Blah--Day 200/Day 1/Day 1

The "Blahs" have been running rampant throughout the house the last couple weeks. First Colton, then Noah, then Kim and I. We're not feeling too hot. The food was good yesterday. I said grace before dinner. That was sort of an honor. I've said it several times before dinner at home, but not in front of all the families.

Kim got up really early to go shopping. She came home tired and even sicker than she felt last night, so she took a nap. Fortunately for us, Noah's motor almost never quits running. He kept us playing throughout the day. We played train and blocks and a little bit of myball. The way he giggles when we play myball is hilarious. Gabrielle and I played with the blocks too, but her playing was more structured. She was trying to figure out how to make each level one color. We did what we could and she ended up creating a cool little house...



We also roughhoused a bit as well. That's always fun. Later, Noah wanted to take the house apart and put it back together. He'd take a piece off and place it back on somewhere else. We took it from the table and by then it was about 3/4 of a house. I began to place it on the floor and it slipped. Large Lego pieces were all over the place. Noah's attention had already been diverted as I dropped it so I scared him a bit.

"Don't Dad."

"Sorry, Noah."

Later that night, after a few more Lego playtimes and while the rest of us were watching The Polar Express, he awakes us from our blahness and fixation on the movie by picking up the house we had repaired and throwing it straight down. Large Lego pieces were once again all over the place. This time there was a large smile on his face. I think toddlers love destruction more than they love building sometimes.

God is Good.

The Lovely Lanzas--Day 198/Day 3/Day 3

Noah got the 24 hour flu last night. Colton had it a few days before. There reaction to it was different. You could tell Colton was sick. He just wanted to rest all day and looked miserable. We gave him some water and tums and he was fine the next day. I brought Noah down after Kim got home. I felt an odd rumbling in his belly, but I thought he was hungry. I gave him to Kim and then...I'll avoid the particulars. He got sick again after his Aunt Mary called. He acted perfectly fine in between. Laughing and playing like nothing had happened. He looked a little more fearful the second time, but he was soon the same old Noah. We knew that his belly still hurt because he told his there was a bug there. He would lift up his shirt and point at his belly. "A bug" to him means a little pain or something is poking him. We sat him down, gave him some more water and kept a very close eye on him. He would burp occasionally. After doing that a few times, he covered his mouth with both his hands and said "No, mouth. No." I felt so bad for him then. The little guy was worried. He said that a few more times. I gave him a small amount of some childrens' tums, but I still thought he would get sick again. He still hadn't when it was time for bed, so I laid him down with Kim. He fell asleep without a problem and was perfectly fine today.

The Lanza girls were over today again. They played dress-up, tag, had snowball fights, slid down our steps outside, played with Legos, played the wii and generally had a good time all day. I made megas, bacon and a english muffin or bagel for dinner. I went through a whole dozen eggs. Hardly any of them went to waste. The kids, even Noah, ate well. Later on, Kim made cookies. The kids loved them and they each wanted two. Noah just had one, and has not yet learned the pleasure of finger-licking good food. The cookies were still warm and he had melted chocolate chips on his fingers. He showed them to me and told me "messy". I cleaned him up and took his plate. After several hours of playtime, it was time for the Lanzas to go home.

Later on, we tried watching Napoleon Dynamite, but the dvd player wouldn't play the movie very well, so we got out Cranium. I asked the kids to be on be on a team together and they played well for the most part. The only violence involved Kim and I. She had to act out a clue. The timer goes for a minute and on this turn, Kim had to act out a clue. I knew it within 8 or 9 seconds. Keeping an eye on the timer, I watched as she acted like the bar came down and she started going up a hill. She acted like she was going down the hill and her arms shot up. She put her arms down like she was holding a bar and then she goes around in a sort of a circle. She starts to go up the hill again and then comes down again with her arms up. Colton says "Dad, how can you not know what that is??!!" I said "I know what it is. It's a roller coaster." That's when she hit me. She punched me in the arm and slapped me on the chest. I would've pressed charges, but it didn't actually hurt. We all had a good laugh though. We bent the rules for the kids a bit and they ended up winning by a mile. It didn't help I rolled four consecutive "ones" when it was our turn. We prayed and they went to bed. I stayed up to blog about my day. Praise God for everything. Thank you, Jesus.

Positive Answers (Gabrielle's Title)--Day 197/Day 2/Day 2/Day 23

Well, here's something that put a ironic smile to my face.

In the last few days, I had been jumping on my blog and commenting on the things that had been positive about my day as I had mentioned before. I didn't actually blog. I just started one, saved it and planned on coming back to it. I decided to finish that up last night and post them all. I started to do so, but stopped. I wanted to do a little rambling. I decided I'd close my eyes (hence all the typos) and blog whatever came to mind. CfC hasn't been by in over a week, no one in Lapeer reads my blog anymore nor does anyone from Oxford, so with the thought no one would read this but me, I began to babble. It wasn't exactly a positive babble either. Decidedly negative, in fact. But, hey, no one's reading, so I'll complain for a day and get back to positivity tomorrow.

Or so I thought.

I was reading a book Jennifer gave me a few days ago with some "Contemporary Christian" music playing on the T.V. Colton recognizes Jeremy Camp and tells me how much he likes his singing. He asks me what song is it that he sings that he would know. "I have a few on my blog. You might recognize all of them." I get up to go my blog and play a couple for him. He said he was thinking of "Can't Get Away." I told him that was by "Rush of Fools." While on here, I checked the counter for the heck of it.

Oh no.

