Corn hole Queens!
Enjoying the games!
Ice Cream Cake, MMMMM Good!
Thanks for the great evening and hope we can do it again,
Unrelated to this, but the answer to last week's poll question was 1923.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Couple's Get-together
We had a couples night out at our church and six couples were able to make it. We had a perfect evening after the storms had passed. The food was great and the games were fun. Of course the ladies had to have a little party since it was my birthday.
Corn hole Queens!
Enjoying the games!
Ice Cream Cake, MMMMM Good!
Thanks for the great evening and hope we can do it again,
Unrelated to this, but the answer to last week's poll question was 1923.
Corn hole Queens!
Enjoying the games!
Ice Cream Cake, MMMMM Good!
Thanks for the great evening and hope we can do it again,
Unrelated to this, but the answer to last week's poll question was 1923.
Sunday Musings
Another birthday has come and gone, June 28th. My mom tells me I was born that day and a piece of paper she has confirms it, I don't remember a thing. Isn't it so gracious of God to keep that particular moment of our life from our memory. Wow, 38 years. It is hard to imagine that - really, and I am not even old.
I do remember a lot of things though. I remember my first new bike at Mowersville. I remember wrecking more than once on that bike and have the scars to prove it. I remember Bible School and sending off balloons and the big tent and all the kids. I remember when Dad brought home the new "rabbit" for the family. I remember cutting trails on the hillside as a young boy and receiving stern correction for that one.
I remember moving to Roseglen and setting up in a new house. I remember the tornado that came through. I remember being scared to go to the church at night because I was certain someone was hiding out in the basement. I remember going hunting for the first time and eventually shooting my first buck. I remember walking in the footsteps of my Dad. I remember the green mustang. I remember the long journey to school. I remember going to camp.
I remember Pleasant Valley and another new house. The big yard. Getting my first dog. Getting my driver's license. Driving. Wrecking again! Thankfully no scars. Going on my first date. Graduation. Going to college. Tears. Decisions. Confusion. Tears. Finally another graduation!
Ah, then marriage! What a day! She was sick I was scared. What a time. Honeymoon!!
Living with your best friend and learning together. Jobs. I remember all those things, not like my wife does, but I remember. Children, notice that is plural! All of thirteen minutes we had a child. And then more children. Their births were beautiful and I was there for all five! What a great memory!
Mistakes!! Mistakes!! Mistakes!! Yeah, I remember them as well. In living color with all too many instant replays! But isn't it wonderful, that just like I don't remember my birth, at the time of my new birth, God graciously forgets as well. All those mistakes that I still remember, He can't remember!
And so 38 years have now passed plus one day. I hope to live another 38 plus more. I hope to have a lot more memories. I hope to forget my mistakes. I hope that I never lose my memory and always have a clear mind. I hope to meet on heaven's shore where God forgets my sin but always remembers His child. And as the songwriter stated, "Life is great, and getting better!" And that my friend is "Just another typical day in the life of a child of God."
I do remember a lot of things though. I remember my first new bike at Mowersville. I remember wrecking more than once on that bike and have the scars to prove it. I remember Bible School and sending off balloons and the big tent and all the kids. I remember when Dad brought home the new "rabbit" for the family. I remember cutting trails on the hillside as a young boy and receiving stern correction for that one.
I remember moving to Roseglen and setting up in a new house. I remember the tornado that came through. I remember being scared to go to the church at night because I was certain someone was hiding out in the basement. I remember going hunting for the first time and eventually shooting my first buck. I remember walking in the footsteps of my Dad. I remember the green mustang. I remember the long journey to school. I remember going to camp.
I remember Pleasant Valley and another new house. The big yard. Getting my first dog. Getting my driver's license. Driving. Wrecking again! Thankfully no scars. Going on my first date. Graduation. Going to college. Tears. Decisions. Confusion. Tears. Finally another graduation!
Ah, then marriage! What a day! She was sick I was scared. What a time. Honeymoon!!
Living with your best friend and learning together. Jobs. I remember all those things, not like my wife does, but I remember. Children, notice that is plural! All of thirteen minutes we had a child. And then more children. Their births were beautiful and I was there for all five! What a great memory!
