Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Ann Stewart shared some powerful thoughts on life, change, and facing the new year by reminding me that "God is our rock and our refuge, our provider and our [most faithful and loving] friend."  No matter what happens or doesn't happen in 2015, we can be sure that "God is always the same," and He will be there.  "His love is constant, his kindness is certain; his mercy is new every morning.  In Him our inheritance is secure and the promises to us are certain."  

So, for 2015 I am praying that the we will have "the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead available to us" through faith; that the God who loved and loves us more than we can ever think, dream, or imagine will continue to be with both of us; and that the grace and steadfast love of God will show us with greater clarity that He is good, He is able, we are His, and He is enough!

As Ann Stewart closed her devotional for December 30th, 2014 I ask that we help each other remember God, the Father of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, and "Press into Him [deeply and passionately] because God is more than enough" for all of our trials and our triumphs.  

May the triumphant, eternal, and everlasting God surround you with love, 

build you up in strength, empower you with boldness,

 fill you with courage, stand beside you for comfort, 

and make this year a banner year of many to come. 

Happy New Year!

From Family Life Devotional...

FamilyLife.com asked, "If you had to write a final letter to your spouse, what would you say?  Where would you tell her that you have placed your hope, and where should she place hers?"  Here is part of my response:


I've learned that the old folks were right when they would say that they would have lost it all.  For indeed, I would have lost my mind, given up, or worst if not for the hand of God.  God has been my strength to steady me, forgive me, give me hope, and provide me with unfailing love.  Even as I struggled in this life, I have found God to be all He has said He is, and more.  I know that God is able, faithful and He will bring it to pass, my salvation, sanctification, and eternal life.  I have trusted Him and I have lived for Him and in His promises.

Living or dying, I trust my soul to the unfailing love of God, and the saving and redeeming grace of Christ my savior.  In Him alone I place my trust for eternal life, resurrection, and forgiveness.  In Him alone do I find all that I need and all that my heart has desperately longed for.  As David says in Psalm 73:25-26:

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.  My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (NIV)

It shall be for me, that my hope and anchor are held in Christ.  And in Christ alone I have committed my life, my all!

So, living or dying I share with you and implore you too to make Him [Christ] your all.  In Him you should place all your hope, trust and confidence so that, come what may you will stand victorious on the day of the Lord.  Place all of your hope, confidence and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and of a sinner like me.  In tears, in sorrow, in trial, in storm and tempest, in joy, in love, in all that life affords let Christ be your refuge and place of rest and you shall surely be strong enough to stand.  Remember that He is able and He will be with you always.

Grace and peace to you from God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

     

With Love (& in triumph),
Cassius


P.S.  I hope and pray that the day of this needed comfort exists in a far distant future after a life fully lived and given in love to my wife, children and Savior.  #2076_and_beyond

Not Superman

My Uncle - impetuous, audacious and never reluctant to tell you -

Never shy to tell you off or to tell you what has been on his mind

The type who has never been cautious of having opinions or afraid of yours -

He sighed!

A slight grin slipped across a face waxed by wisdom, hardened by experience

The grin lost its grip on the corners of his lips and suddenly they parted

A strange sight to see, this face of furrowed brow suddenly soften like a pillow

He smiled!

With lips adorned with the first smile of days gone by he hastened his declaration

He, with all of his opinions and wisdom, declared he had finally figured it all out

Boldly, as always, shy - as in never - he prepares to reveal the problem

He speaks!

Slowly like billows of smoke rolling up from the chimney of a winter's fire

One after the other his words stack and build up - until at last they spill out

The declaration is made the problem is stated the last puff of a syllable strikes the air

He finishes!

My ears ring with disbelief as this, this Uncle - sighs, smiles, wryly says,

"You thought your granddaddy was superman, that's the problem.  You all thought so!"

My mind reels like the scenes of a movie projector as his last words run their course -

"He’s not!"

My face whitens like a cross between an exhausted fighter and a frightened child

Like sore knees and bruised ribs my heart aches and then suddenly, I feel numb

Words like premature waves on the sand dunes refuse to fully form and then –

I cried!


This poem was written after a visit to Alabama to visit my granddaddy.  He was in a nursing home, and in the worst shape I had ever seen him in my life.  When we stopped by my Uncle's house, he spoke about the man we saw, but the man he knew.  He talked about what we imagined, and what he believed.  The difference in his view and ours was staggering.  After the visit, I wrote this poem.  However, the story doesn't end with a visit and a poem.  It is still going.  The story is still going because God has blessed our granddaddy with new health and strength.  After 9 months, he is no longer in a nursing home, no longer in despair and depression.  He is now lively, passionate, walking, thoughtful, more reflective, engaging and faithful.  He is testimony that God is able, and He is strong.  He reminds us all that he may not be Superman - but he is still pretty amazing.  And while Granddaddy is not Superman or invincible, God is super, Amazing, Almighty, strong, Healer, and a miracle worker.  Praise God!  

To my sister - Felicia

I just wanted to sit down and tell you about and amazing trip we took last week, and to thank my sister for that amazing trip.  On Monday before Christmas, Felicia, my oldest sister invited us to go up to TN to see Matthew play basketball.  Matthew is her son, my nephew, and one amazing young man.  We left early on Monday to make it in time for the game.

