Laughing in his sleep...

A few nights ago my wife was up late. She normally stays up late. I'm worried...I think she's secretly pumping energy drinks through an I.V.! She heard something from across the hall where our 4 year old sleeps. She heard laughter. Our 4 year old was laughing. Not chuckling. Not giggling. Laughing. It was the kind of belly laugh that comes from an awesome tickle attack.
This may seem sweet, and it is. But the coolest thing about him laughing is that it wasn't always that way. He used to have nightmares. He would cry out in the night. When he first came to us it was almost every night. "Nooo!" "Stop!" He would yell and "whine" in his sleep. Not anymore...the cries have turned to laughter. I am so amazed at how good God can be.
Add to that a couple of nights ago. He had turned himself sideways and I went in and turned him around and before I could cover him up with his blanket, he said with his eyes closed, "I love you, Daddy." And he wasn't finished making my night. He then, eyes still closed, held wide open his arms for a hug.
I am truly the most blessed man on the planet.

Why is it when you need to sleep you can't??

It's late. I went to bed. One of my teen's cell phones rang and woke me up. Who the heck needs to talk at 11:58 PM anyways??!! Add to the confusion--the phone is off, so now there is a demon inside of my daughter's cell phone!! So now here I sit at the computer. I have to get up in 5 hours. Why is it when you need to sleep, you can't? This is very frustrating. I am sleepy. I am grumpy (at least no one is around for me to show my grumpiness!). Maybe I can get back to sleep. Just thought I would blog myself to sleep. Maybe blogging cures insomnia!!

One of my s got saved!!!

Tonight one of my s ( our 9 year old) talked with me. The last couple of days she has had some questions about God, accepting Jesus, and being baptized. Robin said it would be good to talk to me, so tonight, I talked with my little . Her questions were legit...she wanted to know at what age someone could become a Christian. I told her that there was no right age--it's different for kids of all sorts of ages. I asked her what becoming a Christian meant and she gave me to Sunday School answer of "you get saved". I wanted to make sure she really understood, so I asked her what that meant. She said, "You become a Christian when you accept Jesus into your life and you give Him control of your life." COOL! She got it. I asked her if she ever prayed to ask God about this and she did last night. She said, " I told God that I knew I was a sinner and that Jesus died for me and I asked Him to come into my heart and I gave Him control."
To know this child, this is HUGE! Control is a very scary thing for her because of what her birth family did to her and what they didn't do for her. It was really neat...you could see a difference on her face.
I am so happy! She told some of her brothers and sisters, me, Mom (Robin) and her Grandpa George. In her sweet little voice she said..."I became a Christian". This is so awesome!! I had to post this....thanks for letting me share!

Craving some Caribbean

Springtime is the busiest time of the year. It's totally nuts. School is drawing to a close. Work stuff is building with tons of paperwork and stuff to do. The kids are in hyper-drive and summer is knocking on the door. When life is this crazy I crave me some Caribbean.
Robin and I were introduced to the Caribbean by our "employers". We were sent on a week long sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands along with our co-workers. It was the most amazing trip I've been on. Since then, Robin and I have rented villas twice in St. John, one of the most beautiful places on earth! St. John is one of the U.S. Virgin Islands and most of the island is national park property, so it's not too "touristy". I am craving me some Caribbean!!
I have high pressure...is this against HIPPA regulations? Once the doctor wanted to do another reading, so I closed my eyes and went to St. John in my mind. My pressure went down!
One day I'll be there again. Maybe not this year...it's pricey to get there and stay there! I thought I would use this entry to "vent" a little. Thanks.

A movie review for my 14 year old...

My fourteen year old wanted me to give a movie review of a movie I saw recently. I saw Speed Racer. I have to admit that I was totally comparing the movie to what I remembered as a kid. I was a child of the 70's and a teen of the 80's, so I watched the Speed Racer cartoon when I was a kid. The Mach 5 is still the coolest car ever.
On to the review: It was OK. I'm not giving the movie two up, one definitely. The movie is really really stimulating...it's kinda like an assault on the eyeballs! My ADD was in overdrive! But I do have to admit...the cars were really cool. The cars built by the Speed family were awesome. The "classic" Mach 5 was on the big screen and I was like a kid again. The movie did a pretty good job of transferring what I remembered of the cartoon to the big screen. So...would I recommend the movie? If you liked Speed Racer as a kid...then absolutely!! If you care not of the ways of the Speed family...stay away and maybe rent it on DVD. All in all...a good movie. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.
Movies coming up.....Narnia Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones. If you like this review...let me know!

Sweet Laughter

Tonight the whole family (family at home) got together and we ate out. We went to a diner that's fairly new and we had the best time. Have you ever had one of those moments when you mentally "step back" and take in the moment? I do...and it's not my ADD moment, either. I "stepped back" tonight and it was really cool. We were all talking together...conversations were spread over the table of the 9 of us. And laughter...sweet laughter. We laughed at many different things, but our 4 year old keeps us in stitches often. Tonight when we got the bill we told our server that our 4 year old would pay for it. The server stretched out her hand to him and asked for the money. He smiled and without missing a beat, he turned to me and stretched out his hand for me to give him the money.
I can actually make a little spiritual jump about this...
I need to do that more often with my life. Whenever I am asked to do something...I need to realize that I don't have the resources on my own to cover the tab. I need to turn to my Daddy and let Him be the source. So many times I try to do things on my own. I've got to turn around and let God do whatever it is through me. He's got the resources...mine are limited. I have lint and pennies in my pocket. God has limitless resources. That's a source for some sweet laughter!