Not ONLY had CfC shown up again, but so had Lapeer AND Oxford. That was not for your eyes, guys :). I'm sure you thought nothing of my late night ramblings, but it's odd that on a day where I blogged thinking I would depart from the norm for a day, people show up. I wondered why. I smiled. I better not do that again. I'll keep the complaining to myself. I'm not falling off the wagon again. Positivity from here on out...

If you've read this blog before, you know I like coincidences. Most of the time they're very small. Nonetheless, they're coincidences. Here's another. It's great how God works. A guy calls tech support who is on the other side of the world. "Tech Support" helps out and remotely checks out the guy's computer. She sees his blog (God Hungry) which is his home page and asks if he's a pastor or minister. He says "Yes". She finishes up her help and before hanging up, she asks for a favor. "Sure", he says. "Pray for me.", she says. The poor woman feels overwhelmed by her problems. She begins to cry. He promises to pray, does so, and leaves a note for others to pray for her as well. 28 people, including me, have prayed for her so far. I'm sure that "overwhelmed by problems" feeling is felt by many people. It'd be nice if we had someone to give those problems to, so we wouldn't feel so burdened. We do. Our God does that for us. All we have to do is ask. It's awesome that God used a man on the other side of the world to help this woman.

I asked the kids what was the most positive things in their day today. Gabrielle enjoyed going out and playing in the snow with the neighbors. Colton enjoyed having Garrett over today. Speaking of Garrett, when his Mom picked him up, she said he loved Awanas. He's asking for a Bible for Christmas. God is using Awanas to help all the kids. I get to transport Colton, Gabrielle, Emily, Allison, Garrett and Jiselle there. It is more than an honor.

The kids are looking over my shoulder right now. It's a bit unsettling, but o.k. I think they want me to type something else. Hmmm. Here's one:

I asked Kim what was the most positive thing about her day today. She said "The kids listened to my lessons today" Her days are usually pretty rough, so it was great (Colton's word) that she was able to come up with something so quickly.

Colton's still here. So's Gabrielle. She's chugging some Vernor's. Now they've knocked it on the keyboard. They're cleaning the monitor as I type.

Colton just chugged the rest of the Vernor's as Gabrielle continues to play with her fingernails.

Noah sleeps.

Life is good.

Praise God.

Rambling--Day 196/Day 1

Wow. It's Monday already. Time flies. I've thought about what I want to say this Sunday when I get the opportunity to thank everyone. It will be a heartfelt thankyou, but there are many people who have helped change my life, and I would like to let them all know. I'm looking forward to it. I think my mood has changed slightly since losing my job. I can hardly stand to watch any news because the horrible Michigan economy is all over the place. I am not allowing God to work through me as I should. I could be a better father, husband and disciple in these lean days. So far this week, I feel like I've had one partial meal. Running the video doesn't always allow one to concentrate fully on Pastor Don's message. Since then, I've only sparingly opened my bible or had good discussions with God. I had an interesting conversation Saturday night. I was watching a Catholic priest speak on EWTN tv and was enjoying his talk. Eventually, it was getting very late, so I turned it off. I went to bed and prayed on my knees. For the first time though, I felt the urge to pray flat on the ground. I remember seeing a man do that during the prayer vigil. He was up near the podium while I waited my my time to start praying. He layed flat on his face and was praying loudly. This prayer felt like a prayer where I was praying to be given the strength to turn my life over to him fully. It was a very good prayer. The next morning...I was the same ol' me. Not much in the way of Christ-likeness. I've changed, but not nearly enough. I keep asking questions of everyone instead of searching for the answers myself. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm asking so I know how I "should" feel. I want to make sure I'm going in the right direction and not somehow straying. God is all around us, but I can imagine him being a million miles away buy very easy to see. I could start walking towards him, but if I'm off by one degree, by the time I've walked a million miles, I've walked well away from him and am on my way to oblivion. The Bible should be a life blood in my life and it is not. It should be the heart of my body pumping spiritual nutrients to my soul and mind. I don't let it. Instead, I continue to look at others lives and try to emulate certain Godly things I see or ask whatever random question is on my mind. I'd like to go to Jim' orientation to his class on the 11th, but I'm not sure I'll be able to attend future classes. It'd be nice to have that fellowship with others. I don't know now if that will happen at classes in our church. I'll pray on it and God will face me in the right direction. The kids were home today on their extended Thanksgiving vacation. They had friends over and we all had fun. I keep on asking them to change certain things about themselves that can be detrimental to themselves and others, but I may need to change first before I expect them to. It's late. And quiet. I feel empty. I need to get a fill-up. I need some time alone with God.

Meet me in Montauk--Day 192/Day 9/Day 18

Today was the last day of the study of the bible class. We went over the last weeks homework then had some cake. Then Lisa, Wendy and I continued to go over our discussion on Joseph. Lisa gave me some paperwork that had the commentary for this chapter of Genesis. It brought up some good points and answered most of my questions.

I wanted to watch a movie tonight, but I couldn't think of a movie that I owned that was somewhat "happy" until I remembered eternal sunshine of a spotless mind. I like movies that mess with time in one way or another. Some of my favorite movies besides this one are Memento, Frequency and the back to the future movies. This movie zigzags between present happening and past memories. It is a surreal movie and does a great job of illustrating a fractured love story. Towards the end of the movie when the words "Meet me in Montauk" are whispered, you get a better understanding of how things happened the way they did.

