2am

For just about everyone this will not come as a surprise, but, I am officially old. This isn't the first time I have said this, I am sure...., and it certainly won't be the last. So, maybe it would be more apropos to say "I am officially old, again." Right? Cause I will get to be reminded of my aging in various capacities for the rest of my life. This one? Kristen had her wine and cheese party last night and I watched all three boys for several hours. No problem...brought them home, got them ready for bed and into bed...no problem. Stayed up talking until 1:30 or so and had to get up for 9:00am service at church....PROBLEM. Not that I didn't enjoy the conversation or that I wouldn't do it again, but I definitely felt like I needed the nap I took today and I still don't feel all the way back to myself.

Investing in others

This topic has been on my mind lately and it came to me again yesterday when I was driving between offices and I heard this song...



One of the lines in the song says...and I became a friend a friend would like to have....
It got me thinking...with how busy I am with work, family and church, do I do a good job of investing in my friends? Giving them time, following up on stuff in their lives and praying for them on a regular basis are all things I could do better. After all, relationships, friendships, the experiences you have with people will matter way more than how your career went and what your house looks like. Like most of the rest of us (probably..), I will always need to keep tweaking my priorities to make sure that where I spend my time and energy aligns with where I want my investments in this life to be.

"Special"

My wife started an interesting incentive program for Jaden and Jacob a little while back. On a given day, the boys can earn a "special" through good behavior over the course of the day. If they start to have problems, she can remind them that they will lose their "special" if they don't correct themselves. Our kids are into the Matchbox cars, so, she procured a box of these with around 100 cars that we can take out and give to them on these various days. Overall it works pretty well, but considering we have almost 100 cars to go, and I don't like giving them more than 1 day a week where they can earn them, that is many weeks of cars in inventory. I hope that they will continue wanting their "special" car a long time.

Latest Book

I just finished up this book yesterday and it was a really good read. Mark Batterson is the senior pastor at a church in DC. I go online and check out his sermons every once in a while because I really enjoy the passion he has and the way he communicates. Since I was enjoying his sermons, I thought I would read his book. You can read my review by clicking the link below in my "Books I have read recently" list below...but in short it was pretty awesome.

Maybe I am just in the right place to read something that made me get a little "jazzed" up for God and life in general, but I guess I would hope that anybody with breath to draw would ultimately be in a place where they are ready to get "jazzed".

If Mark can find a small passage like 2 Samuel 23:20 and make a book out of it...imagine how much the whole Bible really has to offer?

2 Samuel 23:20 (NIV)
20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

Rambling.....

My wife told me that I rambled a bit in my last post and the more I read it...the more she was right :)
Even with editing features in this stuff, you won't always get it right. Usually simple is best. I'll leave it at that for today.

Becoming more childlike

So, one of the things that has always driven my wife crazy is the way the kids scream around the house yelling "Daddy!" and then jump into my arms when I get home from being at work for the day. It is also one of the things that makes me smile the biggest.

For her, and rightly so, she says "How come they are so excited to see you and love on you? Where was the love, joy and happiness for me as I took care of them all day?"

For me, how can you not love your kids giving you that kind of joy?

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

So, we should embrace their joy and excitement. Not only embrace it, but change to become more like that ourselves.

We should do this daily and with intentionality.

For now, I fail at this more days than I am successful (ask my wife)(and it is especially hard for me because I am the only night owl in the family with a bunch of early risers.) But I am trying.

So, each morning I am trying to wake up with the right frame of mind...because it is easy to start the day with some negative thing immediately getting the best of me and if I succumb to that temptation, any chance of having childlike joy to start the day can easily go right out the window.

That is one side of this, but I think my wife has a point too that shouldn't be lost because I think she has given me a totally different perspective of their excitement:

She is always around, always caring for the boys and as such, the boys don't tend to give her that same joy and excitement. It's nothing new that mom is there...she is always there. Her presence is taken advantage of. (every mom out there insert your amen here)

That is where I tend to fall down in my excitement and joy with God too. He is always there, always taking care of me....so I tend to take advantage of that fact; much as my boys do with their mom. As they grow, they will appreciate her more and more. I am hoping for the same growth too.

An interesting story?

The saying goes, "If you wrote your life's story, would anyone want to read it?"

How would you answer that?

That question got me thinking a bit after I read a pastor's goal list that included a goal for himself to write his autobiography for his grandchildren. He has gone out and visited other countries, planted a church, written books. Pretty good start I would think.

I would like to think my story is just starting, but you never know how much time you have...but I would really like to have a story that people want to read.

Jude sitting

Just wanted to share a quick photo. Jude is sitting in his Bumpo. Isn't he cute?

Jason Moffitt

Kristen's birthday present

This is what I spent my time on today. She is now waiting for me to call the cable company to get the cable hookup enabled. I may not be a great handyman, but, I gave it a go and it seems to look pretty good. Will have to see if Kristen really is able to get more cooking done now and is able to watch the news like she expects.

Confidence

"Recession proof jobs"
"Housing woes crunching retirement"
These and other headlines have been the topic du jour of late. I can understand why, as we have all been impacted in some fashion by our stalled economy. However, it emphasizes that much more the difference between those of us that trust in the Lord and those that do not. He will provide. I may have lost value in my home and my 401k is going in the wrong direction...not great things...and even worse with three young kids and a wife at home. But I will not just endure; I will prevail as long as I keep focused on the right metric, which is how closely I am walking with God.