A complaint about Mother's Day

I have a complaint to make about Mother's Day. It's been a few years since I've been to a Sunday morning service on Mother's Day, but they almost always go down like this:
The sermon is about how wonderful mothers are. They are sweet, compassionate and moms everywhere are wonderful and are to be revered on this special day. We should all be thankful for our mothers and we celebrate how great our Moms are.
I have no problem with what is said on Mother's Day. My complaint comes in June. Father's Day. The sermons take a different tone...at least that's my experience. Father's Day at church goes down like this:
The sermon is about how sorry we Dads are. We don't do enough for our families and we need to be better at being Dads. No thank you's. No "great job!" Nope...it's a bashing.
Can anyone else relate? Let me know if you can relate....
I promise I'm not bitter about this...just an observation.

A really good Mother's Day

Today was a really good Mother's Day. Mother's Day normally stinks around here at home. To give a little background... almost 10 years ago my Mom passed away. Since then, Mother's Day for me has been a little rough. It's gotten better through the years...today was a day for me to reflect a little and I was thankful for my Mom. I miss her a lot...but I had sweet memories...except for one. When I was a kid I wore suits to church. It was a time when you dressed up for church. Every Mother's Day I would go outside and pick a red rose from the rose bush and put it on my lapel. The red rose signified that my mother was alive. A white flower symbolized that your mother had passed away. (Passed away is Southern for died--I guess it's not as blunt) My Mom in her quirky way of being morbid reminded me that one day I would wear a white flower for her. Gee, thanks, Mama...I needed to know that information at age 10! Enough with the therapy session.
More background to why Mother's Day normally stinks around here. My kids had it pretty rough before they came to be a part of our family. So, Mother's Day kinda puts it in their faces that their birth Mom didn't do her part. They appreciate my wife and they call her "Mom", but it's still a tough day. A few years ago we planned to make Mother's Day a different kind of day for our kids. We make it a fun day. I teach my class on Sunday morning and then I head home and we go and do something fun. This year we went to the Georgia Aquarium and then had a cook out at home with family and friends...(friends who really are like family).
Today was a really good Mother's Day. It was a day to hang out...have fun...enjoy one another. I wasn't worked up at all and the whole family had a great day. The ending of the day was really cool. We had steaks, great desserts, and awesome "fellowship". Some of our older kids joined us and we got to see our granddaughter for the first time. Cool stuff. We all had a good day. My wife didn't dread this Mother's Day...it was a good day.

This is my 6 year old's blog

Um I love Mommy. I got me a bump on my head. Um I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm tired. I will go swing on the swing set. I will go swimming. Can Mommy go swimming with me? Yes her can. I love Mommy berry much. And I love Daddy too. I love my brothers and my sisters. I love this house. I love um...I love Daddy's new lawn mower. Um I love those flowers. (pointing) I love my teachers at school.

My kind of people...

In the South we have a saying.."my kind of people". It's a way of saying that we have something in common with folks, or that we like to be around certain kinds of people. A more redneck way of saying it (heard often at NASCAR events) "them's my kind of people". (NOTE- I am not busting on NASCAR...I can share the NASCAR comment because I am "one of them people"...I confess my NASCAR fanhood.
Back to the point of the blog...

I was thinking about this saying this morning. I wonder sometimes if I'm God's "kind of people". The Old Testament paints a great picture of our relationship with God through the people of Israel. So many times Israel runs away from God and He pursues them. He longs for a covenant relationship with His people. Through Christ, I have a covenant relationship with God. It's really cool to think about it. Before Christ, the only way to God was through a High Priest of the God of Israel. Because of what Christ did on the cross, I have access to God the Father. I am so humbled by this.
Jeremiah 31:33 sheds some light on this covenant relationship:
" 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write in on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.' "

That blows me away. Because of the new covenant, which places me in covenant relationship with God through Christ, I AM God's kind of people! That's pretty amazing to know. It would be cool to hear God say..."Wally...yeah...he's my kind of people."

Taking in the view...

The picture above this post (and all other posts, I guess) is the view from my front porch. See all that grass? I cut the land throughout the spring and summer and once in the late fall. The picture was taken during the fall. It's beautiful and I'm thankful for the view.
Tonight I am not feeling well. I'm stuffed up and I'm running a fever. My wife is out of town until tomorrow and I am feeling yucky. Even feeling yucky, I try to take in the view. I walk around the house at night...not the creepy, stalker kind of walking around! I love to check on the kids and I watch them sleep. I say a little prayer for them. I'm taking in the view.
I love to people watch...not the creepy, stalker kind of watching! I get my binoculars...no, wait...just kidding. No, actually I love to be in public places and I like to see how many different kind of people there are in this world we call home. I'm taking in the view.
I don't know if there is a point to all of this...I guess I'm reminding myself to take in the view.

Teaching stuff that I'm learning and teaching...

I've been teaching/preaching for a long time...about 17 years. Geeze...I feel old now. One thing that I have noticed is that often times when I teach something or I preach a sermon, it's about something I am learning myself. Sometimes the subject is something someone else is learning too and it "resonates" with them. This happened a few times in the last couple of weeks. I'll try to recollect them...
I have been doing some quiet times on the life of Joseph. It's really cool stuff. I mentioned what I was learning with my sister and she was covering the same stuff in her Sunday School. Neat.
I was having a really hard week and I was learning about "casting my stuff". One topic that I used to wrap up the "mini sermon" was the "Geesus Loves Me" story. I was at the nursing home and when I came in the room, they were about to sing their little song....you guessed? yep..."Jesus Loves Me." I was grinning from ear to ear as we sang the song.
Tonight I was reviewing for my Sunday Night class that I teach. It's talking about living life wisely and how fools reject correction and instruction. I was talking about this with one of my children just this week. I think this is the one where God is trying to teach me too.
I don't think it's any that this kind of stuff happens. I think God has to do this kind of stuff to get it through my thick skull!!