The trip to watch Matthew play basketball in a real life college game was one of those gifts of a lifetime.  It was just a special thing.  Like so many other people, I always knew he would play basketball in college, but it was just so amazing to see it with my own eyes.  I thought it was fun and exciting to see clips of him playing and scoring on YouTube and on the team website, but in real life the experience was just so stunning.  It was like nothing I have ever experienced before.

So, to my sister:
Thank you for adding to my life of great memories and great moments. Everything was special.  The ride in the "kidnapper van" with the kids was funny and hilarious.  Emily, Alex, Momma, and Cassarra provided some great laughs.  Paige and Sydney were great seat mates, even though Paige used my arm as a pillow continuously.  Emily and Momma kept things light and funny with the foot fetish episodes and the cries of "Mercy."  I enjoyed the rest in the back, as it must have been greatly needed.  Trish said that I probably looked the most rested I've been in weeks (or months) after returning home.  Thanks.  I know driving the whole way was tough, but thanks.

Not to mention a big thanks for the trip with granddaddy.  Riding with granddaddy to TN was amazing and all of our family knows how much of a testimony this was.  I mean, who would have even thought that he would be doing so well at 90 after the way things looked in February.  When I visited him in Alabama in February I never thought I'd see the day that he'd celebrate 90, or the days when he'd walk around in Columbia or travel with us to TN.  But travel he did, and he moved a lot better after the long ride than many of us, and as usual he moved better than some people half his age.  With each stop I would look over at him and think of how amazing this was to be enjoying this time with him and each other.  This was a great blessing too.  

The food at the restaurant was great.  I'm glad Randall's folks were able to make a local pick that panned out.  From the outside the place looked a little suspect.  It was definitely the type of place that you wouldn't normally pick out of the blue, unless you knew someone who knew someone, who said it was okay.  As it turned out, the chicken was really good, and I liked the Mac-n-Cheese too.  It was definitely different.  When I was awake I enjoyed the various views of TN and Music City Center.  

Basically, it was all great. Sure, I would have liked a better ending for Penn, but it was still good.  Matt scored, I saw it with my own eyes.  He got some rebounds, played defense, got a couple of steals, and made a lot of smart passes.  He seemed to be having fun, took advantage of his match up, showed some spark, and was engaged.  I was proud as usual and excited to be there.  Thank you.

Thank you for everything you did to get us all there and get us all back.  Thanks for everything you did to treat us to the game, the food, the snacks, the tickets, and the company.  Thanks for all the memories and the fun.  Perhaps the biggest thing I am once again thankful for is your witness and example.  Thanks for showing me love, grace, kindness, generosity, and how a parent pours themselves into the lives of all of their children.  As Alex said, "I really can't imagine not watching Matt play basketball," its like he was meant to play.   

Thanks Felicia.  I can't say it enough, just thanks.  You really helped give me a gift of a lifetime.  I am surrounded by great people who live lives that expound upon the witness and example of Christ.




  

Merry Christmas - part IV

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Today we closed out our Christmas celebration in Georgetown with a blast.  It was time to get back to life in Irmo, but before we left, I was blessed to sit at breakfast with my parents and granddaddy.  I had an amazing opportunity to listen to wisdom, joy and love poured out over coffee, grits, eggs, and leftovers.  It was truly a blessing and special moment.  Katina and I had the chance to learn about family, family traditions, family triumph, family faith, and grandparents who gave what they had to make our lives and the lives of others better.

At breakfast granddaddy shared how things were when he grew up and how blessed he feels to be 90 years old and still in his right mind.  He talked about being older than most people, living longer than his brother and many school friends, and being in good health for his age.  He talked about growing up with Uncle JT, Uncle Woodrow, and his other family.  He spoke about some of the wrongs he did when he was young, and how his family made a living without making a lot of money.  He even laughed at how he had some of the best jobs without an education - favor of God and hard work.  A few things he said really stuck with me.  Things like

• What do you know about walking to school in the cold for four miles, where your hands and feet are so cold you can't feel them?
• What do you all know about working in cotton fields, tobacco farms, and making about $20a month?
• What do you know about getting in trouble at someone's house and knowing that you were getting a spanking from them and at home?

He also talked about how blessed we were:

• If you have family, friends, a measure of health, and faith - you have all you need!
• Some people spend so much time complaining about what they don't have, that they never enjoy what they do
• You can't spend all your time worrying about getting well, you have to thank the Good Lord for what measure of health you have, be thankful, and keep living
• "I can't move like I used to, but I learned how to slow down and let other people move."  

He talked about the sorrow of burying loved ones; brothers, uncles, aunts, a wife, and his parents. He also talked about broken promises.  Granddaddy shared how some family members made promises to him throughout the years and they never kept them.  I always knew granddaddy had a big heart, but he stunned me even more when he said:

• I'm not bitter.  I did it b/c I wanted to and it was right.  
• They never paid me back, but I didn't let it bother me.  (This was after giving $500 to his sister in-law to help bury his brother, and she promised to pay him back, but never did.  He said, "I did it b/c I didn't want them to not bury my brother.)