The Chicken Dance--Day 191/Day 8/Day 17

My first day off in 20 years today. I guess "my first jobless day off in 20 years" is better. Or worse. The time spent with Noah is great. Getting up with the kids to get them off to school is wonderful. Not having a job should be scary. It's not. Yet. I hope I'm able to keep putting this problem into God's hands. I have to continue to work to do what I can, but I keep getting the feeling everything's going to work out great for us. By us, I mean my family and my job situation. By "us" I could've meant Christians, in which I'm sure everything's going to work out great for us.

Awana was fun. I got dressed up like a turkey and did the chicken dance in front of the kids and others. Odd? Yes. Embarrassing? No. In between the parts where you dance like a chicken I went over to dance with the kids. I was just about gang tackled. It was a hoot (another bird reference).

We also had our pizza party because we were co-winners in the can competition last week. Would I have spent $50 in soup if I had not had a job last week? I'd like to say yes, but I'm not sure. All the kids got at least one piece of pizza and a breadstick. They enjoyed themselves. Drinks were forgotten and one child mentioned her lips were burning. We were able to get them some water and put out the fire before any damage was done.

Working in reverse even more, at the beginning of the Awana meeting we were reminded there was no Awanas next week. The kids reaction was partially feigned excitement. Mary asked for our reaction and we acted excited as well. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Do I feel I could use a week off from the kids? No. Not at all. One leader had mentioned to her older kids that she felt more comfortable with them than with the little ones. I'm sure it's reversed for me.

I'm gonna miss Brandi and Carson and Anna and Delanie and Ryan and Shane and Ben and Joe and Amy and Jiselle and Caleb and Trent and Sloan and E.J. and Breanna and Cameron and Tara this week.

Joy--Day 190/Day 7/Day 16/Day 21

I got laid off today, but I believe I am still joyous in my heart. One thing that will stick with me is telling one of Noah's teachers what had happened while I got him in the car. She told me she was sorry. I told her I believed in God and believe he has a plan. She smiled a beautiful smile and said "So do I."

Kim was supportive as well, as were the kids.

Getting the words I didn't want to hear were sandwiched in between two stories of the fires in California. As I got out of my car at work this morning, I heard that Christopher Lloyd had his house destroyed. I've always liked that guy. He's got one of the goofiest faces this side of Jim Carrey. I think I've always liked him because of the Back to the Future movies. I've seen those tons of times since they came out in 1985.

After getting home, I watched the news for a bit. Many more people had had their homes burned down. One family in particular had an autistic child who was having a hard time understanding what had happened. The mother spoke of his love for Hot Wheels Cars. Every time friends or family came over, they had one for him. His mother said she searched for them once she came back to her house. They were gone. They were all gone. Everything had been destroyed.

Things like this and the fact that I had survived many other layoffs at our company leaves me unable to feel sorry for myself at all. How could I when I have a friend very close to my heart who had someone close to Him become a traitor? He was rejected, beaten, ridiculed, scarred, and finally had His hands and feet pierced by nails. That might sound bad, and it was, but He did it as a favor to me. He loves and has always loved and always will love me, my family, and every one of us throughout the world. I've met some great guys at work, but I don't have any other friends who would do that for me. Nor would they be able to promise escape from death and the promise of eternal life.

Thank you, Jesus, for dying for us. Thank you, God, for sending your one and only Son to do this for us. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for residing in my heart as you have.

Gamut--Day 189/Day 6/Day 15

Interesting word...gamut. It doesn't quite flow off the tongue like "serendipity" (day 3). I went through a gamut of emotions today. I had to have a discussion I didn't want to have with someone, and just thinking about it made me sort of angry. I was able to pray and calm myself down. The person I talked to took what I had to say in the best way possible and the conversation went well.

A long time front-office employee where I work got laid off today. I was sad for her, and partly worried about my own job. She had been crying when I talked to her. She wasn't sure where to go to from there.

I had to have a tire fixed, so I called around Lapeer to see where I could get it done. I talk to a woman at Wal-mart who was very chipper. Her chipperness actually made me laugh at the end of the phone call. I got off the phone with a price and a smile.

I saw a video that had been made with the song My Jesus and clips from Passion of the Christ. Thinking back on when I watched that movie, I am slightly surprised I never put much thought into it. People like or dislike the movie for different reasons and part of the reason I saw it was to see what all the fuss was about. It is really rather quite violent, but none of us can really imagine what he went through. It was probably worse than what they make it out to be. I'm going to have watch it again.

Diane was over tonight. We had some interesting conversation while we worked on her homework. I did not like the direction she took the conversation occasionally and I don't think I could ever stand behind all her beliefs.


Many lines stick out to me in this song, but a few in particular are:

"My Jesus would never be accepted in my church. The blood and the dirt on his feet might stain the carpet..."

"I think he'd prefer Beale Street to the stained-glass crowd..."

"I want to be like Jesus..."

Fellowship on My Mind--Day 189/Day 6/Day 15

We got up early so we had time drop Noah off at Dennis and Jennifer's. Gabrielle, Noah and I went to the door and Gabrielle knocked. She knocked again. "Do you think they're up yet?", I asked. "Yeah.", she said. "I can hear screaming." LOL. She was right. Trenton had apparently gotten up a little cranky. Jennifer had on her happy face anyway. She would say later that we must've been wondering what was going on. I think she may forget sometimes that I also have three kids with a younger one as well. I know what it's like. I thought nothing of it. I thanked her and we were off to Sunday school.