Mistakes!! Mistakes!! Mistakes!! Yeah, I remember them as well. In living color with all too many instant replays! But isn't it wonderful, that just like I don't remember my birth, at the time of my new birth, God graciously forgets as well. All those mistakes that I still remember, He can't remember!
And so 38 years have now passed plus one day. I hope to live another 38 plus more. I hope to have a lot more memories. I hope to forget my mistakes. I hope that I never lose my memory and always have a clear mind. I hope to meet on heaven's shore where God forgets my sin but always remembers His child. And as the songwriter stated, "Life is great, and getting better!" And that my friend is "Just another typical day in the life of a child of God."
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Jam Up!
Not to be outdone by fellow bloggers, Marsha's extremely competive "I must Win at any cost" attitude came out, and her strawberry-picking hands went crazy. If I am not
mistaken, she did all this in under 4 hours, give or take about 3 hours either way. This was all done over an open fire in the backyard after cutting down the neighbor's tree to make the fire.
See how exciting this is! Notice the fire.
Brittany faithfully helping.
Pouring out the sticky red hot stuff!
Watching intently.
Counting the final tally. (What does the Bible say
about storing up treasure on earth?)
Just flat worn out because of their hard labor!
mistaken, she did all this in under 4 hours, give or take about 3 hours either way. This was all done over an open fire in the backyard after cutting down the neighbor's tree to make the fire.
See how exciting this is! Notice the fire.
Brittany faithfully helping.
Pouring out the sticky red hot stuff!
Watching intently.
Counting the final tally. (What does the Bible say
about storing up treasure on earth?)
Just flat worn out because of their hard labor!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sunday Musings
My wife and I were scheduled to sing Sunday morning for Worship service at our church, and as usual, we were having our typical Saturday night fight over what we should sing. It goes something like this:
Marsha says, "Do you have a song you would like to sing?"
"No, why?"
"Because we are supposed to sing tomorrow!"
"Oh really? You had a week to pick out a song, what is your problem."
"Well I thought you should pick the song this time."
"Well I don't, so go pick one!"
"What do think God would want us to sing?"
"I don't know, He seems to be talking to you at this moment."
"You always make me pick the song."
"I know because you never like my suggestions and you play the piano."
"Honey, go pick a song! NOW!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
(It is always best to fight before you sing rather than while singing, it is more spiritual.)
Anyway, I went over to the table to begin looking for a song. She had brought home a bunch of song books from church so I could find one. Thus began my search for a song as she spiritually began to view blogs and pray for all the families. (Blogs are now our prayer lists!)
We had old songs and new songs and songs I had never heard before in my life. It was interesting going through and seeing how many of the songs I knew. I would start singing the first few lines of the song until I came across another song I knew, then I would begin on that one. (You would have to be here.) Songs like, "Sweet Beulah Land," "When He was on the Cross," "I Dreamed of a City called Glory," "Blessed Assurance," and many others. After about thirty minutes of this, my kids were tired of hearing me and begged mom to stop praying over blogs and start practicing!
You are not going to believe this, after all my searching, she got up, walked to the piano, and said, "Why don't we try this, "One Scarred Hand." You have got to be kidding me! I had just spent over thirty minutes looking for a song and sure enough, she already had one picked out! She even had the music out ready to go. See if I ever look for a song again.
Well, we sang this morning and it went well, except for the one place where she tried to change keys in the middle of the verse. I believe she was praying for a blogger there and forgot what she was doing. I did find out some interesting trivia while looking for songs but for readers like Janella, you will have to come to the blog to view the poll question.
So there you have it, the family battle that is waged every time we are asked to sing. Please pray for us when you read our blog (its the spiritual thing to do) so that it does not get any uglier for us in the future.
Marsha says, "Do you have a song you would like to sing?"
"No, why?"
"Because we are supposed to sing tomorrow!"
"Oh really? You had a week to pick out a song, what is your problem."
"Well I thought you should pick the song this time."
"Well I don't, so go pick one!"
"What do think God would want us to sing?"
"I don't know, He seems to be talking to you at this moment."
"You always make me pick the song."
"I know because you never like my suggestions and you play the piano."
"Honey, go pick a song! NOW!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
(It is always best to fight before you sing rather than while singing, it is more spiritual.)
