this area hand rolled over 500 Million hand rolled Cigars. We hung out tonight were all afternoon. We looked at shops and finally sat down for a drink. We had a good time in a place we didn't even knew existed. Well, it is late, and the race does come early tomorrow. So, we will go tonight and then give Adair our best as we pull her on to the state finals.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Saying Goodbye


I’ve always been a big proponent of change.  One of my favorite sayings has been “Change is inevitable”.  You know that is really true.  It is inevitable, in almost every form of life.  If you live long enough, you will see a lot of change, whether you want to or not.  Some change is forced upon you, like the death of a spouse.  But there are many changes that are really by choice.  Getting married is one of those changes.  I think it’s the combination of changes that get to you. 

It’s a combination of changes that brought me to today.  I was up north in the house waiting for the Salvation Army to come make a pickup.  I had time, so I walked through that empty house and spent time just remembering all the good times that I have had in that house.  I can call it a house now because my home is in Peachtree City.  The house will be on the market soon and today was probably one of the last, if not the last times that I will ever see it.  So, it’s only natural to walk through each room thinking about the good times. 

One of the best times in the house came right after one of the worst.  Watching Julia Anne being born in that house was a refreshing treat for all of us that night.  Well, maybe it wasn’t so refreshing for Lisa.  But the results were refreshing anyway.  I remember sitting by the fire listening to music writing my blog.  I remember friends coming over for dinner and a movie.  I remember the joy of building the house and putting the things in it that would make it uniquely ours.

But saying goodbye was really easy because I have already begun to become accustomed to the house in Peachtree City.  Sure, Sheryl and I both want to know where the cart paths go, but that will come with time also.  So, it is true, Change is Inevitable.  I’m living proof of that.  The changes that I am going through right now are good,

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Settling in, Finally

Well, I’m sitting here in my rocking chair by the fireplace listening to Judy Collins, so things are slowly getting back to order.  I give Sheryl most of the credit for this.  I am definitely not the one to build any kind of a nest.  But I still enjoy it once it is built.  The great room is pretty well finished.  It has pictures on the walls and all the furniture is in place.  The only thing that I need to do is to get the sound system for the TV hooked up.  But I have to buy the replacement speakers and figure out how I am going to do that.  It might take a while.

The Master Bedroom is almost finished, office desk and all.  We still have a couple of pictures to hang, but the big mirror has been hung and looks good.  All our clothes are unpacked and everything there is pretty well situated.  The dining room is almost finished as well.  We still have to hang pictures there and then it be finished as well.  The Kitchen, now that could be a blog post in itself.  We have lots of stuff and very few drawers, but things are still beginning to come together.  The biggest problem is deciding what to keep and what to put in the basement and what to give away.  We had duplicates of many things, and we both liked our own things.

Yes, the kitchen, that is the place where it was possible for us to maybe have a fight.  But calmer heads prevailed.  Basically I just told Sheryl to choose what she wanted.  Ther were only a couple of exceptions.  She did a great job bring in the best of both houses, and I really think that she did a great job.  There weren’t many other areas where we had different opinions, except maybe the great room originally.  We have a lot of furniture, but this room is really big, so most all of our furniture fit.  The hardest part was coordinating where it would go, but we finally agreed to an arrangement that is really good.  It will seat a lot of people, or can be divided into two seating groups if need be. 

Yes, we are settling in.  The biggest job that I still have is trying to clean out the basement.  Where am I going to put my pressure washer and shop vac.  The basement doesn’t have an outside entrance.  I might put the pressure washer under the house if it will go there.  The shop vac will have to go in the basement.  But there are many other decisions like that to make the right choices on.  The garage is big, but I need to get it cleaned out enough to hold my Harley, two cars, a refrigerator and a golf cart.  I think it will, but we really have to work on it.  So, that is my next project.  Hopefully I will be able to get it done before Thanksgiving.  We will see.

Birthright


Jesus died to give us eternal life, not life after death.  When does eternal life start?  If we are in Him, we are in eternal life because His life is eternal.  So, I guess eternal life starts when we are first in Him.  That means it starts when we accept Him as savior and Lord of our life.  Our problem in America is that too many Christians are waiting for the rapture to begin their life when they should already be thinking and living as if they were extensions and ambassadors of the Kingdom.  Our enemy loves it, because if we don’t believe we can make a difference in our surroundings, then we can’t. 

Tonight we had a South African preacher named John Sheasby speak at our school.  His message is all about the new covenant and grace.  As far the staff goes, he was preaching to the choir.  However the students, well they are coming from many different backgrounds and they might not understand the new Covenant like he was explaining it tonight.  Probably the majority of Christians, especially in the south, have taken the “Saved by Grace” part of the Gospel and have just added it to all the works that they feel that they have to do to get to heaven.  John told the story of a Chaplin in a hospital who had been with over 2000 people as they died.  He said that it was so easy for the non believer to accept and receive the grace of God for salvation on their death bed.  He said that they died so peacefully, resting in the arms of their newfound friend.  He said that Christians had a much harder time dying.  They kept asking “if they had done enough”.  They didn’t realize that it had all been for them and that all they really had to do was to rest. 

