Mommy's Home!!!

That's right - I got a phone call at around 2pm saying Tammy was at the airport in Chicago safe and sound. They're taking the GCC buses back to the church so we'll meet her there for church at 5:30. We can't wait to see her...

While the Cat's Away

I've developed a defense mechanism for boredom and loneliness while the Mrs. is away. From the picture above you've already guessed what it is - movies. There's just something about a 2hr flick that passes the time... And with my laptop at my side it's amazing how much work I can get done too! One of those "killing 2 birds with one stone" type of things I guess...

This week I sorta went nuts with the Hollywood Video card as the list below shows. You'll also notice a theme - they're all movies Tammy will be mad at me for renting because she was dying to see them (NOT!). Actually, they're all movies that have chase scenes, explosions, fighting and stuff like that... (my rating in parentheses out of 4 stars)

• Swordfish (** blah, blah, blah...)
• XXX [State of the Union] (* bad, bad, bad...)
• Ballistic [Ecks vs. Sever] (*** for the constant look of anger on Luci Liu's face...)
• 7 Seconds (** too predictable...)
• Out of Time (**** for Eva Mendes...)
• The Punisher (*** for Travolta playing the mob lord...)
• Red Planet (* yeah right - like you could breathe on Mars...)

I must say this list is not a very good representation of my taste in movies. I'm more the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Matrix kinda guy. But good flicks appear to be few and far between lately. So this is what I had to choose from in the "Guy Movie" category...

Back to Reality...

With Tammy being away in Mexico, the kids have had to adjust to a number of different situations this week. Here's the breakdown:

• I spent the first weekend with the kids.
• Aunt Lori, Cheyenne and Tanner stayed Sunday night and watched the kids on Monday.
• Monday night the kids went to the Callenders' house to spend two nights/three days with their best friends.
• Wednesday night (tonight) I got the kids back and will be with them for the rest of the week.

It was an interesting couple days being at home with no wife and no kids. Some guys might view this as the perfect scenario, but I was literally trying to find things to do to keep my mind off the fact that I was alone in the house...

It was such a good feeling to get the kids back, hold them, read bedtime stories and know that when I wake up in the morning it will be to the sound of either crying or girls asking, "Daddy can we get out of bed?"

There's Danger in Comfort

I was on my way to work this morning when I heard this guy on the radio say the following: "The greatest danger we face here on earth is feeling comfortable being here on earth."

This peaked my interest and got me thinking in two different directions. First, I understand the statement to suggest that we should not get overly comfortable with life on this planet. The whole "this world is not our home" statement comes to mind. After all, we were created to be in direct contact with God. I mean face-to-face contact as it was in the beginning. Our current condition is far from ideal and much less than was intended. For us to view earth in it's fallen condition as our highest ambition is to lose sight of the incredible possibilities that exist for humans choosing God over Satan.

But the second direction I headed was to figure out what it would look like to feel comfort on this fallen planet in the first place. I mean how does one become comfortable?

On the one hand it's probably values based - shifting your morals/values to match those of the world - thereby creating a more "harmonious" existence. But there's also a good chance that comfort includes societies definition of success which tends to be fame, status, wealth, nice cars, big houses, exotic vacations, expensive toys, etc.

And this is where I began to get very uncomfortable. Not because I feel I've become comfortable with my existence on earth, but because I am highly focused on being comfortable while here on earth. Not the same thing, but I'm convinced that it is equally dangerous to the Christian.

Far too often I find myself concerned about our financial success, the less-than-new condition of our cars or our home, the stress I feel at work and our inability to take long weekends or regular vacations. I struggle with selfish strivings to avoid pain, discomfort and unpleasantries. I'm too familiar with what others have and what I do not. I allow my emotional well being to sway depending on some or all of these variables. And I know my spiritual health has suffered because I've allowed my focus to be on "earth (temporal) comfort" instead of "heaven (eternal) comfort".

I assume this is part of the human condition - the struggle of every Christian when confronted with uncertainty, failure, discomfort, pain, poverty, disease or other difficulty. So starting today I will try to get serious about this and focus on the following:

May we hold fast to the One holding us - and take comfort in this first and foremost.

Bedwetting & Dishwashers

They say every day is an experience and I won't argue after this morning. Dr. Phil phrases it this way: You create your own experience... And while I had little control over either happening, I had total control over my reaction to the situations (thereby defining the experience).

It started in the morning as the girls were getting out of bed. My youngest girl stated matter-of-factly, "Daddy, why is my bed wet?"

When I explained that she must have wet the bed, she looked at me quizzically and acknowledged it was possible... Since her pajamas and underwear were wet, I knew it was more like a certainty...

In a previous post I made some comment about no two kids being alike, and this was just one more confirmation of that. Allison used to scream for fear of reprisal when she wet the bed. Rachel is obviously a little less concerned...

The next thing to hit the fan today was the dishwasher depositing water on our kitchen floor. Not that big a deal since its water right? Wrong. When there is a cup of water just lying around on the floor, people tend to notice. Socks get wet, the floor gets slippery and after all it's just abnormal...

So I took it all apart just to find out that nothing appeared wrong with it. Reassembled it and fired it up. More water on the floor.

So my goal for today is to create my own experience. Smiles instead of sorrow, a grin instead of a groan and for crying out load finding the humor instead of looking for another flowery word to express your frustration...

