Archive for the ‘My Life / Family’ Category
Perspective
November 29th, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life / Family
Every now and then we’re granted a dose of perspective.
Mine came this morning as I woke up. Half-asleep, without my glasses or contacts, as I opened my eyes I could see a single point of light peeking between the curtains, shining through the dark morning sky. A single blurry star.
I don’t know why I happened to focus on it this morning, but for some reason as I lay there in bed focusing on that blurry point of light, my mind wandered to the sheer size of the star from which that light was shining. I was amazed in my half-awake state that something perhaps a hundred thousand miles or more in diameter could appear to me as a point of light in the sky, infinitesimally small.
I couldn’t help but wonder how any of us can wake up and think only of our life and our problems. This universe that God has created is SO much bigger than we can imagine… certainly MUCH larger than my little world and my little problems.
And to think that God took such tremendous care and effort to plan every detail. Even the details of stars billions of miles away from us that we can only see as tiny points of light.
Perspective.
And the God that takes such care with the details of things we can barely see? He’s also that God that takes the same level of care and interest in every detail of our lives.
Amazing.
Too Medium!
November 28th, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » My Life / Family
Friday evening we were in Springfield, having dinner with the kiddos at a local restaurant. It had been a long day for everyone.
Nancy had been fighting the Black Friday crowds with her sister. I think she had put in over 11 hours worth of shopping… a feat which not only would have worn me out, but probably killed me.
I had been hanging out with the kiddos all day. We’d had breakfast at the hotel. Spent about an hour in the pool. Lunch at a location not called McDonald’s and that didn’t have a play place (yes, I was feeling brave). We’d even went to see the Smurfs (as a result, I may never get that smurfing, er, stinking tune out of my head).
Needless to say we were a bit worn out. Kiddos too.
So I should have seen it coming.
Allison had wanted steak bites for dinner. Nothing wrong with that… all of my kids like steak (yes, they have good taste). She told the waiter what she wanted, and then he asked how we wanted it prepared. I told him medium.
All good. Until the food came.
The rest of us ate. Allison did not. She’d had maybe one bite.
I figured she was just tired, but asked her what was wrong and why she wasn’t eating. I fully expected fussing and fighting. To my surprise, she replied.
“It’s too medium!”
I grabbed a knife and fork, and started cutting the steak bites into even smaller bites. Every one of them.
I poked a small bite on the end of her fork and handed it to her.
“There you go, sweetie. Now they’re small bites.”
She ate every piece.
I love kid logic.
And I love it even more when I’m actually smart enough to understand it.
The Blogging Bug
November 25th, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » My Life / Family
I’ve been bitten by something. No, I don’t have an itchy welt anywhere. I’m not swelling up or needing to see a doctor.
It’s the blogging bug.
I don’t know what triggered it. I’m not sure it really matters.
But it’s there again.
The last two or three years? Hardly. But it’s back now. So you’ll probably see a LOT more writings from me online again, both here, and over at our Just 1 Ministries site.
I have no illusions that most of what I share is of life-changing impact to the maybe three people who still read this site from time to time. I’d like to think that it makes a difference to you somehow, but looking back (and forward for that matter), I didn’t start this site over six years ago with a marketing plan, a target audience, or anything of the like… I wrote because I felt God laying certain things on my heart as I studied His word, and wanted to spray them out there on the web for whomever He decided to send my way.
So that’s a bit of what’s happening again.
Moreso, though, I feel I’ve got something to say again. With Just 1, it’s obvious… Nancy and I have 15 orphans who we’re trying to help. And that’s worth writing about if ever there were anything.
Here?
I’ve got Scripture passages I’d like to write about. Three awesome kids that I know the grandparents and aunts would like to read about. Politics that I could rant about for days (okay, so maybe I SHOULDN’T write about that). Sports.
Who knows what I’ll find to write about from one day to the next.
Whatever the case, I feel like the words are flowing readily again. And I feel like they need an outlet.
Might as well make use of this place, huh?
Give Thanks!
November 23rd, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life / Family
[NOTE: This is a partial repost of an article I shared over at our Just 1 Ministries site. For the complete article, please check out the original here.]
In case you’ve somehow missed it, Thanksgiving is tomorrow.
For most Americans, that means gathering with family, enjoying some good conversation, having a lot of laughs, eating ourselves into a turkey-induced coma, ultimately crashing in the living room around the television watching football.
It’s a good time, no doubt.
But it’s called “Thanksgiving” for a reason… it’s a season where we really should take time to give thanks to the one who has given us so much.
