Chase Said The Prayer

This week is Adventure Week at church and Wednesday are always Salvation night.  Last night Chase said the Salvation prayer for the first time.  I won't go into great deal because Shelley has documented it on her blog but I just wanted to make sure I made mention of it.

Entrepreneurs

The boys are becoming entrepreneurs.

This weekend the first edition of the Cripple Creek News went out. Seth wrote the first edition of our street newspaper. I will leave it to Shelley to post a copy of it but it was very cute but also impressive. His delivery system was the old fashioned paperboy. Chase rolled each one up, put them in a canvas bag and hit the streets on his bike. They were all quickly distributed and I'm sure our neighbors are anxiously awaiting the next edition.

They have also gone into the recycling business. I bought them a trash can and an aluminum can crusher and they are now crushing cans with the plans of selling them for a little cash.

They are both very industrious and I'm anxious to see what they come up with next.

Quote from Seth

As we were walking along, Seth said:

"I don't think many of my friends know the true meaning of Christmas."

I am impressed with my little man and his concern for others.

Is Santa Real?

Shelley and I made a decision early on that we wouldn't lie to our kids and that included topics such as Santa Claus. We explained that Santa was just a character like the Easter Bunny. This caused us to take some grief from other adults but the boys seemed fine. Christmas still seemed to contain all the joy and excitement.

But, as Seth has gotten older, he has struggled with being one of the few in his class that doesn't believe in Santa. He doesn't like being different.

Yesterday, he told me he wanted to put cookies out for Santa this year to determine if Santa was real or not. If the cookies get eaten, then Santa is real, was his reasoning.

I asked him, "You don't trust Mommy and Daddy?"

He replied, "I just want to prove it myself."

Well, there you go.

3 Days, 3 Women, 3 Needs

We spent the Thanksgiving weekend in College Station, Texas and Houston, Texas. I will document that trip at some other time but we did have something happen that I wanted to document. I don't know if we will ever know the significance but I believe God was working in some manner.

On our drive to College Station, Chase had another run in with car sickness. This time he gave us enough warning that Shelley was able to give him a bag to get sick in. As the smell became a little intense, we sought out a random gas station to pull in and throw away the bag. As Shelley got out of the car, a woman with a small child asked if she could have some money for gas. I pulled out a wad of cash and gave it to Shelley.

On day two in Houston, we were staying in downtown and had gone walking to find something to eat. On our way back to the hotel, it had gotten dark and I was anxious to get back as quickly as possible. I had told the boys to walk with a "purpose". I noticed a woman with a stroller behind us and it seemed the faster we walked, the faster she walked. She finally caught us and asked for some money so she could get her kids some food. I reached in my pocket and gave her another wad of cash.

On day three, we were on our way home from church and were experiencing car trouble. I was pretty stressed and was trying to get my family back to the hotel before our car quit running. We were stopped at a stop light and were approached by another lady in a wheel chair asking for money. Again, I handed over a wad of cash.

I think God put these women in our path because they had a need and we could fill it. But, also, I had a need and that was a reminder of how blessed we are.

Why Me?

God, why me? Why:

do I have a wonderful wife?
do I have 2 healthy boys who are not suffering from a disease?
was I born in the US and not some third world country?
do I have a job when others don't?
do I have a roof over my head when others don't?
do I not have to worry about my next meal?
do I have reliable transportation?
do I have a great family?
am I blessed with a wonderful mother in law?


These are just some of the things I wonder about Why Me?

Praises

This week at church the message was about glorifying God and being thankful for all he has done. This isn't the first time I have heard a message on the power of praise so here are some things I am praising God for today.

1. You sent your Son to die for me.
2. Shelley
3. Seth
4. Chase
5. Shelley's theme of family this year and how much of our family we have seen.
6. My job
7. Having a roof over our head
8. Our wonderful church
9. Good friends
10 Our health
11. I don't have to worry about where our next meal will come from.
12. I'm home this morning with my boys.

July 28 2010

What to blog about?

I've taken my blog private so I can utilize this blog more as a journal and document more personal information that either Shelley and I or the boys will find interesting some day.

So, what to blog about? I don't know...

The boys are going to vacation bible school at Compass Christian Church in Colleyville. This is their third VBS this summer. I never went to a VBS and they have gone to 3 just this summer. I wonder if they will have fond memories of these events?