Anyway, I went over to the table to begin looking for a song. She had brought home a bunch of song books from church so I could find one. Thus began my search for a song as she spiritually began to view blogs and pray for all the families. (Blogs are now our prayer lists!)
We had old songs and new songs and songs I had never heard before in my life. It was interesting going through and seeing how many of the songs I knew. I would start singing the first few lines of the song until I came across another song I knew, then I would begin on that one. (You would have to be here.) Songs like, "Sweet Beulah Land," "When He was on the Cross," "I Dreamed of a City called Glory," "Blessed Assurance," and many others. After about thirty minutes of this, my kids were tired of hearing me and begged mom to stop praying over blogs and start practicing!
You are not going to believe this, after all my searching, she got up, walked to the piano, and said, "Why don't we try this, "One Scarred Hand." You have got to be kidding me! I had just spent over thirty minutes looking for a song and sure enough, she already had one picked out! She even had the music out ready to go. See if I ever look for a song again.
Well, we sang this morning and it went well, except for the one place where she tried to change keys in the middle of the verse. I believe she was praying for a blogger there and forgot what she was doing. I did find out some interesting trivia while looking for songs but for readers like Janella, you will have to come to the blog to view the poll question.
So there you have it, the family battle that is waged every time we are asked to sing. Please pray for us when you read our blog (its the spiritual thing to do) so that it does not get any uglier for us in the future.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Saturday Evening at the Columbus Clippers
Several families from the church went down to Columbus
to enjoy the Clippers baseball game Saturday evening. It was
a beautiful night to sit in the stands and just enjoy the action.
to enjoy the Clippers baseball game Saturday evening. It was
a beautiful night to sit in the stands and just enjoy the action.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sunday Musings
Happy Father's Day! Fathers, they come a dime a dozen. They are everywhere! You can't go out and not see one - at the mall, the ballpark, the restaurant. They come in all shapes and sizes, in all colors and creeds. We are all here because of a father. Unfortunately on this great day, there are so many children, or for that matter, grown adults, who have no idea who their father is or where he may be. They were conceived in a moment of "passion" and later brought in to this wonderful world, but from that point on, there has been no father. There has been an empty place in their life that has never been filled. What a sad commentary it is, and yet this story is repeated over and over and Father's Day only brings sadness and empty memories. Father's Day is special, but Father's are so much more than a moment in time or a day of the year, for any man can be a Father, but it takes someone special to become a DAD every day of the year!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Marion Mayhem
Stanley Jackson is the Quarterback for the Marion Mayhem Indoor Football team. He was a quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes and also played professionally in the Canadian Football League. He stops in at the dealership where I work occasionally and it just so happened he stopped by Saturday afternoon which happened to be the final home game for the Mayhem. I asked him if he could get me some tickets and he said he could for which I was grateful. So that evening I took the five kids to the game while Marsha stayed home and was able to relax. (I hope I got huge brownie points for that one.) So here are some pictures of our evening together:
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Sunday Musings
Recently my wife and I were discussing Trenton's seizures with a close friend of ours. Seizures are something that can cause fear in many individuals because of the uncertainty of what could occur or what will occur. Let there be no doubt, when our lil' guy first had seizures at the age of two, we were frightened and concerned as all parents would be. There were many anxious hours at the hospital trying to discover what was going on. There was this deep hole of hopelessness learning that there was not a lot we could do except make him as comfortable as possible.
So over the course of five years, you become accustomed to seizures. It is something that happens. Do we like them any more today as back then, absolutely not. Our other children all quickly recognize the signs and simply say, "Trenton's having a seizure," and we go and check that he is ok. There is nothing to do except make sure that he will not harm himself and help him when it is over. They are a part of our life now.
Now let me get back to where I started about the discussion with our friend. The comment was made along this line, "I'm not sure if I could do it." My response, "Sure you could!" Here is what my wife and I have discovered. When Trenton was having his first seizure and during every one since, though we were at a loss, something took over - Love. He's ours! We love him deeply! Love doesn't look at the seizure, love sees our little boy!
Every time we make our way to Children's hospital for another procedure, we see parent upon parent with children who are in much worse condition than Trenton, and you know how they make it, Love, that's how. I look at them and I begin to say, "Wow, how do you do it?" And suddenly I see it, it's in their eyes and being expressed to their little one - Love.