We got there early and I went to their classes with them. Gabrielle was the only one in her class when I left and Colton was there with one other girl. He was joking with her a little bit as I left. She had a shy smile on her face. I hope that attitude and that effect he has on others stays with him. I hope the same for Noah. Both Wendy and one of the other mothers there picking up her toddler said they loved his attitude. Wendy said if I had come to pick him up any later, she would've taken him home with her. :)

I had read the chapter of The Purpose Driven Life concerning church fellowship the night before. That chapter is going to have an effect on me for a while. It was something I had thought about a bit before I had read that chapter. Jim Kirkland had said we would stay in the groups we were in when we started the Bible study class. I figured we would go over our homework together every once in a while. I thought there might be calls and e-mails. Almost none of the above. The one or two times we went over the homework together at the table, we were not given much time to do so. I called no one and no one called me. I had e-mailed my homework out when it was not out of a workbook and had received e-mails back. I really enjoyed that part. The fellowship part is definitely lacking. I thought the same this morning at Sunday school. Diane asked a few questions, had a couple disagreements and we were ran out of time as Jim tried to finish up. There is no time in the class for fellowship. If we talk too much or ask too many questions, we don't get to the end of the lesson. Jim mentioned that Diane had not been in the first few classes discussing God's love for us. I thought that was irrelevant. If we believe that Jesus died for all of our sins, most of us can almost realize how big of love that must be. Seeing it in scripture really makes it hit home. That's a little disappointing he mentioned that. He seems a little perturbed by the questioning. Diane, to her credit, has already said she is a little "rough around the edges." Jim, to his credit, tries to answer her questions as well as he can. I'm new to all of this, but I don't know if that means if I should not question this. If we left open more time for fellowship would we use that time wisely? If I had called during the class, would I have received calls back?

Diane had mentioned she needed help with Power Point at the beginning of class by asking a few people around the room. After Pastor Don's sermon, I asked her if she still needed help. She said she did and is coming over Monday night so we can work on it. I hope it goes well, I can help, and we can talk about other things as well.

The sermon went over trusting God. Trusting Him during the good times, in adversity, for both big things and little things and trusting Him with all our being. Also, trusting God in all ways. Trusting Him with all our thinking, behavior and our wealth. Sometimes, especially in times of adversity, it is difficult to do so, but in our Christian walks, this is another characteristic we all need to work on every day. I like to think I'm getting better at since I'm not so anxious all time as I had been. I am trusting more in Him and less on me. God is Great.

Kim came home this afternoon. She gave us all "prizes." Gabrielle's was a pair of earrings, Colton's was a sketch pad, Noah's was a four-pack of books and she bought me a Bible cover. It's very nice. My bible is a little small for it, but I'm still considering getting another study Bible. That would probably fit better. Gabrielle put in her new butterfly earrings right away. They looked pretty. Colton used his sketch pad and we read Noah his books. He seems to know what a "circle" is but doesn't get the others yet. He knows the words red, green, orange, yellow and purple, but I don't think he knows what any of them really are yet. He knows his Sesame Street characters though. He knows who big bird is, what elmo, the count and cookie moster look like and probably says "oscar"(the grouch) most clearly.

Pizza Rolls and Ramen Noodles--Day 188/Day 5/Day 14

I read Kings 18:1-19 last night. I went up to his bedroom and asked him if that was what he asked me to read. He said it was. It must have been told to him in an exciting way. I'm glad he enjoyed it.

We went grocery shopping in the middle of the afternoon and that messed with Noah's sleeping pattern. I didn't want to lay him down and wait till he got up to shop and I didn't want to put him down by the time we got home. He was pretty cranky by the end of the shopping trip and actually fell asleep. He was sitting in the cart with his head down so I took off his hat and placed it under his head for more padding. He allowed me to do so, probably lacking much energy and went back to sleep. I had clipped some coupons at my mother-in-law's house and Colton and Gabrielle were very helpful in taking a coupon and trying to find an item. I don't do the shopping much, so I was thinking all the food we got would be close to $200. Fortunately it was a little less than 2/3 of that.

The kids thought dinner was one of the best ever. LOL. We had pizza rolls and Ramen noodles. Colton wanted pizza rolls, and I wanted some Ramen noodles so I made both. They both said they wanted some noodles too, so I made enough for all of us. Noah didn't eat much of his noodles, but he was loving the pizza rolls.

Soon after this, I called Kim and put the speaker on, so everyone could say good night. Once Noah said his peace, I laid him down since I knew how tired he must be. The kids and I watched the newer version of "The Shaggy Dog" after he went to sleep. Colton was tired and went to bed soon after. Gabrielle asked if she had to go to bed yet, and since it was techincally not her bedtime yet, she stayed up for another half-hour or so. Once she was ready for bed, I realized I had not said a prayer with Colton, so I asked if Gabrielle would say one with me. We knelt by our bed and I went first. She said her prayer next and hopped into bed. I stayed up a while watching a buddy of mine play in a $10 tournament online. He ended up winning $1500. He's had quite a bit of luck and his skill is always improving as well. It was getting late, and we had to get up early in the morning, so I went to sleep. Very peaceful sleep. Thank you, Jesus.

I Feel So Alive--Day 187/Day 4/Day 13/Day 20

The latest addition to the playlist is out of place. It probably won't stick around long. The janitor was in the lab on Thursday and starts singing sort of quietly but in a high voice. He's used to the odd looks he gets. I think he's in his 40's but could easily pass for my age. He's quite a personable guy always looking for a low-five or fist punch over every funny thing he says. I just smiled and shook my head. He asked me if I knew who that was. I told him I couldn't understand what he was saying. I don't think he mentioned who it was. He just mentioned he liked singing in a high pitched voice rather than trying to sing in his normal voice. I told him he might do a good Brian McNight. "Who?", he says. "Brian McNight. Ever heard of "One Last Cry?"" He asked me if I had the cd. I told him no, but I could pull it up for him. I did and he stood there listening to the whole song. He said he was going to have to write that one down and find it. I'm not used to listening to tear-jerkers with another man in my lab, so it made for an unusual experience. That was exactly the kind of song he was talking about and later on in the day he was standing well out side of the lab singing that song in as high of a voice as he could muster. I saw him and he just starts laughing.

