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My old e-mail server for this account went down some time ago and I conveniently forgot my password. With no valid e-mail account they could not send me a password reminder. I finally figured out the old password and hope to post again. I have some thoughts that I will probably put down tomorrow night.

1 year

I have been at my "new" job for a little over a year now. God continues to bless us in wonderful ways. Car problems have been found "in time" before they became huge problems, we were able to upgrade our camping gear this year and we have a wonderful church family. My mom and Janelle's parents are all in good health and the boys love their grandparents.

Janelle and the boys are travelling with her parents. They have been to Ohio to visit her Aunt Brenda and are now in Illinois to visit her Uncle David. While they are away I have been watching the Tour De France and some other "guy" shows.

I was able to spend two full days at Summer Celebration at Lipscomb, an awesome event. The boys loved the fireworks show the closing night. In a few weeks it will be time for us to work at Camp Manatawny again. Can't wait to see our camp family again.

In Him,

David

Where Have I Been?

Last fall our home computer crashed and sadly appears to be gone for good. I have a work laptop but generally avoid blogs on it. We still haven't replaced our home computer but I decided to post an update. Christmas was great, the boys really loved it. Janelle's parents were able to come in from China so the boys had Christmas here with Janelle's parents and in Maryville with my mom, my brother and his family.

Things are crazy busy at work, but that beats not having anything to do. Janelle is working at H&R Block during tax season, then it will be time for a vacation. We are going back to Camp Manatawny to work again this year and are looking forward to that. Christoper turns 4 in April and before I know it he will be school age. WOW!

Have a great weekend of worship,

David

Special Prayer

Ever since Christopher began pre-school this year he has prayed "God is great, God is good....." at mealtimes. While we were at my mother's on Christmas Day Christopher said he would like to say a special prayer which included several things for which he was thankful. We were thankful that he wanted to do this and not the standard memorized prayer.

Jacob on the other hand can pray and pray and pray. He is often speaking in some unknown tongue but he has his head bowed and eyes closed, usually with his forehead resting upon the table.

Happy New Year!

In Him,

David

Counting Blessings

It is a slow day at work today (yippee, we all needed that) and I actually have time to look at the web for something other than work related matters. During this time of the holidays I think we all tend to pause and count our blessings. Here are some of the things that I am thankful for:

1. My wife
2. My kids
3. My parents
4. My brother and his family
5. All the in-laws
6. Extended family
7. My new job (is it still new after 6 montsh?)
8. A house payment that does not over extend our budget
9. My church family
10. Freedom
11. The Mountains
12. While I don't like being overweight, I am grateful that we always have enough to eat
13. Friends
14. The parents of my sons' future wives
16. A slow day at work
17. Sunsets
18. Lakes
19. Mountain streams
20. That I have a God who loves me enough to give this and more than I can ask for

Happy Holidays,

David

Magic

There is something magical about this season. The first snow makes us laugh and play with wonde'r and delight. The look on our childrens' faces as they get excited about Christmas, Santa and presents.

Compare that to our faces as we go to the malls, work, or the grocery store. Where did the magic go? Where is the wonder. Maybe if we slow down and be Christ in these places rather than pushing our way through another activity then the wonder will return.

In Him,

David

Sorry so long

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog. Life keeps getting busier and busier and spending time on the computer is sometimes a luxury. We had a busy Thanksgiving week as we were in East Tennessee the entire time. The boys got to play with their cousins and spend a great deal of time at grandmother's. While we all enjoyed the visit we were also very glad to be home.

As we were coming home a pickup truck came flying down the mountain in the right hand lane. We were in the left lane in a line of cars passing the slower traffic. Well the truck came flying down the right hand lane and came upon the car in front of him at too high of a rate of speed and decided it would be better to come in my lane than rear end the car in front of him at about a 40 mile per hour differential in speed. As his back wheel was parallel with my wife in the passenger seat he began coming over. I got hard on the brakes and the horn, use as much asphalt as was available to my left and we managed to avoid touching bumpers by fractions of an inch. God was watching out for us.

Now it is back to routine...until the weekend! The holidays have a way of filling up your time...in a very wonderful way. Happy Holidays.

In Him,

David

Election Day

Tomorrow is election day. While I definitely have my preference I will not let the outcome drive me to the remorse that some feel nor if it goes the way that I prefer will I be dancing in the street. The reason, while I live in this country my citizenship is in another kingdom. It took me a long while to learn this lesson. For too long in my life I have been a Christian American. Now I am a Christian who is an American. It may sound like I am playing with semantics but the truth is my faith is no longer in the American system, it is in God. I try to take of the blinders of nationalism and the partisan politics that goes along with it. While I love my country and am thankful that God has allowed me to live here, my hope lies with a king. So tomorrow while most are worried about who the next president will be and the "news reporters" will be tripping all over themselves to announce the latest results I can rest assured that all is well because God is still in control. No matter who wins, He still reigns.

Lessons from the washcloth

Last night as I was giving Christopher his bath he started playing with the washcloth. First it was a big fish and later it became a magic curtain for his ducks to disappear behind. In the end, in the hands of his father it became what it was intended to be, a washcloth that cleaned up a creative little boy.