Around our house, we start observing Thanksgiving around the 1st of November. That picture you see above? It’s central to our celebration of Thanksgiving.
Years ago, Nancy had an awesome idea. We’d have a “wall of Thanksgiving”. Each night at dinner, we’d spend time thinking about what we’re thankful for, write it on a “leaf”, and stick it to the wall. As the days go on, no repetitions are allowed. It makes all of us truly think about all of the things we have to be thankful for.
Family, friends, our home. Smiles, laughter, hugs. God, our church, the Bible. Football, jeeps, kittens. iPhones, internet, music. Clothes, school, television. Grandmas, Grandpas, our puppy.
The list goes on and on and on.
[For more of this article, check out the full version here.]
Six Years…
November 21st, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life / Family
As I was looking over the site today, I just noticed something… my first posts date back to November 2005. Over six years ago.
Crazy stuff. Hard to believe I’ve been blogging that long. Granted, there have been a couple long periods without posts, and some serious dry spells of months. Even a couple shifts in the direction of the blog.
But six years. How is that possible?
Six years ago, I had just discovered a cool little country church that rocked my world (still there!). Six years ago, I had a three year old and a little girl who wasn’t quite one yet. Six years ago, I wasn’t yet in my thirties. Six years ago, I’m reasonably certain I had hair covering my entire head. Six years ago… well, I have trouble remembering six years ago.
Interestingly, six years ago I was actually over two years into my blogging experience. Two years earlier, when my oldest child was just barely one, Toward the Goal actually began. Back then, it was simply a devotional blog, on a free Christian blog webhost. That host was hacked at one point, so it disappeared. I’m not even sure the original webhost is still around.
Is there a point to this? Not really.
Just that six years is a long time. Yet somehow it’s passed like a flash.
Psalm 39:5
5You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
So what are you going to do with this God-breathed life?
It will be over before you know it.
One thing I do know… I want to make every moment of mine count. How about you?
Announcing Just 1 Ministries…
November 9th, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » God at Work, My Life / Family
In case you haven’t heard already, Nancy and I launched Just 1 Ministries last Sunday. Details can be found over at our website, but the basics are this:
– We feel led to adopt a child, and are taking steps to do so. This is our “Just 1″ story.
– We want to share our “Just 1″ story with you, and encourage you to discover yours by providing ministry opportunities to orphans.
Be sure to check it out when you get a chance, and please prayerfully consider partnering with us in some manner.
As of this moment, our biggest need is that we have 15 orphans at an orphanage in Guatemala we are partnering with that need sponsors to help ensure their long-term needs can be met. We’re also needing prayer for many things (listed here), and would greatly appreciate knowing that you are lifting these many concerns up to God!
God bless!
The End of an Era…
July 21st, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » In the News..., My Life / Family
This morning, before most of us here in the United States were even awake, the Space Shuttle Atlantis landed, bringing the space shuttle program to an end after thirty years.
It’s the end of an era. A dark day for America.
Why, you ask?
You see, millions of Americans from my generation grew up with the space shuttle program. Challenger. Columbia. Endeavor. Discovery. Atlantis. We were inspired by the brave astronauts who flew these amazing machines. We watched space walks on television with fascination. We witnessed satellites and telescopes launched from the cargo bay, and all kinds of amazing work performed in the weightless void of space. We enthusiastically awaited lessons from the Challenger with Christa McAuliffe… and were utterly devasted to see it explode 73 seconds into flight. We grew up wanting to attend Space Camp. We imagined what it would be like to experience lift-off. We dreamed about one day experiencing the weightlessness of space, and of seeing the earth from orbit high above. It was a part of who we were.
Today, that era… that era where children dreamed of growing up to become astronauts, scientists, and engineers… that era is over. Gone forever.
Don’t get me wrong. I know the program was expensive. I know the ships were getting old. And though I still am amazed by our manned space program and would love to see additional shuttle missions, I’m fine with retiring Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavor.
But coming from a generation whose hearts were captured and whose dreams were fueled by the shuttle program? I can’t help but lament… what will take its place for the children of today and tomorrow?
Sports figures? Politicians? Hollywood? Musicians?
You get my point. There really are no worthy successors we as a nation can truly hold up as examples of the best America has to offer… nothing to capture the hearts and imaginations of the next generation.
Of course… today is a day for reflection and celebration of the past thirty years of the shuttle program. It’s been an amazing program, and has done amazing things for the United States and the world as a whole. We owe a tremendous amount of appreciation to all of the people at NASA who have made this possible.
But it’s also a very dark day as we look to the future.