Kim left this morning. She'll be gone til Sunday. We all miss her already. We went to see Madagascar this afternoon and as we were driving home Colton says "I miss Mom." I said "I do too. ...her smiling face, her beautiful hair..." "Dad," he says, "you're making it worse." We both laughed. There was a lot of laughing going on during the movie. Both Colton and Gabrielle had a friend and they all enjoyed it. Once Noah got home, we played with his new cars for a bit, watched some "Blues Clues" and played some Myball. He didn't mind me knocking it out of his hands today. He'd just giggle and run after me. Gabrielle is staying over a friends house and was pretty ecstatic to be able to do so.

I was reading The Purpose Driven Life today and read a section on people in the church helping others within the church grow spiritually. I immediately thought of Lisa. The best part of that discussion last night was that she didn't want to let it go till she felt it had been fully understood by both of us. I could have conversations like that for hours. That in turn reminds me of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof. We watched part of the movie in the Bible Study class quite a few weeks ago where he envisions having lots of money and being able to have spiritual talks for hours upon hours. I believe seven hours was the exact number. I'd love to be able to do that. Right now, though, I'd run out of scripture to discuss very soon. Either way, I've had wonderful experiences since becoming a Christian and that is yet another one of them. Thanks again, Lisa.

And thank you, CfC (Curious from Clarkston) for stopping by occasionally. I must admit it brings a smile to my face. What I think was my friend Jen dropped off the counter few days ago. She read the blog fairly faithfully for a while as well as evidenced in comments on day 31. She quit coming, not so coincidentally, around the same time school started. When I first started the blog, I wanted everyone to read that first blog of mine. I wanted everyone to remain positive and look to God through it all. Now, I don't feel it's necessary for others to read my blog to get that. If they are already looking towards God, then I hope most of them will be positive anyway.

Before Colton hit the hay tonight, he says that if I'm staying up later, I should read I Kings 18:1-19. I'm glad that part of scripture had an effect on him. He's brought it up a couple times today. I'm definitely going to make sure I read it. Kids are great. I love you guys. I miss you Kim. Good night. I'll be thinking of you all in my prayers and dreams.

Love,
Me

Day 186/Day 3/Day 12/Day 20

I'm kind of surprised this blog has not felt repetitive to me yet. I suppose that may be because of the spiritual and educational growth I see in my kids and Kim and I. Physical growth is evident to especially with Noah. On day 3, he was barely up to my knee. Now he's all the way up to my thigh. Kim and the kids are always finding new ways to make me laugh or sit back and think. On day three I wasn't participating in Sunday school, Bible study, AWANAs or helping with video once a month. That leaves me with quite a few things to talk about.

Tonight was the Bible study class. We reviewed the past few chapters of Genesis up to chapter 47, then we watched a harvesting video. It was about a Christian family who had lost a father and husband. They had a very large harvest and did not think they would be able to harvest it. Many people eventually came to help and all was well. God has planted many seeds in several people. Are we growing spiritually and teaching others, so that when God comes back, he will be able to several believing souls with him? How many dying seeds are out there because we have not gained enough knowledge to help them? How many times are we given the chance to show how a Christian should act and don't take advantage of it? That would allow others to see Christ in us and possible bring them to the Lord. I know I'm not ready yet, but I hope I get there.

I talked with Lisa and Jenni a bit about what, at first glance, seemed like a large fault in Joseph, a man who was with God throughout his life. He was being deceptive to his brothers in order to find out the truth about them. I wondered if I am to walk with God as Joseph did, can I do the same? Can I be deceptive to my kids to find out if they've done wrong? Lisa said she had never felt what Joseph did was dishonest. We talked to Jim and he believe that sometimes one needs to be discerning and wise rather than too open to ones who may be trying to continue to hurt us. It was a good discussion that we had almost throughout the whole class and after everyone had left. Lisa could tell my question hadn't been totally answered at a few points in the class, so she brought up again when she had the opportunities. She is on of the many caring, concerned people at Oakwood Community Church.

Day 185/Day 2/Day 11/Day 19

Awana Wednesday! I hadn't thought about it until just now, but I love those kids. Every one of 'em. They're like any kids. They love to play and laugh. I talked to a former youth pastor and he said I should be as silly as possible, within reason. That's easy enough for me.

Day 183,184/Day 1/Day 9,10/Day 17,18

I didn't make the 11:59 deadline, so this will have to be a Monday/Tuesday blog. We're working less hours at work, so time goes fast. I got home and Gabrielle was having some trouble with her homework. She was trying to learn the rules of adding "s", "ed", and "ing" at the end of words. We went over it for a while and she eventually caught on better than she had. While doing this, Colton was asking for help as well. I told him I'd help when I was done with Gabrielle. When we were done, I helped Colton find some "platforms the American Party (The Know-Nothings) stood for". Once we got that figured out, Noah needed me. I helped him out then sat with him for a while. I got up to get ready for the dinner Kim had been making (bacon cheeseburgers--not the heathiest, but delicious!). Once next to her, I realized I had not kissed her when I got home. I did so, then helped prepare the kids plates. We spent most of the night playing with the kids before they headed off to bed. Once the prayers were done and most everything had been picked up, I watched some football. Once football game was nearing an end, I headed to bed.

