Obviously I am not a very good blogger! I was looking at my last posting and can’t believe it has been eight months since my last. Time really does fly when you are having fun. I finally took a whole week of vacation for the first time in nine years. It would figure that I would wait until now to make another blog posting.
This week has been a busy one so far and judging by the weekend that we have coming up, it is only going to get worse. We always have a big blowout every year for our daughter Hannah for her birthday. She is turning four this year and we are so excited to have our family over to celebrate her birthday. I have been doing a lot of work outside this year that I have been putting off for the last three. It has been so bad that even the neighbors have noticed. In fact, our one neighbor even asked if we were getting ready to sell our house! I guess home improvements are not only good for making yourself feel better about your home's appearence but also to make the neighbors a little nervous!
With all of the chaos of the week, we wanted to make this birthday a little more special for Hannah. It has been a rough year for her and besides, it is her birthday not ours. We decided to take her to the Indiana Dunes. We thought she would really like it even though she is not a big fan of water yet, we knew that she would love the sand. I am not a very good traveler. I am always worried something is going to catch fire at home or we are going to get robbed or something along that idea. You know, the stuff that you have all the control over! The night before we were to leave, I noticed that one of the tires on the car was low. I checked it and sure enough it was eighteen pounds low, which means about half flat! It was no big deal, we got the tire fixed and were only about two hours behind schedule.
Hannah was getting tired. Of course, so was I!
The drive was uneventful and before we knew it, we were at the Dunes. I had not been there since I was a kid and forgot how beautiful it was. As we walked up to the beach and I saw all of that blue water and felt that cool lake breeze hit me right in the face, I just stood there dumbfounded. As I stood there looking at all of that beauty, God tapped me on the shoulder like he does so many times in our lives and reminded me that there is more to life than jobs, money, impressing others and the general stuff that we waist so much time trying to get. He really opened my eyes that day. Kim and I were more excited to be there than Hannah. The waves were really bad for some reason and the lifeguards cautioned everybody to only go out waist deep. We sat right sat down in the shallow surf and let the waves hit us and knock us around. It was so much fun. Hannah sat on the beach and played with her bucket of toys and had a blast herself. Amidst all of that fun, I could not shake the feeling of how lucky my family and I truly are. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for God’s blessings on our family. We have been very blessed but sometimes you need that kick in the pants to remind you just how much you really take for granted.
It was the perfect weather for a perfect day.
My mom and I were talking here recently and she said something that really stuck out in my mind. She said simply, “God is rarely early but never late.” Just because you are not where you think you need to be doesn’t mean that you are not where God wants you. I think that we as humans are always looking for the next big thing. Once one goal is achieved we often jump right to the next big thing and so on and so forth.
I have been looking forward to this weekend all year. I love getting family together and sharing good food and good stories. Another special part of this weekend is we get to play host to Kim’s cousin (or sister as they refer to each other) and her family. That is always a blast because we only get to see them so many times a year. Kim and her cousin are really close and I get along really well with her husband. Brandon and I have started a tradition of staying up to about two in the morning around our fire ring in the back yard. It seems stupid but we always have the best time discussing solutions to world’s problems. By the way, we should run for office! He can do the lawyering and I can come up with all the good ideas!
I keep stealing Dawn's pictues. Sorry Dawn!
I guess what I am trying to do and am not doing a very good job of, is to encourage those of you who choose to read my long winded rhetoric! I have seen prayers answered this year. I was watching John Hagee a while back and he was talking about that God has three answers to prayer,
1. No. God sometimes tells us no. He always knows what is best for us whether we like it or not.
2. Wait. This generally means that the timing is not quite right.
3. Go. This means that your prayer has been answered, now it is time for the rubber to meet the road.
I have witnessed all of these answers this year. Some for me, some for others. The major thing that sticks out in my mind this year is simply that God is in control. Even though it might seem that things are spinning out of control, God is still there to catch us. Sometimes it might not seem like it, but he is. Whatever you are doing or wherever you are, just remember these three things,
- God loves you.
- No matter what the situation, it is temporary. The only thing certain in life is that it is going to change.
- There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks for reading and I promise to stay on this better in the future!
Isaiah 45:2-6 (NIV)
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains[a];
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
