Becoming a Missionary

I have had this thought developing in my head over the last few days. How would their life change if someone were called to be a missionary. What if when they got there, their missions organization required them to support themselves by taking a job. As this scenario rolls around my head I can think of a few things that would change in my own thinking.

I'd get up in the morning and prepare for a day of ministry the way I've done when on a mission trip or at a retreat or camp. That extra measure of focused prep. I'd be a lot less concerned about my 'career' because it no longer defined me in the same way. I'd be a diligent worker, no doubt, but it would not be quite so the center of my life.

This weekend I've unexpectedly been called on to lead worship for a men's retreat - something that I haven't done in any real leadership capacity for a while. I go up this AM and prayed with focus on the weekend - for my heart and those of the men who'll be there. I prayed this way because my experience as a worship leader in the past has taught me it is vital. It strikes me that this new sense of mission was what the Lord has called us to every day.

As a child of God, I am the missionary from my hypothetical question at the beginning. I am called to the field right here where I am living ... at the ends of the earth. My prayer today is that I would be a faithful missionary.

Instant Replay for Parents

The other day, Cheryl and I were driving along and got to talking about our sweet kiddos who have of late learned how to blame things on the other. I suggested that it would be great if we could just get one of those video monitors - Ya' know the kind they make for infants. Hook that thing up to a DVR and you've got INSTANT REPLAY!

---

SCENE: Momma walks into room where an argument has broken out.)
Momma: What is going on here?
Isaac: She bit me!
Momma: Julia!
(Julia cries - ENTER NFL Referee...)
Ref: Just a second ma'am; let's check the instant replay.
(a moment later ... Ref steps to center of room and looks up to camera)
Ref: (with echo from the PA...) The initial call ...all ...ll
was intentional biting ...ing ...ng
on number two ...oo ...oo Defense ...ss ...s
Upon review ...ew ...ew
the call was found to be incorrect ...ect ...ect
the call instead will be ...ee ...e
Unnecessary Instigation on number one ...un ...un
Offense ...ss ...s

(The crowd goes wild!)

Technicolor Pancakes

Do NOT adjust your set! These colors are accurate! It may look like a science experiment but we decided to have BLUE pancakes last week! Monday (my first day off of Spring Break - yippee!) I got up and decided to make a special breakfast with the kiddos. Pancakes is always a treat, but these would be even better - they would be blue! ... and red ... and green ... and what ever other colors of food coloring we could find. Just 3 drops of color in a quarter cup of batter was plenty to color a single cake. Isaac thought it was pretty neato. Julia's frame of reference being somewhat shorter, she didn't seem as impressed but ate them none-the-less. The effect is pretty neat! I highly recommend it (even if they don't taste any different!)

One Hundred!

Wow, this is my 100th post on Blogger! That is a lot of posts. I thought it would be a good time to stop and look back at this whole blogging thing. I put up my first blog here at Blogger in November 2004 - W0w! 4 years ago... Back then I wanted to blog about current events, get my big heady thoughts down ... that took about 3 posts. I didn't do much with that first blog. I didn't really get started blogging in earnest until August of 2006 when I started a Yahoo 360 blog. That blog was a lot of fun and quickly became the family oriented blog that I keep today. Counting my Yahoo 360 blogs, this would actually be close to 200. One of these days, I hope to retrieve those posts and move them here.

Probably the most exciting thing to happen in the last year has been to see my wife and family start keeping blogs! Cheryl's blog is awesome and often gives me a peek at what's going on while I'm at work. Cheryl has really taken off with blogging and has even racked up hits from around the world (she actually had hits from Tel Aviv and London!) I especially love that I can keep up my brothers' families via their blogs and even my Mom has taken a stab at it (if she can ever remember her password!) What a great tool.

Here are a couple of posts that I especially enjoyed from the first 100; let me know if you remember one that you liked!

• Prayer in School - 3 Parts
  
• Cock-a-roaches!
• Can I Hold Your Hand, Papa?

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

An Enchanted Trip

Today was one of my best days. It was one of those days that when I'm old and gray, I will remember with fondness and laughter. We took the kids to Enchanted Rock and had an absolute blast! The day began not too early with driving out to the park. Despite traffic and a long line to get in, we got there in great spirits (translation: the kids weren't tired of sitting in the van to the point of screaming - a real danger with that much sitting still on the road).

Julia rode on my back up the "mountain" and Isaac hoofed it. He loved jumping from rock to rock and exploring every nook and cranny. Cheryl and I enjoyed being free to let him for the most part. At the top, Isaac marveled at being able to see for miles in all directions!

Our biggest adventure was for Isaac and I. Cheryl waited with Julia and freed me to take Isaac through the cave! If you are unfamiliar with the cave at enchanted rock, it is a 'fissure' cave - not the lighted, guided type where you walk past formations in cavernous rooms. This is a series of connected cracks in the rock and there is NO LIGHT! ... save what you bring in yourself. HE LOVED IT! We climbed around, slithered on our backs, got dirty and wet in places - all the things a kid enjoys! (...and his dad, too!). Isaac at four was boldly going where kiddos twice his age were backing out of! That is a proud papa moment, for sure!