Often we make religion and God like that washcloth. We shape them to be what we want them to be, not what they are intended to be. God is love but he is also the God that destroyed the world in a flood. He is peace but he took his people to battle many times. He is the God of blessings but we are promised that the poor will always be among us. He is righteousness but his Son was called a friend of sinners. He is the protector of the poor, the fatherless and the widows. While he is Abba Father he is STILL the Great I AM! If we are to call him Father and be his children shouldn't we know him and what he is truly like?

Father, remove the blinders that causes me to see you through a lens of religion that is shaped by the world and give me the faith to see you as you truly are and the strength to be the man you call me to be.

In Him,

David

Did you hear that?

Christopher is 3 1/2 and when he goes to bed at night we play a short audio tape for him with a story on it and then a longer music tape. When the story ended and he was ready for me to change tapes we had the following exchange.

Christopher: "Daddy, daddy, did you hear that?"
Me: "Hear what Christopher?"
Christopher: "Did you hear that noise?"
Me: "No, the only noise I heard was you calling me?"
Christopher: "You didn't hear that noise?"
Me: "No, what did the noise sound like?"
Christopher: "Um, it sounded like a Pooh story."
Me: "No, you're not getting a Pooh story but I will turn on your music for you."
Christopher: "Okay, I will try again later.

The Pooh tape is very long and he will not go to sleep while listening to it. I had to walk away and laugh, after starting his music for him. Where does he get this stuff? Like Mary, I will write them on my heart. I love my kids.

In Him,

David

Growing

This past Saturday I spent most of the day attending a seminar on The Truth Project sponsored by Focus on the Family. If you have not heard this video series is dedicated to helping believers develop a Biblical world view. I can't wait to go through the video series with Janelle and then we will launch some small group studies. Just the small amount of time that I have spent with the material is helping to reshape my thinking.

Saturday evening I attended a sportman's dinner and Rick Burgess of the Rick and Bubba show was the keynote speaker. He delivered a challenging message that reinforced the changes that the Spirit began with the events earlier in the day.

On Sunday we had a great lesson on Jeremiah that reminded me of the dangers of being lukewarm, thinking that we are religious when we are not. We followed that with worshipping with the Woodbine Family a church that feeds both the physical and spiritual needs of those who attend.

There are times in your life when you can actually see the Spirit moving you and causing you to grow. The scary part of it is waiting to see what the deceiver will do to counter this, but there is hope in knowing that God has provided an escape. What an awesome ride when you see God's hand working in your life.

In Him,

David

Busy Weekends

Last weekend I helped some friends move on Saturday and trimmed our hedges. Sunday was full with Bible study, Worship, mowing the yard, getting cleaned up again for Sunday evening praise, an ice cream "supper" then home.

Today it was mowing, watching some football, letting the boys play in their pool and playing with them.

Next weekend is home to East Tennessee for UT football, visit with extended family and friends.

The final weekend is The Truth Project seminar and a dinner with Rick Burgess speaking.

All these things are good but the time with my family is the best. And sometimes I need to remind myself to slow down and listen for the quiet whisper.

Right now I am cooking dinner and then the boys and I will wrestle....Let's get ready to rumble!

Enjoy your weekend!

In Him,

David

7 Years Ago

Okay, I get an F for originality as Walt brought us this reminder this morning, but wording is my own.

7 years ago tonight I was watching tv and getting ready for a normal week of work. 7 years ago tomorrow was another normal work day. The following morning though, that Tuesday, the world stood still and nothing will ever be the same. That Tuesday 7 years ago was September 11 and in the morning hours terrorists took over several jet liners and attacked America on her own soil. The skies became silent as all plane travel was ceased in the U.S. That day people started showing up at churches and synagogues to pray because they did not know where else to turn.

7 years ago Friday, all business on Wall Street and on Capital Hill stopped as the President called for a National Day of Prayer. 7 years ago one week from now, church buildings were filled up as in no other time in my memory. People turned to God because they realized they could not depend on themselves or their government to provide everything they need.

We mourned those who died needlessly 7 years ago on Tuesday, but we neglect those who are dying hopelessly around us every day. Yes, I am writing to myself here. How can we mourn the tragedy that occurred 7 years ago and ignore the hope provided 2,000 years ago? 7 years ago that tragedy was like a prophet of Israel calling the people to repent and like Israel, some remained faithful but many forgot the lessons learned 7 years ago. What lessons do you carry with you from 7 years ago?

In Him,

David

RAIN!

It is finally raining in Middle Tennessee again. The weather reporter (I don't call them forecasters for that is surely an inaccurate description)said that this was the driest August in over 60 years. Tell that to my garden. The squash has pretty much quit producing. We are still getting tomatoes but not at the abundance that we once had them.

I guess there is a spiritual metaphor there in that the seeds were planted in good soil, they produced well for a while but when they failed to receive the proper attention and water...they quit producing. I can have a good heart, be plugged in well at church, be productive...but if I don't stay plugged in, neglect the important things...I too can dry up and die.