I heard granddaddy talk about spankings that they got.  He talked about it being different than it is today.  Now we are scared to spank, or when we do we do it out of anger or out of control.  He mentioned not getting many, but of those he did they were "good" and "right."  He laughed when he recalled how he got a spanking in church, a pop in the mouth for disputing and back talking another adult.  He talked about respect for your elders and respect for what was right.  He even lamented how children today don't even understand how important education is these days.  He told us how he ended up working his whole life, while others went to school. 

For an hour that seemed like it was half a day we enjoyed conversations about real "struggles" and amazing victories.  I heard about love, honor, respect, discipline, and the joy of helping others come out from all of my parents.  

After this, Daddy, Katina, and I worked on the new porch together.  This was special.  I learned a lot and once again have to say, thank God for my amazing dad and my wonderful mom. 

We are home now, but the blessings of Christmas are far from over and the joy of these memories, pictures, and time together will live on forever.  God is just so good, and He is so amazing.

I hope that you will realize that if you have a measure of health, family, and love - you are blessed and you have all you need!  I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and that you will continue on in joy and love throughout this life journey and holiday season.

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas - part III

Awesome!  Christmas day continued to be a wonderful day of merriment, joy, family and fellowship.  It was a day of love and celebration.

After gift giving, naps, and packing up we loaded up and headed to our first stop of the new holiday tradition, Starbucks.  After a Christmas coffee we hit the road to Georgetown to join the rest of the family for more celebration.  The ride to Georgetown was very nice and quicker than usual.  We had very little traffic, a lot of sleepy heads who crashed from their 2:30/3:00 early rising, and good conversation during the ride.

I was enjoying my Christmas gifts and Trish and I laughed at the girls and their various expressions and joys from Christmas.  The ride seem to pass pretty quickly, and only got tough during one stretch where we were both quietly thinking about what to do once we got to Georgetown.

Once we arrived in Georgetown, we were treated to a great dinner at my mom's house and more gift giving.  Actually, we had double the dinners and double the gift giving.  At my mom's house we all chatted, waited for dad and then started passing out gifts.  This was as much fun in Georgetown as it was in Irmo.  Emma ignored her gifts and found everyone of Ava's gifts to play with.  Paige, Sydney and Gabbi were busy opening gift after gift, and Cassarra was sitting with the teen tribe making commentary and jokes.  It was a joy to see parents, siblings, nieces and nephews being surprised and thankful for what they received.  I got a lot of good pictures during the afternoon with Granddaddy McLendon who was able to join us for Christmas.  It was really special to have him celebrate with us at 90 years old.  He seemed to enjoy the family time as much as he enjoyed the food and gifts.

We all missed my brothers who did not join us for Christmas this year, but we all had a good time.  After dinner Trish and I took the girls over to mother's house.  She had dinner ready too.  We waited a bit for everyone to get settled, plates fixed, and then we started opening gifts once again.  It was great!  I think everyone enjoyed themselves at both houses.  All of the girls were thrilled to get their own blankets to go with a host of various items from their granny.

I think this was one heck of a Christmas.  Not just because of the presents, but because of the presence of so many family members, so many memories, and so much love.  As Granddady McLendon said, we all have more than what we need if we have family, love, friends, and faith.  So, the gifts are all extra.

I enjoyed the day very much and I am thankful that despite trials, troubles and difficulties we made this holiday great.  We enjoyed each other, and shared food, fellowship and love.

Merry Christmas indeed!  I just hope and pray that the Spirit and love of Christ Jesus, born anew this Christmas will dwell and abide with us forever.  I pray that God will remind us daily that we have all we need in Him, in each other, and in love.  I pray that we will be able to enjoy the memories and warmth long after all of the gifts and food are long gone.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas part II

Merry Christmas!  I hope that you are doing well and that you had an amazing Christmas Eve and wonderful morning.

We had the "Santa" duty of putting together a toy kitchen late on Christmas Eve.  It was much easier this year than in years past.  I think science, engineering and toy makers are getting better.  Either that, or springing for the better quality stuff makes it easier on Christmas morning.  Anyway, Trish and I enjoyed putting the presents together this year.  It only took about twenty or thirty minutes and we only had to take it apart once to insert a skipped step.  I had a great time laughing over memories, talking about the toys and what we expected from the kids in terms of reactions.  We laughed about the missing stocking candy - we ate it all before Christmas.  We were able to get to bed before 1:00am on Christmas morning, a new record I think.  Or at least a new record since Sydney and Paige were born.

Christmas Eve was amazing this year as usual.  We decided to do a finger foods Christmas Eve dinner instead of the usual formal Christmas Eve dinner (ham, turkey, trimmings and dessert).  It made the night less stressful.  We all enjoyed sitting around the table and enjoying some laughs, eating finger sandwiches, little smokies, chips and dip, and cookies.  At dinner Trish and I pretended that Santa was going to pass over the older girls.  They looked so distraught.  It was too funny to watch them panic, try to regroup, and then be unable to hide their emotions.  

Of course, the girls and Trish made cookies as usual.  This year Santa had to take gingerbread cookies b/c Mrs. Claus has been craving them all season.  The cookies were really good.  Ava helped do the cooking and decorating with Trish.  She had fun and made some great cookies in the process.