Rest; that word is easy to say, but very hard to do.  It’s really sad when Christians think that they have to perform in order to do anything in the Kingdom.   It’s important that we as teachers understand that we should make sure that our students begin to understand and experience the grace that Father God was giving.  We have to realize that it is not about any one person, but also understand that there was no striving in the Kingdom.  There was so much more that I could say, but we will save them for another time and another place. 


Saturday, November 12, 2011

Face Time


Today was a good day.  We got up and had coffee in the sunroom.  The sun was shining and all the plants and sunlight made the morning special.   I then went outside and got the leaf blower started.  Then I blew thousands of leaves off the yard and the driveway.  It was cold, but it was rewarding to see a clean driveway and yard.  There was a church craft fair and we went to that.  We bought some items and it was fun as well.  I wanted to leave because I had to work and I still wanted to get a run in before I left.

The run was a lot of fun.  There are many reasons for enjoying Peachtree City but probably for me the best one is living near the trails.  I love running on the cart trails.  I can run a different route almost everything I run.  That is so much fun; to have that much variety.  It’s almost like living by Kennesaw Mountain.  I haven’t enjoyed running as much since I moved away.  I think I can get back into it now.
 
After that I worked and then came home for dinner.  We watched a movie.  It was “The Green Lantern”  I definitely need to see it again.  There was so much spiritual stuff in it.  I have to see it again just to sort it out.  During the movie I got a call from Lisa.  She just got a new IPhone, and she was calling on “face time”.   If you remember Dick Tracy in the comics, he had a watch where you could talk and see the person you were talking too.  It was pretty far out, science fiction, back then.  Well fiction becomes reality.  Today, with the new IPhones if you are in WiFi you can not only talk, but you can see each other.  Well, that’s what we did tonight.  It was so much fun to be able see Anna Roan and Julia along with Lisa.  It was fun for them to see us as well.  I loved seeing them, and we will definitely have to do that more often.  Tomorrow is an A period with an early getup.  So, I think I will call it a night.  Today was really fun.  I can’t wait until we can do it again.


Friday, November 11, 2011

11/11/11


Today is 11/11/11 and change really is in the air.  On another note today is Veterans Day.  It’s the one holiday where we honor all those who have served our country.  Freedom is not free, it cost dearly.  Our men and women have, and still pay for it with their blood, sweat and tears.  Many pay for it with injuries and some pay with their lives.  But whether you served in wartime or peace time, I want to thank you for your service.  It seems like we have been in a constant state of war all of my life.  I know that it is not true, but I think back to Korea onward, and I was born just after WW2.  Then there was Viet Nam, probably one of the worst times to be a Soldier.  Then there were little conflicts like Panama and Granada.  There were things in Europe and Kosovo and Serbia.  Then came Afghanistan and Iraq.  I can understand Afghanistan better than any war I have been alive for.  We had to go after the terrorist and those who were hiding them after 9/11.  Today, things are getting even more crazy.

We have Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt and more fighting.  But what are they really fighting for?  Who is actually in charge?  No one knows, especially not Washington.  We are so concerned about our politics and who is responsible for all the debt that we seem to have our head in the sand when it comes to foreign affairs.  If I wasn’t a believer in God and His goodness, I could easily be depressed.  Especially when I think of how messed up things are going to be for my grandchildren.  Will we be free?  I guess it depends upon how many brave men and women will still stand in harms way, even when they know that their country is messed up and spending their inheritance.  So thank all of you who served, but I especially thank those of you who are serving now. You truly are my heroes.

Now back to 11/11/11.  Numbers have meanings and one of the meanings for 11 is change. Well, this will be triple change.  It’s the only time in our lives we will see it.  I plan on staying up for a few more minutes to be up at 11/11/11; 11:11PM.  My prayer is for our nation tonight.  I pray that we would have heavenly protection from angels and no terrorist would be able to bring us harm.  I also pray that we would understand how to steward all that God has entrusted us with.  Yes, 11 means change.  My prayer is that it would be change that would bless our people and bring prosperity back to the land.  That is what we are trying to do with His help.  There is no poverty in Heaven, and we need to continue to press for a poverty free country: a country where everyone can and will work.  It’s not about capitalism or socialism.  It’s about releasing the Kingdom of God into the earth.  It’s about allowing Him to invade our space where we can learn to change our ways to adapt to the ways of the Kingdom.  That’s the change that is coming.  That is the change I am declaring every day, not just on 11/11/11.  Change is coming.  I believe it.