Cheaters – tell me it isn’t so…

This is one of those – what would you do kinda questions.

Quick background – I saw a friend of our family yesterday having coffee in the AM with another women. He is married. It appeared as if she is also. I say hi. He introduces me to the young women as a friend and we chat a couple of minutes. Something doesn’t sit right with me, but I move on.

Today – I see him again with the same women. This time it appears as if they are leaving the coffee shop together (separate cars though). They do not see me. After watching from the coffee shop window, I see him lean into her car with the door open. Then a minute or so later he then closes the door and she rolls down the window. He leans in again and appears to give her a kiss. Following that, she takes off and he jumps into his car and leaves.

Ugh… this has put me in a weird position… should I talk with him? Not get involved? See if they go there again tomorrow? I heard a sermon the other day by Pete Wilson at Cross Point titled hope in your marriage – send that as a quick note? Send him a note to tell him I saw him.

This is really eating me up.

Soccer is a contact sport

 

So, here is my thought.  Once a person hits a certain age, say 40ish, you should not try and keep up with the younger generations (20ish).  For example – I love soccer.  I love to watch soccer…coach soccer, and play soccer.  The problem – my knees hate to play soccer.  

What do I do – play soccer and re-injure my knee. 

I rest it. 

I rest it some more. 

I head back out last night for some play against the young guys, that after a 4 month layover.  What happens – the knee holds up great but i get hit in the chest (red card if you ask me) – and now I have bruised ribs.  Recovery time – 3 to 4 weeks. 

No contact sports for me.

It is no fun getting older.

4 S’s that will carry you through your life

I have been listening to alot of podcast sermons lately, and the following came out of one of those podcast by Pete Wilson.  This isn’t exactly what Pete said, but it is what I pulled from it.  Pete said there is no magical formula to know what’s God will for your life, but if you do the following things you can’t go wrong… Simply but true.

• Seek scripture
• Speak to God
• Surround yourself with Christian community and others you want to be like (not just Christians).
• Surrender yourself

Alot of thinking lately is going on.  Alot of talking with God – or should I one way conversations with God.  Alot of stumbles.  It is hard to seperate my will from God’s will in my life.  It is hard to know when God is leading me and I am leading myself.  We all want what is best in our life – so does God.  The challenge we all face is to understand – when there are bad things going on in my life – and there will be bad things – God is using those things to better me.  Bad things that in my life that I learn to grow through.  I learn to trust Him more.  I learn to be less self-reliant.

Alot of rambles today…sorry about that.

Live life

This is just one of those stories that stirred me today. 

In case you didn’t hear the story (I just did – so if you have heard it you might think that I have been living under a rock or something)… on October 30, 2005, Kyle Lake, a pastor at University Baptist Church in Waco, TX was electrocuted while preparing to baptize someone in front of a congregation 800 people.  He left a wife and two children, one 5 and the other 3.  He died doing what he loved….serving Jesus and his people. 

Here is an excerpt from Kyle’s last sermon that was read at his funeral:

Live. And Live Well. BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now. On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE. Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.  If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well.

Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed. If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.

If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And Grieve well. At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.

And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.”

 I think that there are times that I really don’t live – I just kinda stumble along.  I don’t stop and looking around – to see what God has laid out for me today – to enjoy my life – my kids – my wife – my family and friends.   When tragedy hits, those are the times that we pay attention – why?  Why not pay attention while I am driving down the road with my windows down, playing a tune on my radio?  Why not when my wife and daughters are having dinner and just laughing about our day?

Pay attention.  Enjoy. Live.

What a weekend…

I am just sitting here and thinking this was a pretty good weekend.  I finally got to the honey-do-list.  I finally got to my list.  I got to see my daughter play a fantastic soccer game.  I got to smoke some chicken in my smoker – first time – fun time – good taste.  I got to spend some down time with family and friends.  I got to stop for a minute and think.  What came of that… life is good.  It may never be perfect, but life is good.

I am waiting for the spring time to fully appear so that I can work more outdoors.  So I can ride my bike more.  So I can sit on the deck and read a book.  So I can play with my family outdoors.  I am ready for it.

2008 – what a year.

Well, it is that time of year – that time when I look over 2008 and ponder the good, bad and at sometimes ugly.  With that in mind, following, in no particular order is my 2008:

 

So much has happened in 2008 – but first and foremost what stands out is the fact that my dad is a current cancer survivor after going through a regiment of cancer treatments that I know would have brought me to my knees.

 

2008 was a year that I started this blog as an emotional outlet.  It was a year that I started going to a bible study consistently.  It was a year that I took some steps forward in my faith.  It was a year that I took some steps back in my faith.  It was a year that I strived to listen when God was talking to me or through me.  It was a year that I lost a friend to cancer.  It was a year that I saw family and friends suffer – emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  It was a year that I saw friends rejoice with the adoption of their two kids.  It was a year that I did not hesitate talking about my faith – well for the most part anyway.  It was a year that I hesitated to talk about my faith with someone very dear to me – for fear of driving a wedge into a place where it would not come out.  It is a year that I have prayed more.  A year I have tried to enjoy life more.  A year that I tried to embrace my family and friends more.  It is a year that I finally got to go on an uninterrupted vacation.  It was a year that I saw my retirement plan plunge. 

 

2008 was an emotional roller coaster that forced me to grow up in a much different way that I thought I would.  It was a year that I saw my deficits more clearly.  It was a year that I questioned myself more…challenged myself more…turned to God more.  Run away more … and then return to His feet. 

 

2008 is almost over.  It feels like it just began.  2008 is one where God had to hold me up, and sometimes carry me, as the year moved along.  For that, thank you God.