Christmas morning was beautiful.  We had a very Merry Christmas morning even as it kicked into gear very early.  It all got started at 3:00 am when the rest of the kids got up.  Paige was up at 2:30.  She apparently decided to take a cat nap from 11 to 2 and then she got up the courage to just go down stairs.  She investigated everything and then rallied the troops.  She rallied Sydney and then Gabbi and Cassarra.  It wasn't long before they had Ava and Emma up too.  They all made so much noise and were so excited.  Ava and Emma with their kitchen, Paige with her dolls and the other three with various trinkets and toys.  Of course they all wanted to stay up and open presents, but we made them go back to bed till six.  

After they saw what "Santa" brought we went to bed till 5:30.  That's when the anxious crew began with 15 to 30 minute updates on the time.  "Hey Dad," came Paige's voice, "it's after 5."  A little later, "Uh, Um, its after 5:30."  The updates repeated until I marched downstairs and started the coffee.  Once Trish got up, we started opening gifts from one another.  We finished opening presents around 8:30 and then had breakfast.  

After breakfast, we did an Advent wreath devotional on the coming of Christ and on the birth of Christ.  We finished up with a Christmas devotional on the coming and birth of Christ by Billy Graham.  

One last gift session closed out the morning.  Trish surprised me with a headset to go with a watch that I have wanted since July.  All in all, I think everyone enjoyed their gifts.  We are so tremendously blessed with memories, faith, love, family and good laughs.  When I think about the laughs, the food from Christmas Eve, the love, the family ties and times, the gift sharing, and the good spirits I realize that the gifts are just icing - in reality.  We have the real stuff of Christmas in Christ, in love, and in relationship to each other.

Anyway, right now the older girls are currently buried in their gifts while Trish and I are enjoying this time.  Emma has crashed on the couch.  

Dear God, thank you for the gift of Christ and His love.  We thank you for the gift of family and their love.  We pray that all over you will make your love and presence known in the opening of each present and the lighting of each light.  And may all the world enjoy a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Many names, wonderful meanings

I started this draft, tell me what you think so far.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.  Matthew 1:21 ESV

 "'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)." —Matthew 1:23 ESV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 ESV

My brothers and sisters call me Big Boy, Biggest 1, Big Money, Money and brother Cassius.  My children call me Dad, Daddy and Javier.  My best friend and lovely wife calls me honey, Cassius, her best friend and dear.  My name is Cassius, but I have many nicknames that each tell a story about who I am and what I mean to those who know me intimately enough to know these nicknames.

Thinking of these names and nicknames while reading my morning devotional helped me understand more about the names and prophecies about Christ.  Each name such as Jesus - God saves, and Immanuel - God is with us, are reminders of who Christ is and what He came to do.  To us, who know Christ we see how He fulfills each name and it's prophecy and every relational aspect.  Christ is God with us and God who has come to save.  

As I think over His other names I am excited to know that He is also Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  He is also the Good Shepherd, the Son of God, Savior, and Beloved Only Son.  I thank God that He gives us a chance to intimately know Him and grow in that knowledge so that one day we too will call Him, "Abba, Father!"

As is, and under new ownership and construction

Jesus Christ willingly purchased us for God with His blood. We were bought "as is," faults, defects, needed renovation included. By faith we are now under His ownership, in the process of remodeling for God's glory. How wonderful that God knew us, loved us, and bought us just as we are. —David McCasland "Our Daily Bread for November 30th, 2014 

Romans 5:8 While we were sinners [rebels, worthless, unworthy, and lost ] Christ died for us.

On November 30th, 2014 I read the devotional provided by Our Daily Bread and I thought David McCasland's hit the nail on the head.  His devotional, and the excerpt captured above were spot on and filled with truth.  God is so good and amazing, He is both Awesome Creator and Wonderful Redeemer.  And, one of His renovation projects is the repair, restoration, salvation, sanctification, and ultimate renewal of one of His precious creations - me.

As a messed up sinner, I  am selfish, angry, hard headed, more hard-hearted than I care to admit, lost, and rebellious.   My heart is often a sinners heart; cold, calloused, distant, prideful, arrogant, rude and unloving.  I  have made so many mistakes, wandered out as a prodigal, dabbled like idolaters of the past, pretended like hypocrites of Jesus' day, denied like Peter, hidden like Adam, been obstinate like David, jealous and hateful like Cain, stubborn like Jonah, rude, brash, and foolish like so many countless others in history.  On top of all these things I've done nameless and shamefully more.

I was lost, wounded, dirty, hurt, angry, and misguided.  Then something amazing happened to this sinner.  Years ago, Christ died for me and His blood purchased me from the dead.  Yes, even before I was born I was purchased from sin, from slavery to sin, and redeemed from my lowest point.  While I was a sinner (Romans 5:8), He died for me.  The truth is like a prodigal I was in a distant land, destined for death, traveling fast and furiously on the road to hell and that is where and when the Savior found me and He rescued me!