The Rangers have an 8.5 game lead in the West. Will they make the playoffs?

Cowboys have started training camp and the talk of the camp is their first round draft choice, Dez Bryant.

My job is still a struggle and is not fulfilling. My prayers continue to be to find my true purpose and do something with meaning.

Seth's Baptism

Tonight was a big night in our household. Tonight at church Seth was baptized with about 25 other kids. It was a month ago on April 22nd prior to going to bed that Seth asked Jesus into his heart.

We were so excited about his decision but he was a little nervous about the baptism. Tonight prior you could tell he was nervous but by the time for the baptism he was excited. Seth was excited to have Pastor Dave O'donnell baptize him. Pastor Dave has been his kindergarten and 1st grade pastor and Seth really respects him.

We had a group of friends and family which included Marilyn, Chris, Valerie and April there to cheer him on. He enjoyed the attention.

For me it was very moving and prior there were several times I was about to cry with joy. I am so proud of him and this decision he made.

Christmas Services

We have been attending our church for over 10 years and I have to say my favorite service is always our Christmas service. I don't think we have missed one but I could be wrong. We usually schedule our Christmas travels to make sure we don't leave without attending the service.

Every service ends the same way and that is with everyone lighting a candle and singing Christmas carols. It is an amazing sight to see the sanctuary full of people and lit by only candles.

We just got home from the service this year and I am already excited about next year.

Dear God

Dear God,
Thank you for all your blessings. You have blessed me with an incredible wife, the two most special boys, good health, a roof over our head and food on our table.

With all these blessings why am I looking for more? I feel you have more planned for me and I am missing it. Lord, please make your plan for me clear and if I'm still not seeing it, please give me confirmation and leave me with no doubt.

If where I am is where you want me then praise to you for that. But, if I am missing it because of fear or an unwillingness please open my mind and heart to your desires.

In Jesus name
Amen

It Was A God Thing

This weekend our church has a community outreach program call Love Your Neighbor going on. We are participating in a variety of community service type projects and just doing random acts of kindness.

Chase had his first soccer game this morning and I was going to have to take him by myself while Shelley and Seth went to an apartment complex to pass out Easter baskets and conduct an Easter egg hunt. The forecast was for it to be bitterly cold so Shelley suggested I take some hot chocolate to the game and pass it out. It fit perfectly into the theme of our weekend but WAY out of my comfort zone.

Chase and I were the first to arrive from our team at the game and it was bitterly cold. We got there just as the game in front of us was ending and the families were leaving. Just then a man walked up to me with 2 containers of hot chocolate left over from the first game and offered them to me for our team.

So, God was not going to let me sit in my comfort zone and there I was passing out hot chocolate. :-)

12 Years Ago Today Was The Start of the Journey

The title of my blog is "The Journey of a Happily Married Man with Two Kids." Well, this journey started 12 years ago today. On February 16, 1997, I had my first date with Shelley.

This was a very dark time of my life and I had no idea what this date would turn into. I was going through a divorce with the one I thought was my "soul mate." I thought I had the perfect life until about 4 months previous when she said "I want a divorce." I still remember hearing those words and just dropping to my knees. I felt like my life was over at that point.

At this point in my life I wasn't a Christian and didn't have a relationship with Jesus. I felt that you just needed to be a good person and going to church was what people did to make themselves feel better.

But I remember clearly one evening having a "discussion" in our kitchen. I was trying to convince her that we needed to try and save our marriage and I suddenly had a question pop in my head, "What does God think about this?" We had gotten married in a church by a preacher and in front of God but up to this point that was just because that was how you were supposed to do it. Now I found myself wondering what God would think if we broke those promises we had made in front of him.

This was the first crack in my heart that was opened to let God in. Now I didn't drop to my knees and accept Jesus at that point. The truth is it took me several years but this was the beginning.

Shelley and I went on our first date a few months later and I was taken by her beauty, intelligence, sense of humor and "spunkiness." But I was just looking for someone to keep me company and help take away some of my lonliness, it wasn't supposed to last.

Shelley was a Christian but had drifted so we were two lost souls. We weren't right for each other but we were filling a need each of us had. I believe this gave God the time he needed to work in our lives.

Through a series of events, Shelley found our church and started attending. I started going but it was just so I could be with her. Shelley resumed her walk and then started working on me.