This was my day in a nutshell.

I like to think I've been blessed by a wonderful God. I spend lots of time thinking about Him throughout my day in my decisions and how I act, but I need to spend more time in His word. I pray that as I mature in my faith, I use my free will to do so.

Tuesday was not much more difficult.

After locating my blog this morning, I noticed a third person had voted in my poll. They believe that the bible is the Word of God and is the truth. I think I know the person who voted "No.", but I'm not sure. I'm putting in a special prayer for that person.

Kim had a late meeting and got home rather late tonight. I had made sloppy joes and mac and cheese. I already had some on the kid's plate with applesause and Kim made her own. This was only after kissing me on the lips and saying "I love you." That was nice. Colton prayed then we had dinner together.

I spent time with Colton on a puzzle type game and some time with Gabrielle helping her with her Awanas verses. Kim spent some time with Noah reading books. Before we knew it, it was time for their bed time. Then prayers, then blog, then book, then bed.

God bless everyone.

Popcorn--Day 182/Day 2/Day 8/Day 16

There was more than the normal amount of audience participation in Sunday school this morning. A few interesting points, counterpoints, agreements, disagreements, moments of confusion, minutes of explanation, and perfectly placed words were brought up. This did not leave much time left for continuing the series on walking the walk we talk in Ephesians. Nevertheless, no time was really wasted, it was thought provoking as always, and I learned a little bit more about the Trinity.

Pastor Don pleaded with his congregation to pray for our leaders including President Obama, whether we voted for him or not. He believes that what we expect is what we'll get. If we expect him to be the savior of America, then he will be (unless he does horribly bad). If we expect him to not do well whatsoever, we will look for his mistakes almost exclusively and he will not be a good president. He's right.

We enjoyed the after-church fellowship with the Boomers in one of the side rooms because of a lack of space in the main area. I get someting close to the chills every time I'm in that room. I can see myself on my knees at the table against the wall praying for those that had requested prayer and feeling His presence greater than i had ever felt it before. I remember looking at the clock and seeing the time 11:20 exactly. Soon after, I left the room to pray in the sanctuary to pray for another hour, but that room will always feel special to me.

I also remember looking at my phone and seeing exactly 11:00 pm in glowing white numbers before I entered that room. This leads my mind to our bible study workbook's definition of the eternal nature of God. It says:

God has no beginning, and He has no end. He is not confined to the finiteness of time or to man's reckoning of time. He is, in fact, the cause of time.

That last sentence really struck one of the women at our last bible-study class. That whole definition, but especially that last part, is difficult to wrap our finite minds around.

Gabrielle gave me a postcard sized card she had gotten from Kim. It had a heart in the middle of the card with the words "I love my daddy" in the middle. She's so sweet.

I told Kim I hadn't really blogged in almost a week. As she was taking her microwave popcorn out of the microwave, she said I should blog about popcorn. Hmmm. O.k. I can go through almost a whole bucket of the movie popcorn before the trailers are even done. I like it with no butter, but I've had it with butter and it's not too bad. I like it when there are no burnt kernels whatsoever. I don't like burnt. Kim doesn't mind it. I don't like the little pieces that get stuck between my teeth, but it feels like such a relief when it's finally out. Pastor Bob talked about popcorn in one of his last children's sermons and I learned a little something. Popcorn pops because of the very small amount of water inside of the kernel. Once the kernel can no longer contain the steam within it, it explodes and we get popcorn. My heart and mind could no longer hold in all the cynacism and negativity on that fateful day back in April. Although I continue to hold onto those stuck-in-my-teeth irritating, leaving me with a hard shell on the outside concepts, they were replaced with a life-sustaining and delicious faith and optimism.

Thank you, Jesus.

My Ball--Day 181/Day 1/Day 7/Day 15

Noah hasn't figured out the full concept of the game "my ball" yet. It's a game I've played with Colton since he was little. Gabrielle enjoys an occasional game as well. The basic rule is that you try to get the ball from the person who has it. The earliest games of my ball consisted of letting myself get tackled by Colton and then practically rolling around in the grass as he tried to get it. Once he did, I'd run after him and eventually get it back. Noah loves being chased as we try to get the ball from him. He'll giggle all around the house or outside. Once you knock it out of his hands though, you'd think we just stole his favorite toy. It's called "my ball" because as you chase the other or are getting chased, those words are repeated very often by the chaser and/or the chasee. Noah screams the words as he tries to get it back. Colton and I choose to just give it to him, and it turns into a game of chase Noah as he runs around the house with a ball two times bigger than his head. It's fun anyway.

Another new thing with Noah is coloring. He's been doing it with us for a while, but now he'll find a pen, pencil, marker or crayon and give it to whoever he's coloring with. Don't plan on having it for long. He'll take it from you and give you his. Then he might take it right back. Or give you another random one that's sitting on the table. After a few scribbles or some letters or numbers he'll ask "Whatcha doin?" and will watch you draw for a couple seconds. Then he wants whatever your drawing with and the process is repeated. We covered quite a few sheets of paper with tons of scribble.

Zach was over today. He's got quite a different laugh than Colton, but it's just as infectious. Alyssa was over to play with Gabrielle. I haven't heard her laugh much, but her and Gabrielle have a good time. Gabrielle always has a good time with her friends as does Colton. I met Alyssa's parents as I dropped Gabrielle off there later on. Not surprisingly, they're very nice people. I talked basketball with her dad for a minute or two. I didn't get her Mom's name, but she seemed especially nice as well.