He didn't purchase me fixed up, but as McCasland says, He purchased me "As is" warts and all.  He knew about the dents in my character, the bruises on my ego, the empty rooms in my heart, and more.  He was well aquainted with my sin soaked walls, damaged foundation, leaning roof, broken lights, dubious track record, duplicity, and dingy windows.  Point blank, He knew about all my shortcomings and flaws,  He even knew about the ones I  have hidden and still tend to hide from myself and the world.  Its funny how I try to hide from Him, even though I know as David says in the Psalm 139, that we and are ways are not hidden from God.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up;    you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

As a another author somewhere once said, God knows me and God sees me as I really am and not as I pretend to be.  Yet, He also sees me as I can be, was made to be, and as He intends for me to be in the end.  He sees me as I am, not as I pretend to be, and graciously He deals with me on this basis.  This is joy and grace - to be seen as I am, and loved anyway!

Yes, I was purchased "As is," but He has no intention to leave me that way.  God's plans include my complete restoration, renovation and regeneration.  I am "a new creation," and even now there is still more work being done to complete my sanctification.  

David McCasland closes his devotional with a strong and reassuring thought for the journey that I'd like to share and close with:

God knows us inside and out. [And] No renovation project is too big for Him.

I  was bought with a price "As is."  I am under new ownership, Christ.  I am under construction of the Eternal and Almighty God.   He is faithful and He will bring it all to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. 

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus  Philippians 1:6

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Merry Christmas - part I

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

Luke 2:1-7 (ESV)

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!  

May you enjoy all the love, hope, joy, peace, and Good News promised by the angels as they announced

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  Luke 2:10-12 (ESV)

May Christ, who loves you unconditionally, once again be reborn anew in your hearts, minds, and souls.  May His love be the abiding joy in your season and throughout the days of your journey.  May you with a merry heart, tender love, and uplifted spirit enjoy the gift that was first wrapped in a manager, then wrapped in a tomb, and will come again wrapped in glory.  I wish you and all those you know and love the fullness of joy that comes in this season of love and giving!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

God is...

As I've been reading about Him and I am discovering and re-discovering all that God is.

And God is even more than words and art can capture.

Welcome to Friday - 12.19.14

Welcome to Friday!

Good morning!  How are you doing?  I hope that you are doing well and feeling well.  I hope that you have not been sick or having to battle with a cold, or worse the flu.  I know that there are lots of people who are battling colds and dealing with aches, pains, and stuffy noses this week.  My office was hit hard this week with three people going down on back to back days.  In addition two of my team members went down with bad colds this week, one with the flu.  Thankfully God has kept me relatively sniffle and cold free.  Anyway, how about you? How have you been, how did you week go?  How are your loved ones doing?  

Are you excited about Christmas?  Are you ready for the coming celebration, the joy, passion, and grace of the season?  Ava and Emma are really excited for the coming season.  They have a new bedtime book called, "Happy Birthday Jesus!"  It is so upbeat and exciting that they want it read almost every night, and they get excited for the coming party.  What kind of things have you been able to do to remember the reason we celebrate, even in the midst of trips to get gifts and other holiday traditions?  Are you done with shopping yet?  I hope you will have an amazing holiday season, a joyous and merry Christmas, and an amazing kick start to a great and blessed New Year.

So, my weekend was great.  We spent Saturday enjoying family as we celebrated Paige's birthday.  It turned out to be a great party, and even a hot water heater leak couldn't put a damper on it all.  I was so glad that Paige enjoyed herself tremendously.  My brother Vincent made it up and I think that made the day very special.  Vincent and Paige share the same birthday and I think it meant a lot to Paige that he made it up to celebrate.  It probably meant more to me, but I was happy for both of them.  

Ava and Emma enjoyed being up late, eating way too much, and having company over to distract their parents.  Emma seemed to be a non-stop ball of motion.  She moved from place to place, and plate to plate.  At any moment she looked like she would just explode.  I'm sure she is wondering what happened to everything once the reality of a normal day set back in.

Cassarra and Gabbi enjoyed the company of their cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and of course the snacks and desserts.  They seemed to get their teen things going for a while.  And then they listened in on the adult conversations and jokes for much of the rest of the night.  Their snickers and smiles were giveaways that they were eavesdropping a bit.  

Sydney enjoyed helping with the party and being able to stay up late with Paige, and her cousin Vince.  She had her funny moments throughout the party and really enjoyed playing the chubby bunny game and decorating a ginger bread house.  

All of our kids seemed to really enjoy the company and especially the party.  They only complained that some of their cousins didn't spend the night at our house.  I think we probably got to bed somewhere around midnight.  It was really fun.  

I enjoyed the laughs, family, food and all that went with it so much that I forgot that I had to be up early on Sunday.  Trish did a really great job of putting the party together with the help of her party planner, Gabbi.  I think it all turned out well.

The week itself didn't continue the momentum from the weekend.  Or at least the part at work didn't continue with the weekend momentum.  I had a pretty busy and tough week at work.  It featured two straight days of meetings, a brief day of normalcy, and then more meetings.  The meetings are nothing new, but I was surprised and frustrated by a co-worker who seemed bent on being a distraction and nuisance during the meetings.  The meeting antics turned out to be a great opportunity for reminding me to pray and be thankful.  I prayed for patience, calm, and to try to be open minded and under control.  I had a chance to be thankful that the meeting only lasts two days, and only comes around every three weeks.

