Fatherhood...It really is tougher on the kids!

Springtime with a Senior in the house can only be described in one word...CHAOS! For this anal retentive dad, CHAOS is never welcome. Torrey is moving at the speed of light these days between school, two jobs, varsity golf, youth group, Campus Life, graduation preparations, and oh yes a girlfriend!

There are days that if we see him for 10 minutes we feel fortunate. Ten minutes of actual conversation is like finding GOLD! I was sharing with friends the other day that having an 18 year old in the house brings the full range of emotions from "I can't wait till your out of here!" to "I can't believe he's leaving us already". Part of God's beautiful design, I guess.

So I have a confession. We as parents (especially dad's) need to face up to the fact that we can make life tough on our kids. Expectations that are too high, words spoken without thought, but bottom line? WE are the cause of all their issues!

This picture will give you a clear picture of why our kids don't stand a chance! Remember, Laura is the one with the camera!

Bless your kids today with your own brand of dementia!

Jay

Gray T-shirts

Does your spouse have quirks? Are there things about him(or her) that just make you laugh? So here is the thing.....Jay has a "thing" for gray t-shirts! I mean like an obsession! He loves gray t-shirts. He wears one every night. Gray t-shirts make up his nite time sexy pj ensemble! It is just a quirky thing...

About six months ago he got online and ordered a dozen of his favorite brand of t-shirts, all in gray! He has an entire drawer of his dresser dedicated to gray t-shirts. It is a quirky thing.....

Last night, I was teasing him about the sexy gray t-shirt he had on. We had a good laugh about his obsession with gray t-shirts and then he made this statement, " When I find some thing I like I stick with it". I laughed for a moment and then it hit me. He may be quirky, yet his statement is what marriage is all about.

When you find someone you like you stick with them. When you first fall in love, you get that ooey gooey liver quiver in your stomach every time you look at the one you love. Time passes, circumstances change, kids come and go and that ooey gooey liver quiver may be less and less. Marriage is not built on the ooey gooey liver quiver. Marriage is built on "like". Finding your best friend, the one who laughs at your quirks, shares your pains, walks thru the storms and gets wet with you. When you find the one you like, you stick with them It may be a quirky thing....

I love technology!

Okay so I know that some of you out there think that all this technology is making us distant and non-communicative. I have heard some say that we are creating a society that isolates itself. Well I disagree!

Over the last year, I have connected with old friends from high school and college. I have made new friends all across the country. For years, we have had thousands of folks come to our conferences and for years, I could not have told you their names nor could I have picked them out of a crowd! NOW...because of Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, I am having a blast getting to know them and making new friends.

I think technology can be what you make it! You can either embrace it and learn from it or you can bury your head in the sand and never use it. You choose. But I will tell you this, I think that Facebook, Twitter, blogging,Skype and texting are simply tools we can use to continue to build relationships across geographical boundaries.

Hey, for all you out there reading this..if you are embracing technology, find me on Facebook or Twitter! Talk at you soon!

Laura

If you value freedom, watch this!

Amazing take on our country

A friendship poem for men! From Mikey's Funnies

Are you tired of those Sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality?

Well, let's try this my way...just the stone cold truth about great friendship.

1. When you are sad, I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!

2. When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile, I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared, we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

6. When you are confused, I will use little words.

7. When you are sick, stay away from me until you are well again...I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall, I'll pick you up and dust you off--After I laugh my head off!

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end.

'Why?' you may ask...because you are my FRIEND!

[forwarded by Kevin Miller]

today'sTHOT============================

When times are tough, you know what you can ALWAYS count on? Your fingers.

HE is Risen!

HE is Risen INDEED!

Food for thought!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get
tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs
covered with bright colored lead-based paints..

We had no child proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we
took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE
actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with
sugar, but we weren't overweight because,

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back
when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ridedown the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all,no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chatrooms.......

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us
forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and
tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang
the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't
had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They
actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers
and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we
learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow
up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of
our lives for our own good .

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how
brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The
quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another,and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

We're back!

What an amazing 10 days! It would be very difficult to put into one blog posting! So be prepared...it will be the subject of many blogs to come!:-)

I do not know how many of you have read the book, The Shack, but Jay and I have read it several times now. In the book, the character ascribed to God is Papa. Papa is an African woman. We met Papa in Africa! Her name is Hilda.

Hilda shared her story with us... She shared with passion and faith in the God she loves and serves! She lost her husband to HIV and has four children. She volunteers in the Compassion project chairing the committee that assists in HIV education and positive living for those who are infected with this terrible disease. She is an amazing woman. As she shared her story with us, Jay simply raised his hand and asked her how we could pray for her, specifically. Her response was this...."simply mention my name, He knows me, and He knows my needs."

WOW!!!! Can we all say this? Do we approach the throne of God with a "wish list"? I know that I do! This woman who lives in a slum and works with men, women, and children infected with HIV everyday, does not offer a wish list, but knows that God will do exactly what needs to be done to meet her needs each and every day.

Walk today believing that the God of Heaven and Earth will meet you on the journey and take care of your needs in ways that you will never be able to imagine!