Work is keeping me very busy but I find that very rewarding. The change has been good for all of us. We can dare to dream again instead of just survive.

The boys are calling their daddy to come play so we will meet in blog world later.

In Him,

David

Finally Home

My family is finally home. I flew back on August 3rd and they got back here last night (the 13th) at 11:45 pm. It was a VERY LONG 10 days. If you read my previous blog, I was home less than 24 hours when my car was rear-ended and totalled out. I have spent the majority of the time I wasn't at work looking for a replacement car. I think I found a good one but I am hesitant to "pull the trigger" on the deal. When it was just me I was much more spontaneous with my buying but now that I have a family I want to make sure that I think things all the way through.

The boys are watching Sesame Street while Janelle is out shopping. It is great being able to just be a family again.

Have a great week. In Him,

David

Rear Ended

Apparently if you drive long enough in Nashville you will be involved in an accident. Tonight I was involved in one. I was coming home from my first day back at work after spending a week away at camp when an ambulance with no lights or siren that had been stopped at a redlight decided to pull out across 3 lanes of traffic. The car to my right was turning anyhow, the car to my left still had an open way to avoid an accident and I had to lock up my brakes to keep from broadsiding the ambulance which is now 1/3 of the way into the intersection. Unfortunately the large truck behind me was unable to stop and now my car has significant damage to the rear end. As I told the driver of the other vehicle though, not to worry, things can be replaced that the important thing is that no one was seriously hurt or killed.

It is a valuable reminder though that life is short. You never know when an accident may occur, you receive the news that you never wanted to hear, etc. Not that I am taking a fatalistic view of these occurences but am using it as a reminder to tell those around you that you love them, never get too caught up in material things and that the eternal thing is really the only thing that matters.

So the yard I planned on mowing tonight remains unmowed. The post camp blog that I had planned on writing tonight remains unblogged. The garden I intended to work on remains untended and the project that I planned on completing remains incomplete. But they will wait for another day.

In Him,

David

Alone

It is unusually quiet around the house. Janelle and the boys are currently east of Knoxville on their way to camp for a week. They are riding in our van along with Janelle's parents. They hope to knock 500 to 600 miles of the trip out tonight, leaving them with 200 to 300 miles to drive tomorrow. Traveling with kids it is best to make the second day a short travel day. The van was loaded and we have a luggage carrier on the roof that is packed as well.

That leaves me alone tonight to do laundry, eat some leftovers, work in the garden and a few chores around the house. I have compiled a "honey do" list to work on as well.

The nicest part about camp is that most of the staff has been together for years so it is like a family reunion when we all get together....and it is. While we see each other far less than we desire, it is great to have those kinds of relationships in Christ.

Well, I must get busy so enjoy your weekend.

In Him,

David

Bedtime, baths and stories

Right now it seems like a chore to bathe the boys, read them stories and put them to bed but I have to remind myself to enjoy these times. Before long they will be bathing themselves and not wanting anyone in there...and rightfully so. Soon enough they will read to themselves or go to bed after watching tv or being on the computer and we will no longer have that cuddle time. Before we know it, the problem will become getting them out of bed in the morning not the getting them to bed at night.

God has blessed us with two wonderful boys. I just need to be reminded to enjoy the time with them and not be so task oriented at the end of the day.

In Him,

David

Staying Busy

Between training at the new job, raising two boys, maintaining a garden, trying to get back into bike riding and attempting to be a good Christian husband, I have been staying very busy.

The new job and the garden are both going well. The boys are growing bigger and bring new joys every day. Every day I am thankful to be Janelle's husband and to be so blessed.

My mother was in last weekend and we went to a wedding for a young lady who grew up in my home town. I have known her since she was a baby. Janelle took the boys to a birthday party on Tuesday for their friend Sam's birthday. I got up at 4:20 to go riding this morning and now am toooooooo tired to think of anything witty to share. Maybe this weekend.

I mentioned in my last blog that Bill and Sabrina were in town on the 6th. Since I was leading singing at church that night I was able to call on Bill to lead a few songs for us. It was great being able to sit back and sing with BoWill again. I love the relationships we have in Christ. What a blessing!

In Him,

David

Catching Up

This holiday break seems like it is my time for catching up. I have been so busy lately that there are several things I needed to catch up on. On Friday I caught up on the garden, we had some massive zucchinis. I also got to catch up with some play time with the boys. We went to Lipscomb on Wednesday and Thursday evening for Summer Celebration and were able to catch up with some old friends.

Friday we spent the day down in Murfreesboro with Janelle's family. I cooked pork ribs to go along with the zucchini and the corn on the cob that we had for dinner....delicious. We went to the fireworks in Murfreesboro and ended up spending the night down there. That led to the next opportunity to catch up, on sleep. When we got home Saturday we had some serious napping to catch up on the lost sleep.

Saturday evening we caught up with some errands, blew up the pool for the boys to play in and caught up with some cleaning in the garage and the laundry. Today I am catching up on my blog and this evening we will catch up with some old friends, Bill and Sabrina Collins from Gulfport, their son Will and his wife. Now you are caught up with what is happening around here. Have a great Lord's Day.

In Him,
David