Aside from the issue at work, most things after work were quiet refreshing.  We had a company party on Tuesday.  It went very well.  Four of the girls went with me to enjoy a nice small celebration of 15 years in business.  This was a great milestone, especially since most people thought we wouldn't last past the first year.  We all received a very nice gym bag and notebook from the company.  I spent some time talking to our CEO, COO and VP.  The CEO was very interesting and took note of one of my suggestions for our sister company in Japan.  We mostly talked about his family, travels, and plans for 2015.  I spent most of my time listening to my co-workers husband tell me about his last mission trip.  He has a huge heart for God and has been on two mission trips this year.  You can hear the excitement in his voice as he describes the shear joy of praising God, worshiping with others, and realizing how blessed he has been all these years..  

Of course, last night was our family dinner night and it was amazing.  The girls fixed dinner and we all had a great time together.  We talked about the end of school, exams, jokes we'd heard, the holiday party, and the school parties coming up on today.  

I am looking forward to this weekend.  I am hoping that we will get to relax a bit as today is the last day of school for two weeks.  Trish and I will be able to take a breather, enjoy some good coffee, sleep in a bit, and have at least a pause in the action.  We still having shopping to do, so we will probably spend some of the weekend going to various stores.  I'll make sure I wear my good shoes.  We have been getting ready more and more for the holidays.  We are doing an Advent devotional series on Sundays, starting to get presents under the tree, and trying to be mindful of the real reason.  We are also trying to remind the girls of the real meaning of Christmas and the true joy of giving.  I know it is going to be a great Christmas, I can just feel it!  

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  All in all I must say the week contains too many blessings to be anything short of another amazing and grace-filled week.  I am so thankful for so many things including:

• friends and family
• completing the week at work
• getting a successful start to my new work duties
• completing the devotional at worship on Sunday
• the male chorus' beautiful songs and voices on Sunday
• resting and sleeping in late this week
• getting approved to take vacation next week
• upcoming vacation from the office
• a new hot water heater at the house 
• the old heater surviving through our birthday party
• the cost of the repair being lower than the initial estimate
• only getting scalded once by the functioning water heater (who knew the other one wasn't really working optimally :) )
• Paige's birthday party
• Celebrating with family and friends during their birthdays
• getting ready for Christmas
• holiday party at work
• Christmas gift exchange today at work
• family night dinner and time well spent with the girls

Well, I hope that today you will find strength, comfort, hope and joy in knowing that God loves you.  May your day and your weekend be blessed. 

Welcome to Friday

May the unending and always extravagant love of the Holy God

bless you and abide with you.  May the sure and certain promises

of the Eternal give you peace and assurance in times of trial.

I wish you love, warmth, compassion, grace and joy to fill your

cup and give you enough to share with those around you.

May God bless, favor, and anoint you, this day, and the days of 

your journey.  

With love (& in triumph),
Cassius

Welcome to Friday - 12.12.14

Welcome to Friday!

Ephesians 4:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Welcome to Friday!  The weekend is finally here.  This has been a very interesting and busy week for us, how about for you?  How was your week?  How did things go for you and your loved ones this week?  I hope you are doing well and that you are surviving in this tricky weather season without incident.  We had two close calls, but thankfully everyone is doing well.  Paige and Gabbi were both a little poor and run down last night, but they both looked much better this morning.  How was your weekend?  What was the highlight of your week?  Is there anything you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear how things are going and what you have been up to lately.  

We have had a busy weekend and week.  In fact, I'm looking forward to next Friday when the kids get out of school and the holiday rest period can begin.  Last weekend was jammed with activities, blessings, and experiences.  Gabbi kicked off the weekend with an amazing dance recital at her high school.  The dancers were very talented, and Gabbi was able to enjoy the benefits of her hard work and practice.  The show was very good, and aside from one or two numbers, very tasteful.  There were two numbers that just didn't seem to fit with the words "high school" and "dance class recital."  Gabbi had performances on Friday night and Saturday.  She did well both nights.  Mom came up to watch Friday's performance and I enjoyed spending time with her and watching her interact with normally shy Emma and never shy Ava.  In addition to the dance recital we spent a large part of Saturday serving at our monthly ministry to feed the homeless and hungry.  We had an amazing crowd of people come out to help, and a great group of guests come through to fellowship with us all.  

Our busy weekend was capped off by Sunday celebration of my sister Liz's birthday and of course a great coffee date with Trish in the late afternoon.  We barely got enough rest to prepare for the activities of this week.  This week was packed.  We had Sydney's wonderful performance at honor choir on Monday night.  She was amazing and the honor choir sounded really good.  We could actually hear Sydney clearly in all of the voices, and she seemed very excited.  The only downside of Monday's concert was Trish having to leave when Ava and Emma decided they would "join in" with there own "music."  The week also included Cassarra's band concert.  She played with the concert band for the winter concert on Tuesday night (I think, the week was a blur).  Sydney was also in a Christmas recital the same night.  I missed Sydney's while watching the dynamic duo, but made it in time to watch Cassarra.  She played very well, although she didn't smile at all.  This has been an interesting year for her thus far in band.  It seems like the band magic may be winding down, hopefully someone can inspire her to keep trying.  

On Thursday I caught Sydney's performance at school where she played a country talking Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.  For my super serious Sydney, her laid back country twang deserved an award.  She looked like she was having a blast.  Later Thursday night we all sat down and enjoyed dinner and some quick reflection on the blur that was our week.  We laughed at Gabbi's jokes, smiled with Paige, talked about school days, school issues, and new discoveries by Ava and Emma.  This week Ava and Emma seemed to be focused less on taking all the ornaments off the tree and enjoying their new bed. 