I put up the window insulation today. It looks like I'll have enough to cover all the downstairs windows. Even with the windows shut and locked, I can easily tell that plenty of air seeps in through the window. As soon as the plastic is up and dewrinkled, it puffs out towards the inside of house. It seems to be working.

Thank you Lord for giving me a place to think about the wonderfulness of the life you have given us. Help keep us your path you've laid out for us and we pray our faith becomes stronger and more complete every day.

Day 178, 179/Day 1/Day 4,5

It was quite an interesting class this week. Going over the homework was insightful. While we were talking, Jim asked Roger if he could think of a word or two to describe what got him through hard times. Eventually Roger came up with faith, but he had had a bad day, and plenty of things came out in his answer including emotions. I think I may have held my breath while he talked and finally exhaled when he finished. He is a great man and his faith has kept him close to our Lord through it all.

Later we watched "How Great is Our God?" It was a partially scientific way to realize how great our God is. It was at times funny, other times serious, and always spiritual. I'd like to buy it or at least let the kids watch it.

Then we prayed. One class member requested we pray over Roger because of his bad day and other problems he'd been having. Jinny, Jim and his brother laid their hands on him while another man prayed. It seemed almost surreal. I heard many sniffles and saw at least one large tear hit the ground. Jim said one last prayer, we all took a deep breath and headed off to the rest of our week.

The day before we went to Awana's. The trip on the way was fun. We all sang an assortment of songs and generally had a good time. When we're not singing, I enjoy talking with Allison. We never talk about anything groundbreaking, but it's good conversation.

Zelli is so sweet. She sits right up next to me at Awana's. Gabrielle was sitting on my lap and I put one of my arms around her and one around Zelli. She snuggles even closer. I moved my arm and she didn't move. Her head stayed on my side like she was going to take a nap.

The kids seemed especially good this week. Everything seemed to go smoothly.

Obama Wins--Day 177/Day 3/Day 3/Day 14

"I let Jesus Christ into my life. I learned that my sins could be redeemed and if I placed my trust in Jesus, that he could set me on a path to eternal life."

I hope Obama meant this when he said it. I pray that God's will is done through our new president. Congratulations, President Obama.


I forgot to mention Jason's heroics on Monday. I'm sitting in the lunchroom reading The Purpose Driven Life, while the other guys are playing euchre like normal. All at the same time, all their chairs move backwards. I look up to see what's going on. Everyone had really awkward looks on their faces. Suddenly, Jason bolts up out of his chair and walks quickly behind Carl as Carl stands up. It looked like the beginning of a fight from the look on Jason's face. Instead, he wraps his arms around Carl and starts giving Carl the Heimlich maneuver. A large chunk of Carl's roast comes up along with some assorted extras. Carl walks around for a bit and while he's gone for a minute, it's mentioned by one of the guys that took the CPR and First Aid class with me a couple weeks ago that he should probably go to the hospital. Carl seems fine. He had actually cleaned up the floor and sat back down to play for a bit. Not long after though, he got up again. He said it feels like something is still in there. I get my stuff together and plan to take him (he advises we use his car) until he stops in the lobby and sits down. He says he needs someone now. He is able to talk, but feels like he can barely breath. Obviously worried and not sure what to do, he asks me to give him the Heimlich maneuver again. After a couple thrusts, he says he is able to breath a little better. By this time, the paramedics have been called and show up soon after. He ends up going to the hospital and waiting several hours before seeing a doctor. He ends up in the O.R., and a 20-30 minute procedure turned into hours. The doctor said that in his 20 years of work, he had never pulled up such a large chunk of food.

Carl got lucky. Once in a while I'll watch the guys play cards for a bit, but would I have realized what was going on and reacted as quickly as Jason did, especially with his back to me? As I said, Tom knew what to do, but I think he was either in shock or really didn't know what was going on. Jason hadn't taken a class since sixth grade and used that knowledge to save Carl's life.

I thought it interesting that I had been reading these words shortly before all this happened:

We are often challenged to do great things for God. Actually, God is more pleased when we do small things for Him out of loving obedience. They may be unnoticed by others, but God notices them and considers them acts of worship.
Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day. Even through such simple acts as telling the truth, being kind, and encouraging others, we bring a smile to God's face.

Jason is a believer, but doesn't attend church. I'm sure his faith is about where mine was back in February. I don't think he does much "for God". That's actually been an important theme in many things I've read and listened to recently. It's very important and I'm not sure how many of do things "for God" on a regular basis. This was a very kind thing Jason did, and he is very humble about it. He says his reactions merely took over. Do I still believe this brought a smile to God's face? Yes I do and I told him so. I hope we all do things that bring a smile to His face. I hope I don't ever have to go through something potentially life-changing and surreal, but if I do, I'll know God is with me and my courage and strength will come from Him.

God is Good.

Imitation--Day 175/Day 1/Day 1/Day 13

Gabrielle, Colton and I made it to Sunday School in time. Jim continued our work in Ephesians. The first couple weeks had more to do with God's love for us and what He did for us. In the remaining weeks, we will be discussing what we must do to "Walk the Walk We Talk". He pointed out and I especially like Ephesians 5:1-2:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a scrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

To be imitators of Christ as beloved children is a fabulous (thanks Amber for that word) analogy. I love to see Noah imitate us as we try to teach him new words. I love to see Gabrielle and Colton imitate our good qualities. Most of the time, it is fairly easy for them to do so. To be an imitator of Christ should be simple as well, but many of us stray from the path too easily. For instance, I've felt easily angered the past few days. I attribute this to time spent away from His Word. We delve deeply into it on Thursdays but we missed the class. I hadn't written down the verse I was supposed to for Sunday School. I still want to do that and I plan to very soon. I don't think I opened up my bible on Saturday except to place the tabs in it. Each time I feel this way, I should open up the Good Book and read a verse or two. Perhaps I'll keep that verse from Ephesians with me along with a couple other verses I enjoy reading and/or the quote Ravi Zachariah likes to use that I have written on a notebook. I need to get back to 0 degrees (Day 163) more often.