What made the day special for me was sharing Enchanted Rock with my children. "E-Rock" holds a special place in my heart, if for no other reason than I've been to this park more times than I can count and almost every chapter of my adult life since college has included time spent there. Rock climbing and camping, singles trips (where Cheryl first did the cave!), and now as a husband and father. What a great thing to hand down!

Here is some video we took throughout the day...

M: Mud Storm

Last night we had a big rain full of mud from Mexico! I walked out after dark to find this thick covering of mud/dust over both of our cars. Yuck! Actually raining mud is a new one for me.

Two Men and a Baby

Ok, so it was really one man, a boy and a girl but I couldn't think of a catchy title along those lines. The kids and I flew solo last weekend while Mama was enjoying girl time with her sister. The time with my children was great! What was not so great was getting ready for an Open House (we're trying to sell) at the same time as trying to spend quality time with the munchkins!

As for the kiddos, we did some really fun things. We got started Saturday with a trip to the park for a picnic lunch, climbing on the playground and kite flying! What a great day for kite flying. Our kite is shaped like a goldfish - we picked it up on a whim last year thinking we'd get a lot of use out of it, but there just aren't a lot of good kite flying days out there. After nap we made pudding, played in the yard and then grilled hot dogs for a dinner out on the patio.

Saturday night after the kiddos went down was my chance to clean up for the showing... until 2am! I had to finish some of the tasks Sunday AM and we barely made it to church. Our friends Kyle and Kelly were generous enough to host us Sunday afternoon while the house was being shown. Visiting them is always a treat for the kids which made the whole weekend a real bang for them.

I love my wife and the kiddos love their mother, so her return Sunday evening made the perfect ending to a great weekend. A little papa time is good here and there but it doesn't hold a candle to "all-together" time! Here a few photos from the big weekend:

M: Frogger Meets His Match

Isaac hit the mother load of little boy discovery fun today when momma moved the toy bin in the back yard revealing a herd of frogs, lizards and the like! Let me tell you who doesn't like frogs though ... MOMMA! I came home today to find Isaac giddy and momma very on edge about the whole deal. She was a great sport about it, though. She let him put them in his "bug keeper" and he spent most of the afternoon playing with them one at a time. Julia didn't really get much out of it, but just give her time!

M: is for "Mobile Blog"

If you've read much of my Blog you'll notice that it it often illustrated with pics from my phone. Now I'm taking it a step further ... The whole post can now be done on the phone. I can now Blog no matter where I am and even include a photo! I won't be doing this all the time but it is a fun alternative to "breakout" while waiting for a haircut! I'm going to put the "M" at the beginning of mobile posts so you'll know I did that one while on the run (or in the can! ... Sorry - TMI, I know).

(PHOTO: my coworkers comparing phones... but mine BLOGS!)

M: Going Nuts

Julia and Isaac had a ball this AM playing with nuts. Scads of toys in their room, a dog waiting in the yard and sun shining outside and what do they get the biggest time out of? Nuts! That's it! Birthdays are a cinch from here on out! We're getting the kids PRODUCE!

Dog Park Peek-a-boo

Julia is a nut! She is a ball of energy and is so much fun to be around! We took the kids (Oliver is included in that phrase now!) to the park the other day and let Oliver run around a section just for dogs. The kids had a blast and Oliver did too (despite). Julia had every bit as much fun as the dogs there climbing in and around the apparatus set up for the dogs! One item was a plastic pipe for the dogs to run through with holes on the sides for peeking in ... and out! We had a great time playing peek-a-boo with those holes! She would move from one to the other peeking out and saying "BOO, Papa!" and then giggling in that way that just melts your heart!

The Monitor Stand Project is Done!

I wrapped up the monitor stand project last weekend. The finishing touches proved to be the toughest part - mainly the finishing! I was using good, furniture grade ply but not stain grade (Birch or Ash) I think. Nice and smooth but not really for a wood grain finish. So, I had planned on a black, glossy finish - somewhat like the phone holder I made a while back. I didn't want to get too involved with the painting so I set out to use black spray paint. I did get the good stuff, but even that proved a little difficult to work with.

The first coat was badly 'fisheyed' - marked up with little blemishs that look like little circles where the paint didn't go on. It's caused by surface impurities. My professional finisher friend, gave me some advice though that I'm sure that I'll use in the future! Prep normally by sanding and wiping/blowing off dust, but then wipe the surface down right before you paint with mineral spirits (paint thinner)! Then, put down a couple of light coats just a few minutes apart. 2-3 coats with cover pretty well and is all you want to do in one 'session'. Let that dry for a day, sand very lightly wth 200 grit paper (or so) and repeat it - wipe down and spray. The mineral spirits remove the impurities from the surface and help the paint droplets to flow together. This also reduces the "orange peel" effect that you can get. The pic above it the finished product in place. Here are a couple more 'almost done' pics:


After nailing the face frame on (red oak scraps, milled to 1"x3/4") the holes are puttied and later sanded.

I had to 'test' it on the table top -really, I was just dying to see it like it would on a desk. I like!