When we got married we were "unequally yoked." I agree with everyone that this is a recipe for a disaster and it was almost for us. We were on a path of potential divorce until two things happened. The first and most important was that I accepted Christ as my Savior. I will always be thankful to Shelley and her persistance along with Ed Young and Fellowship Church. The second thing that happened is we started going to a Christian counselor.

Today we have an awesome marriage, two wonderful boys and are growing in our walk with Jesus. And this journey all started 12 years ago today.

An Old Controversy Revisited

A few years ago I wrote this post on a Dadblogger website. (The site has since been taken down so I am having to link to an archived version, but it does have the comments available and that will help you see some of the controversy it caused.)

This post was about the struggles and decisions Shelley and I have made about telling our kids that Santa is not real. It hasn't been easy to find the right balance but now that the boys are a little older I am glad we made the decision.

Just to be clear, Santa is active in our house. We have a blow up Santa in our yard and just last night Seth told Shelley he wanted a Santa costume.

But I heard a recent non-scientific secular study about what happened when kids finally realized or were told that Santa wasn't real. In a large percentage of the cases the child's next question was "Is Jesus not real either?" That is a credibility question that I'm glad I don't have to answer.

However I can imagine our approach might have caused some discussions in other households. Here is a statement Seth made to me the other day.

Seth: Suzy and Steve think Santa is real but Amy believes me [that he's not]. (The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Merry Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. Here are just a few things I am thankful for.

1. Jesus died for me.
2. My beautiful wife who puts up with me.
3. Seth, my oldest.
4. Chase, my youngest.
5. I still have a job.
6. We all have a place to rest our head at night.
7. For family who care about us.
8. We are healthy (for the most part).
9. I'm thankful for all the things I don't have as well.

Seven Days of Sex

Father Son Retreat 2008

This past weekend Seth and I went to a Father Son Retreat here. It was an incredible weekend and we are really blessed that our church has built such an incredible place. It offered all the boys a chance to get to do things they don't ordinarily get to do.

One of the favorite activities was playing with fire. By each cabin was a big fire pit that had a fire going most of the time and the boys just loved gathering branches, leaves and anything else they could find to burn.

They had the opportunity to ride horses, play paintball, basketball, go down zip lines and ride in paddle boats a round the lake.

They also got to learn to work as a team as the entire weekend was a competition between teams. Seth and I were on the Lime team and we had a task of building a race car out of cardboard and racing it the last day. Our team came up with a brilliant idea that involved duct taping the kids to the dads. It is too hard to explain but it was a great idea that led to our victory and the eventual crowning of the Lime team as the Grand Champions of the 2008 Father Son Retreat. The boys were so excited to get their medals.

I loved my time with Seth. I can't wait until next year.

Legend of the Three Trees

Tonight I read Chase one of my favorite books, The Legend of the Three Trees. If you have never read it, it is about three trees and what they thought God's plan was for their lives. One tree was going to be used to make a treasure chest, one tree would be a powerful ship and the other tree thought it would stay on its mountain. But one tree became a feeding box for animals but it was here that Jesus was born. The other tree became a simple fishing boat but it carried Jesus and he calmed the waters with just a word. The final tree was turned into a cross that Jesus died on to save people from their sins. God had a different plan for each of these trees.

After reading it, I asked Chase (3 years old) what he thought God's plan was for him.

Chase: To be saved.

Me: Do you know what it means to be saved?

Chase: I get to be with God.

Josh Hamilton

Last night I went to another taping of Life Today and one of the guest was Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.

Here's a picture

If you haven't heard his story it is an amazing story of faith and forgiveness. He was the number 1 draft choice, got $4 million dollars and was considered a can't miss prospect. He then became addicted to drugs and alcohol, got kicked out of baseball and didn't play for 3 years. Then through his faith he was able to get clean and this year was the American League leader in RBIs and his fellow players voted him the American League Most Outstanding Player.

He's also got a book I plan on checking out.

Closer to the Start

Our church has just released its first all original worship cd. They wrote and performed all the songs on it and I have to say it is very good. We've been playing it in the car and the boys love it as well. The video below is their favorite song and I have to admit it is mine as well.

For more info go here.


Closer to the Start - New Creation from Fellowship Church on Vimeo.