From Michiana to Mexico

(Look for Monterrey, Mexico)

Well, Tammy left the house this morning at 7:00 AM sharp. The Ruths' were kind enough to stop by and pick her up on their way to GCC.

I went back to bed thinking I wouldn't hear from Tammy in a week, but unfortunately it was an hour or two later. Tammy called from I-80 just to let me know they had already faced their first snag: A blown tire on a bus that had just been checked thoroughly to ensure it was travel-worthy!

It appears Satan is not interested in the group getting to Mexico. Of course we know that Satan only attacks things he fears will turn others to God. So this should only strengthen the resolve of the team, and let them know they are doing God's will.

Pray for the team over the next week!

Home Sweet Home

It's hard finding stuff for the kids when you're on a trip. You can always do stuff like Princess coloring books or stuff that you could get in any Target store in the country, but what fun is that?

In Texas, the Armadillo is everywhere. For some reason they view it with higher esteem than it's real-life appearance would suggest. So I decided to get one for each of the girls (Tyler wouldn't really get it...). They loved them, and of course named them Cinderella and Sleaping Beauty respectively...

It's great to be home - away from the downright tedious and exhausting activities associated with traveling these days. From the photo to the left you can tell I was interested in documenting our difficulties - since we never had a flight that was on time...

Click on the picture to see UA Flight 544 being delayed to Chicago. Like I said, this was the normal routine for each of the four flights we took. Each were delayed and each took a little longer than expected if you know what I mean.

Just for kicks, here is a list of the positives and negatives from the trip:

Positive

Negative

Learning about the history of the corporation Being away from the chaos of the unit for a while Seeing another part of the country Spending time with other managers from work Being able to witness while on the trip Drove by Fellowship Church at least 4 times Being forced to realize just how much I miss my family when they are not around

All flights delayed Spending close to to two hours on the tarmac without moving Luggage misplaced - came on the next flight Problems with rental car - had to return the first one after being there one day Getting lost numerous times (I was driving...) Spending over eight hours per day sitting in a conference room (chairs were soft - but not soft enough) Much of the conference turned out to be for those in contract facilities instead of free standing hospitals (like ours) No wireless in the conference room 90 degrees and humid every day Fire alarm going off in hotel at 3 AM Trip to Dallas turned out to be very disappointing Being away from Tammy and the kids for so long

Caution! Contents are Extremely Hot...

Whenever you're away on vacation or business, you look for things that remind you of home. It just works that way. It grounds you and lets you know that even though this is a new experience fraught with uncertainty, life is still stable and will go on as usual.

Obviously Starbucks does that for me...

There's just something about seeing that circular logo with the familiar green words that sets my mind at ease. Anxieties cease and a sense of calm sets in.

Actually, that's pretty sad. But think about it. What it is it for you? What satisfies you during periods of stress, pain or uncertainty? Is it a beverage? Maybe a store or restaurant? Maybe it's a TV show or phone conversation with someone you love.

Better than all of the above (obviously) is the calm, stability, serenity and peace that can be found in time alone with the Creator. A verse out of the Bible, a quick prayer or a simply allowing you're mind to focus on the goodness of our God. Nothing compares to that.

Away on Business

This week I was "sent" to Texas to attend the leadership training at our National Support Center. Our trip has been the definition of Murphy's Law with late flights, pilots admitting to being tardy for work, luggage sent on different flights, lost in rental car, two hour wait on the tarmac, and the list just gets longer...

And for those of you who know me well, you'll feel the sarcasm when I say, "I'm enjoying the nice equatorial climate (90s and humid)."

We hope to drive into Dallas tomorrow to check out the place. But what I really wish is that I could be home in my own bed!

Pray for safe traveling and that Hurricane Emily stays off shore until we get off the ground!

PS - (added 7/20 @ 6:55 AM) A couple hours after I got to sleep last night the fire alarm went off in the hotel for over twenty minutes (sprinkler issues). Needless to say, at 3:00 AM it takes a while to realize it isn't your alarm. Of course after banging on the alarm to turn it off I must have changed the time, because the next morning when I got up and went down to eat breakfast - there was no breakfast. It was only 6:20 (while my room told me it was 7:20)...

Only 3 Days Left

I cannot believe it. I just counted how many days till I leave for Mexico and it is ONLY 3. It seems like forever ago that I found out that I was on the team that would be traveling to Mexico and here it is 3 days away. Last night we had our packing party at the church, where we packed all of the donations that we will be taking with us. It was so great to see a room full of students and parents getting ready for this trip.

Before we started packing the donations we had a cookout. I was sitting at a table with some adult leaders and some students and their parents eating away. As I was sitting there I overheard part of a conversation between a student and their parent and the way the parent talked to the student just rubbed me the wrong way. I found myself sitting there thinking how hard it must be for that student and then wondering will I ever talk to my children that way? My plan is to always treat my children with dignity and respect, but then you wonder maybe this parent had the same plan 10 years ago. What happened, what went wrong, how is life for them, what are their struggles? These are just a few of the questions I running through my head about this parent.

I may never know everything that these students are struggling with, but I do know that I cannot wait to have a full week to pour into the lives of these high school students. I also cannot wait to pour into the lives of the children that we will be working with in Mexico. I am SO excited, I cannot wait!

I do have to admit that I have a lot to do before I go. I am trying to get everything pretty much done before Friday so that we can have a family day before mom leaves for a week. The next few days may be crazy but I know it will all be worth it in the end.