Sunday School ran longer than usual and we got out of the class at just after 10:30. Mary and Roger sat in front of us today. As I've mentioned before, I enjoy seeing how different people praise Him. I watched Roger for the first time. He was quite difficult to miss. The music was upbeat today and he was dancing the whole time. Imagine trying to get someone's attention from 200 yards away. You might lean back a little, cup your mouth, and yell as loud as you could. Roger did everything but cup his mouth. He was really into the music and it was wonderful to see. One of the questions we were asked in Sunday School was whether or not our faith was maturing. I know mine is, but not at the rate I'd like it to. I'm being as patient as possible with it. That is not to say I'm mature in my faith, and sitting behind those two makes it all the more evident. Not just in the way they sing, but I know each of them has a very strong personal relationship with God. Many people there do. I wonder how many people do not. I'll pray for all of us.

The sermon was on prayer. That is something I'd been thinking about the last couple days after reading chapter 11 in The Purpose Driven Life which discusses praying without ceasing. This is something I'm working on. I signed a sheet of paper promising to pray for our leaders nationally and in the church. I also agreed to fast at least one meal during the week and praying during that time. I sacrificed my dinner tonight and prayed for about 20 minutes.

I spent my day cleaning up, watching football and playing with the boys. The kids did some raking of the leaves in a big pile and jumping off the swings into them. Good times. During prayer time later, Colton thanked God for the Father/Son time we had. Some of this included shooting our first gun ever. A friend of mine, while not a hunter, is a gun enthusiast. Before we got to the area, he pulled out the AR-15 (close to an M-16, he says), tells us about it and shows us how to use it safely. We got in his van and the first thing I noticed was the Christian music coming out of his radio. I wasn't surprised, but it was the first time I'd been in another person's vehicle with that playing. It made for a nice drive to the range(?) which also included Andy's discussion about his guns. The gun is incredibly accurate. I was able to shot what I was aiming at from 100 yards away or so after shooting just a few times. I had never even held a loaded gun in my life let alone used one. We had a good time.

Noah and I read some books later on. We read through one a couple times, but barely made it through a couple others. On the last one, I asked him if he knew what "that" was as I pointed to the train. He says "choo-choo". That was the end of reading. "All done.", he says and closes the book. "Come on, Daddy. Choo-choo." He pulled on my finger till I got up and we went upstairs and played with the train and tracks for a while. Not too long after this, though, he was ready for bed.

We said prayers with the kids and this time he stood on the side of the bed with his hands firmly clasped. After Colton finished with his prayer, we all said "Amen." Noah was the last of us to do so, but he said it with conviction. This all goes back to imitation. He doesn't know what he's saying, but hopefully Kim and I will be able to continue a life that we want our children to imitate.

And now, some words from Watermark and from my heart as well:

Wonderful Savior
My heart belongs to Thee
I will remember always the blood You shed for me
Wonderful Savior
My heart will know Your worth
So I will embrace You always as I walk this earth

Be blessed, be loved, be lifted high
Be treasured here
Be glorified
I owe my life to You my Lord
Here I am....

Beautiful Jesus
How may I bless Your heart?
Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are
Beautiful Jesus
You are my only worth
So let me embrace You always as I walk this earth



Thank you, Wonderful Savior.



Games of Catch in the Fall--Day 174/Day 0/Day 0/Day 12

We got home very late Saturday night and I hadn't posted earlier in the day, So officially, there was no post on Saturday. I don't remember opening up the Bible either, which is unfortunate, since it was Saturday and I had plenty of time to do so. Colton and I played catch for quite a while. After playing for a while, he said we'd finish by both making 10 catches. I caught my 10th and it was up to him. He decided he wanted to keep playing because as the ball made it to him, he swatted it out of the air. We made it to six or seven a few times after that. Sometimes no more than two or three in a row. Finally, he made his 10th catch and it was up to me. I decided we weren't done yet and swatted it out of the air. We were both a little tired by then, but made it up to 15 each after that.

We went to Jane and Mike's to play some poker at around 7:30. We decided to pay the top four and I made it to second place out of 14. Technically, I could've gotten first, but Bill had a huge chip lead and was kind enough to split it $60/$50 so we could get another game going. It was 10:00 by this time and I asked Gabrielle and Colton if they wanted to stay a while longer while we played again or if they wanted to go. They said they wanted to stay so we did. I feel that was a mistake. Sure, we don't get time out with friends much, but we could've gone home and watched a movie together or something with the time we spent playing cards and leaving the kids to fend for themselves. I ended up with third out of 14 and, fortunately, they had decided to pay out only three places this time. I was fairly lucky all night. By the time we were done it was 1:00. Colton was sleeping, Gabrielle was almost there and I had put Noah to bed soon after the second game started. We had to get them all up to step into the cold night to go home. That's when I shook my head and realized this may have been a bad idea to stay. Fortunately, we got to put the clocks back an hour and we got enough sleep to plan to get up for Sunday School the next morning.