Well, today is my big sister's birthday and I hope she is having an amazing day and tomorrow I will have a chance to celebrate Paige's and my brother Vincent's birthday.  We will also get a chance to sing Happy Birthday to the more than six December birthday people.  Our family is truly blessed and my many blessings were the reason this weekend, was blessed - even more than it was busy.

Well, I hope you have a great weekend.  May the sure and steadfast love of God be the blessing that lights up your darkest moments, gives you courage when you feel week, and gives you the hope to keep pressing forward.  May the love of good friends, dear family members, and the Almighty God be with you always.  So, make it a great rest of the day, have a fantastic weekend and as always...

Welcome to Friday!

"May [you] be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love o Christ, 

which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:18-19

God of light, joy, hope, excitement, and endless love -

bring light into our darkness, joy into our sorrow, 

hope into our moments of doubt, excitement into our moments of boredom

and endless love into all the moments from morning till morning.

May the hope of the Christ child who was, and is, and is to come be with you!

With love (& in triumph),

Cassius

Stop Thief

I just wanted to share and echo some words my wife told me once before that I saw play out one morning at work. Sometime ago Trish inspired our crew to read, study and apply a change to the words we used. So we read the Joyce Meyer book and she spoke about choosing our words carefully. In the book she talked about our words having great power and that we can actually speak negativity into our circumstances. Well, I saw that play out this particular morning.

One of my co-workers forget their key fob and got so frustrated that she said, "I should have stayed home, this is a bad morning!" When I said, "Good morning!" She replied, "I'll say morning, but I won't say its good.". The rest of her day seemed frantic and frustrating. She complained more than normal, was late for meetings when normally she is early, and then she was early for a meeting by an hour. In short, her day was off!

As I sat at my desk, her words made me wonder how many times do I speak into being the very type of day that I am afraid of, and trying to avoid. I wonder how many times do I take a divine day and drag it down into the mundane because I think and speak negative thoughts.
Anyway, I know that you will appreciate this - Speak life!

L - Loving, light-filled, lively words
I - Inspirational, intentional, and Incarnate words
F - Faith-filled, faithful and The Word of the Father
E - Encouraging and Eternal Life words

Philippians 4:8 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things

Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it eat its fruits.

We need to stop letting the devil steal our joy, and stop stealing our own abundance by speaking words of defeat, doubt and despair.

Girls on the run

I am just sharing some of the post race photos from my runner.  Sydney ran in the "Girls on the Run 5K".  She did an amazing time and posted her best time so far.  This was her 3rd race and my first as her running buddy.  Before the race she told Trish that she was going to try to improve her time from last year and she did.

She was amazing during the entire race.  We started out in the cold with a brief walk before starting a jog to get the blood flowing and our feet thawed.  Pretty soon we were in a light job.  The pace was really good.  We jogged the first mile at a great pace, took a brief break to walk and then tie shoes.  Afterwards Sydney reset the pace and ran most of the second mile and then the last half of the third mile.  It was a great pace given the cold weather and her cold aching feet and hands.  

I  am proud of her practice,  and race preparation.  She trained hard, was up early on race day and made her mind up that she was going to make it in about 40 minutes.  Her time was 40 minutes and 11 seconds.

Great job Sydney. You were born to be great, and everyday you are doing just that.   I am so proud of you and keep running, keep being awesome, keep being you.

You go girl, you rock!

Welcome to Friday - 12.5.14

Welcome to Friday!

We have had a very busy week.  And as they often do, busy weeks bring their fair share of moments and memories.  Of course we have had the occasional moments of head scratching, minor irritation, impatience, and fatigue.  We have also had a extremely large number of laughs, tears of joy, fun, friends, family, shining moments, good times, and tremendous blessings.  If I did the comparison between the two the irritating would be a molehill and the blessings a mountain, like Everest or taller.  For example, we were all glued to the TV on Monday night to catch a glimpse of Sydney participating in the honor choir for the Governor's Tree Lighting.  Despite Emma's drive by channel surfing (grabbing the TV remote, changing the channel and running off), we caught several good shots of Sydney.  The best shot, and the proudest moment came when she stood at the top of the choir stand on the State House steps and applauded the Governor and her family.  Sydney was so close she could have reached out to touch them.  She was beautifully dressed and her attitude, song, and actions reflected it very well.  Especially since she said it was a lot colder on the steps than it appeared from the warm couch in our house.  After she returned home, we spent a lot of time that night just listening to Sydney and Trish tell us what it was like to have such and up close and personal view of everything.  Trish remarked that it was very nice, well organized, an a great experience.  She was particularly fond of the hot chocolate and cookies they enjoyed before the event aired.  She was not fond of the cold, crisp night air.  

If I continue to rewind the week and previous weekend I have to include the blessings of Thanksgiving last week, especially listening to the "Struggle Stories" from my brother Vincent.  They were hilarious, cathartic, and insightful.  I'm sure everyone in the whole house over Thanksgiving now knows that the youthful declaration, "I'm a grown man," comes at a cost.  I learned that I have had a really blessed childhood, enjoyed some fantastic parents, and even now continue to find joy and strength in the love that my family provides.  

