Friends

I have to say this is a special season for me.  I am quite often overwhelmed at the enormity of what I am taking on at this time in my life.  I have three children 5 years and under, I am running a business as a sole proprietor, and planting a church in an area where it is far more than frowned upon.  Every area of my life is challenged and I have to be engaged completely or else suffer the consequences.  It is what I call a stretching season.  No, I am not doing yoga, I am talking about my inside.  The good thing I have learned in the last 10 years of my life is that when I allow the stretching, my capacity increases.  I think this season makes or breaks many people, marriages and families.  Right now most of my friends are in the same stage with young children.  I can also say that 9 out of 10 of my friends come from broken families as I did.  When I look at them and how they are raising their children and investing in their marriage, it really makes me feel good.  I can also say that 10 out of 10 are committed to keeping there families together at all costs.  I just hosted several couples at a vacation spot in Hood River that I rented for our vacation.  We wanted to share this beautiful place with them so we had a fat barbeque to kick off our vacation.  You know, our time together is definitely different than it used to be (prekids).  Most of our time is spent keeping our kids alive, comforting the scrapes and collisions, changing diapers, training and discipline.  I have a deep sense of pride when I think about my friends.  It actually lessens the pain of my own youth when I see men my age loving their children and wives.  It means even more to me when they are gutting the whole thing out without the backdrop of a committed family.  I have to say I am surrounded by incredible men, all struggling in different areas of life, but fighting for the right things.   It is amazing to hear how a father asked the Lord and his son for forgiveness when he missed the mark on any certain area.  I really believe God honors that and we are going to see a turn in our culture.  There is a generation of men coming, and I know they will impact the nation in a positive way.  How do I know?  I just look at my friends.  

 

Gelatin rainbow

Ah, simple pleasures. My beautiful wife concocted this eye candy for us yesterday. I don’t know about you, but I love the simple things in life. How do you eat your Jell-o? Me, I swish it in between my teeth until it becomes juice, and it reminds me of Kool-Aid. What is it with these hyphenated foods? Sure, they are %100 health free, but they also provide some of the simple pleasures of life. Anyways, just a reminder to take in the moments that we can so easily miss.

 

Handywhoo?

I am not a handyman.  I bought a my first house 3.5 years ago.  Bad combo.  Can anyone say learning curve?  The only thing I knew how to do growing up was assemble my skateboard.  I can’t describe how frustrating it was to have to call a friend over because I had a breaker go out and I can’t get my electricity back on.  Duh.  When we moved into our first home, my wife was in the hospital with our second child, and I was working 2 full time jobs.  Soon after followed our third, a daughter.  Now I am working 75+ hours a week, parenting 3 children and wouldn’t you know it, my house needs some repairs!  Well I can reflect now with some dignity and self respect.  I have successfully repaired my sprinkler system, changed toilets, sinks, a garbage disposal and water heater and the list goes on.  Of course many times I had friends helping me, but I learned something in the process.  All I needed was a small ember of confidence and I could start to see how to do this stuff.  I have incredible friends.  They have never made me feel stupid, I took care of that myself.  But a little help really does go a long way.  I started taking on things on my own, and succeeding!  I wouldn’t quite go so far as calling myself a handyman, but at least I have a clue now. 

 

Wondered?

I have always been intrigued by the movie “The Matrix” because I have always been one of those people who explored alternative philosophies and realities.  I have to say I paid a high price for it, because curiosity can catch up to you if it doesn’t have clear parameters.  The idea that maybe I didn’t “get it” and there was some truth or reality I was missing out on drove me nuts on many an occasion.  I was a soul chemist.  I never knew the outcome, but couldn’t resist the next concoction’s promise of something new!  I watched some around me get more experimental than I, and consequently had some disastrous results.  This did temper my thirst, but mainly took some of the chemicals out of my quest for the ultimate reality.  After a good 23 years of searching, something, rather someone found me.  For me it was the ultimate matrix moment, but it was the reverse.  I realized that all of my journeying had been done inside the matrix.  I thought I was in alternative universes, but ultimately I was fooling myself.  When I came out of the matrix, I found myself in a beautiful place, not a gray tasteless world.  I wasn’t eating mush, it was a veritable feast.  I make regular trips back into the matrix with purpose, but with a completely different identity.  When I leave the matrix I find that I have a vast place to occupy and it will literally take forever to fully assimilate the incredible place I have found.  I am so glad I don’t have to play games with my life anymore.