How is this helping?

On Sunday I had a break through moment like never before.  It was one of those moments you see in other people of faith but never quite see in yourself.  It was the kind of thing you pray for over and over but never actually see it working out for you.  Yet, this time it did.

For whatever reason, I know the reason, I was in a mood on Sunday morning.  It wasn't my best mood either.  My feelings had been hurt, feathers ruffled and rights and denied.  I tried praying and letting it go, but it seemed I had Velcro hands all morning.  As I left the house to go to church I began to moan about how things were going.  I was actually complaining to God.  It was loud and in hindsight childish and embarrassing.  But he listened.  He listened to me go on about hurt feelings, rights that were denied, how could this happen again, why this and why that.  And then he asked, "how is this helping?"

What, I said, what did you say?.  He said again, "how is this helping?"  This was the kind of revelation you pray for but are never ready to actually hear the answer.  God asked, how was all of my griping and complaining helping the situation, helping me, helping the ones who hurt me or helping my family.  I was speechless.  I realized the truth of it all was that all of my bickering was not going to help anyone.  It was especially not going to help me.  Over the next few minutes God continued to work me over in answer to my prayer.

He went on and challenged me by asking, "what are you going to do?"  It wasn't the kind of question we ask ourselves when we want a way out.  This was the question of, what are you going to do: keep complaining or make a positive change.  In my truck on I-26 I remembered the Son (and the sun shine) and I resolved to drop my end of the rope, quit complaining about what had taken place and forgive.

So next time someone violates me, I hope I will remember to forgive first.  But if not, if I start complaining again I hope God will break in on my pity party and ask - "How is this helping?"

More than a meal - it was memories

On Thursday nights my wife and I put on a restaurant of sorts in our dining room.  The name of the restaurant is called 'Happenings'!

I chose the name and it stands for the place where good things are happening; where love is happening; where kindness and appreciation is happening; where young ladies are made to feel special is happening; and where fathers are behaving like fathers is happening.

On Thursday we bring out the good dishes and the silver ware.  We set up nice napkins, most of the time, and have the girls seated at the table.  After everyone is seated we have "Happenings'.  I serve them as both their cook and waiter.  The food is never the main dish, the real main dish is the memories.

Well, this week, 1/19/2011, we had one of the best 'Happenings' in months.  The girls all sat at the table and we had homemade subs, wedges, corn and something sweet to drink.  As they ate Sydney suggested a round of complimenting each other.  For the next twenty minutes the compliments and praise were flowing.  "I like the way you dance", said one.  "I like the way you do our hair", said another.  "I like it when we play together", said one of the younger girls.  The sound of the girls laughing, praising each other and most importantly not arguing was great.  It was wonderful to hear.

After the compliments stopped flowing, the jokes started.  The girls laughed about trips to Disney, times at real restaurants where 3 yr old Sydney made us nearly fall out in laughter.  They reminisced on summers spent in Georgetown, and our recent trip to Alabama.  They laughed about granddaddy falling asleep watching TV and waking up as soon as they changed the channel.  We talked about the many funny things we have done and how many funny stories we can each tell about the other.  Like the trip to the aquarium where Sydney played with a penguin and Paige played with a cookie.  We looked through our mental scrapbooks of the trip to the beach and Grandma's birthday party.  Trish and I laughed and nearly cried thinking about college, our early years of marriage and when the girls were very young.  Even little Ms. Ava tried to get in on the jokes and stories.

You know, this was more than a meal.  It was more than a dinner.  It was truly 'Happenings', a place where memories, laughter and joy are always happening!  I love the moments where you realize that it is all worth it.  I pray that I can hang on to this moment.

Moments Like This

My multi-talented and beautiful wife, Trish is so good at capturing moments with the girls and memories with our family.  She captures some photographs that just burst from the pages with detail, excitement or mystery.  So many times I look at the things she captures from behind the lens and they seem to tell stories that go well beyond just the surface.  She has uploaded some of these moments to her blog truegifts.blogspot.com, but this one that I just had to take from her photo library. 

I will never know what Paige was thinking, but when I look at it I see the simplicity of being a child, the beauty in God's creation, and the power of light (don't you see how the light just draws you in to the photo).  It also makes me think and reflect upon God; how blessed we are to be his children, how awesome life with him was, is and will be and how powerful God's light is in our lives.

This photo makes me think about being a parent; the awesome and the overwhelming, the girls and their little personalities and how much they are growing up.  It also makes me wonder, "What is she thinking?"  Knowing Paige, there is no telling what she was thinking.

I need to remind myself to live for moments like these - a simple gift of time, life and triumph.

Another sunrise

Since my wife started taking photographs of things she has taught me to look at things a bit differently.  She talks about seeing photo opportunities in the smallest thing; a bumblebee a flower stem, or a single leave with all of its God given detail.

Lately, I have seen exactly what she was talking about.  For the past few weeks I have been getting to work early enough to see the sun rising over the city.  I should be carrying my camera to work everyday so that I can capture a piece of it, but I always seem to forget.  Anyway, when you cross over the Lake Murray Dam, the site to the right where the sun comes up over the city is just breath taking.

The colors that God uses to paint the morning sky are simply amazing.  I wish I could do it justice, but you have to take my word for it.  It was the perfect blend of light and dark, shades of red and bouquets of orange, blends of smoke and charcoal gray, and the perfect drops of sunlight.  The city sky line seemed to be sketched out in beautiful blues that blended in to the morning sky.  Not to mention that the entire city line appeared like the backdrop of painting.

Can anyone match the creativity and beauty of God?  Can anyone match his brilliance?

Don't believe me, take a moment to cross the dam early in the morning between 7:00 and 7:45 and you will see a sunrise like never before.

I will not be defeated

Well, I promised myself that I would blog more often and write in a journal almost everyday.  So much for that goal and promise.  It seems that the calendar has reminded me that it has been over 13 days since my last post and the journal tells me that I have only cracked its pages a few times more since New Year's Eve.

It seems to be so easy to get caught up in doing life, instead of purposefully living life.  I know there are many days where I arrive home at the end of the day, worn, frustrated and tired to the bone.  The last thing I want to do is pick up the pen and pad and write about my day or talk about the good or the bad parts of it.  And, after working on a computer all day long I can barely convince myself to open the laptop bag, let alone actually boot it up.

But recently I was reminded in another post that we have to find out what we stand for and make that our priority.  I want to stand for purpose driven living, making memories, leaving a godly legacy and loving my wife.  I want to stand for living a life of health, strength, love and compassion.

So, I want let myself be discouraged by a few days of writers block.  No!  I will not!  I will make time to write once a week and actually put it on my calendar.  I will continue to pray for God to give me moments to share and ways to share them.  And, I will not be defeated.  I know that I am living a life of triumph -