Just like God's love can cover a multitude of sins, our love covers a multitude of seizures, no matter how many. See, he is our boy and in our eyes he is perfect. And thankfully in God's eyes we are perfect as well because we are His children and He loves us with an even greater love. When I publish a post like the prior one, don't feel sorry for us, we love our little boy! As I watched my two boys walk out of that hospital, they were both my boys and I was proud, one with seizures, one without. Do I love them differently, no way! There my boys and I love them!
So over the course of five years, you become accustomed to seizures. It is something that happens. Do we like them any more today as back then, absolutely not. Our other children all quickly recognize the signs and simply say, "Trenton's having a seizure," and we go and check that he is ok. There is nothing to do except make sure that he will not harm himself and help him when it is over. They are a part of our life now.
Now let me get back to where I started about the discussion with our friend. The comment was made along this line, "I'm not sure if I could do it." My response, "Sure you could!" Here is what my wife and I have discovered. When Trenton was having his first seizure and during every one since, though we were at a loss, something took over - Love. He's ours! We love him deeply! Love doesn't look at the seizure, love sees our little boy!
Every time we make our way to Children's hospital for another procedure, we see parent upon parent with children who are in much worse condition than Trenton, and you know how they make it, Love, that's how. I look at them and I begin to say, "Wow, how do you do it?" And suddenly I see it, it's in their eyes and being expressed to their little one - Love.
Just like God's love can cover a multitude of sins, our love covers a multitude of seizures, no matter how many. See, he is our boy and in our eyes he is perfect. And thankfully in God's eyes we are perfect as well because we are His children and He loves us with an even greater love. When I publish a post like the prior one, don't feel sorry for us, we love our little boy! As I watched my two boys walk out of that hospital, they were both my boys and I was proud, one with seizures, one without. Do I love them differently, no way! There my boys and I love them!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Trenton
Waiting for the doctor to see if they can
correct his red eyes - no, not really- They are checking
his brain activity for seizures through an EEG test.
Still waiting - "Big Foot, little foot..."
The procedure begins - you can see the marks on his head where
they will be sticking in a two inch needle -notice how still he
must lay!
Half finished - I was kidding about the needle part - no needles
at all! You can stop gritting your teeth now and relax, he is OK.
All diodes in place.
Head wrapped and the test about to begin. Thank the Lord
for TV (oops did I really say that). During this test there
are several parts -the scan, the stimulation, and the resting.
Obviously the stimulation is the hardest. At one point Trenton
was required to blow a pin wheel for about 3 to 5 minutes non-stop.
That is hard for me to do let alone a kid. But he did great, he blew
and blew and blew and did his best to keep that stupid little wheel
turning. Of course he had a huge seizure then - no he didn't, just
kidding.
Getting rid of the stuff.
Following the circles to get home. Big brother came for moral
support and to see what all happened to little brother. And
another trip to the Hospital is over. Thank the Lord for
His care over His little ones even when we don't know what to
do except love our little guy with all our big toes!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sunday Musings - Losing a Friend
I lost a friend this week. Did I want to lose a friend? No. But is a friend really a friend if he is not friendly in return. It was just a dog, but he was my friend. I liked him. I liked his wagging tail. I liked how he greeted me at the gate every time I came home no matter what the weather was like. Wagging. Big smile. I put up with his bad habits because I liked him. I liked how he barked and was a good watch dog.
But my friend did something I did not like. He did something that scared me. He did something that broke my trust. He did something that threatened something I loved.
There is a big separation between like and love. I was forced with a decision. Do I keep something I like or worry about something I love. See, I liked my dog, but I love my kids!
So why was the decision so difficult? Why did my own kids not want me to make this decision when it affected them directly? Why was the car trip so long? Why did I choke back a tear when I left and petted his big head for the last time with his tail wagging? He was my friend. I knew I was making the right decision, but why the anguish and hurt?
It was about this time God came and whispered to me, "Son, why do so many people hold on to what they like, knowing it is going to hurt the one they love?" I made a decision this week, I liked my dog, but I love my kids! I released what I liked so I could have what I loved.
What do you need to release that you like so you do not lose what you love?
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