I definitely enjoyed spending time with my dad as usual.  He was changing the car oil, I was learning, laughing, listening, and enjoying just being there.  Heaven must be like that: enjoying being with our Father.  Hopefully, in heaven you want have to look for a 13 mm socket, and you won't secretly hope that your father doesn't ask for some tool you've never heard of.  Anyway, I digress.  The point I was trying to make, the weekend (Thursday - Sunday) was amazing.  and it gave rise to an amazing week too.

The amazing week/weekend included the blessings of:

• Thanksgiving with family and an extended weekend
• I'm counting last Thursday as my weekend because I was enjoying the blessing of a company holiday on Thursday and Friday.  
• On Saturday we saw "Big Hero 6" with the girls, except Gabbi (Gabbi was chilling in Georgetown)
• Ava enjoyed the movie and behaved mostly
• Emma was a different story, she lasted for a while
• The movie was funny and entertaining
• Cassarra's grandmother (my mother-in-law) gave her a car to use to help out
• She drove Gabbi to school safely this week
• Trish got rest a bit more without the morning taxi routine
• Gabbi and Cassarra seem a bit more motivated to get up on time
• Sydney's honor choir at the State House (worth listing twice, even three times)
• Our health
• No major issues just runny noses, dry coughs and scratchy throats
• The Christmas decorations went up inside at the house
• The tree looks amazing and the garland and stockings are beautiful
• The laughs from Ava and Emma dismantling the candy canes off the tree in a single night
• The laughs from finding the Santa ornament hanging out in the North Pole aka the freezer
• The laughs from Ava and Emma repeatedly dribbling ornaments on the floor (good thing we bought plastic)
• Well, we don't always laugh - but sometimes it is funny
• I was able to get some decorations up outside.  It only took a little prompting from Trish
• Ava and Gabbi helped supervise hanging lights around the door and putting up a few pre-lit trees
• Sharing with Ava that Christmas lights should remind us of the "True Light" of the world, when she asked, "Why lights?"
• Good weather this week
• Gabbi's practices have gone well for her upcoming dance performance this weekend
• A great set of interim report cards for the girls
• A successful series of meetings at school 
• Hearing about the great progress being made at Sydney and Paige's School
• Meeting with the guidance counselor for Cassarra and knowing she is well on track for graduation in 2016
• Starting new roles at work with new opportunities
• No battery or alternator issues with the truck
• A slow night to catch our breath on Wednesday
• Trish and I watched a movie on the couch and chatted
• Sharing dinner together as a family on Thursday night
• Monthly breakfast with the girls (including Ava and Emma) before school

Top to bottom this has been a jam packed week and on the order very good.  Trish and the girls are all doing well.  Tired out a bit from the week's activities, but well.  I hope that you have had a wonderful week.  This weekend we will be enjoying Gabbi's dance recital.  She said to tell you she has a performance tonight and tomorrow night at 7pm.  She is very excited and has been working very hard.  I know it will go very well.  I also plan to enjoy my sister's birthday, a coffee date with Trish, some time to rest and recover on Sunday, finishing the decorations in the yard on Saturday afternoon, spending time with friends and family and whatever else comes our way.  How about you?  I hope you weekend is blessed and filled with love.  I hope that you are able to enjoy love, loved ones, and a time of rest and recovery.  May things go well for you and all those you love.  Blessings and joy... and of course,

Welcome to Friday!

The Universe is infinite, vast, beyond full comprehension, glorious, and amazing, 

and so too are the great plans that God has for me and you! 

May a vast and glorious day unfold for you. 

Breathtaking

This is beautiful and a breathtaking shot.  More such shots are on Trish's site

Photo by Trish

In reaponse to "A Lifestyle of Thanksgiving"

From: Devotionals Daily

Subject: A Lifestyle of Thanksgiving

The only real fall of man is his noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world." That was the fall! Non-eucharisteo, ingratitude, was the fall — humanity's discontent with all that God freely gives. That is what has scraped me raw: ungratefulness.

This too has scraped me raw, ungratefulness.  

Here is what I should have been thankful for instead of complaining:

Our house, which provides a refuge and shelter for 8 steady and as many as 12

Our cars, which have been able to take us to and from in some coordinated fashion time after time

Our children, who have helped us see our own flaws and selfishness, learn how to see God, taught us to pray and provided heaps of memories

Our parents, whose best was given in love and made us into the people we are and given us the hope and desire to become the people we were meant to be

Our God, who has never allowed us to settle for comfort when Paradise awaits, who daily loads us with blessings often unnoticed for years, who hears and answers prayers

Our God, who has saved us time and time from peril, danger, snares, and death and whose sacrifice has saved us eternally

Yes, ungrateful has been a mark of my life.  I have failed so often to give thanks for the small victories and dare I ponder how many larger victories were delayed by such a poor attitude.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to put up this picture and post from our Thanksgiving week.  This is our door frame outlined with the many blessings that we give thanks for this year.  Each leaf and hand (not in view) is a spoken, written and acknowledged blessing.  It was Trish's idea to make a visual cue to be thankful and grateful for our blessings.  

In addition to these colorful patterns, there are many more short notes written on notebook pages, or spoken during the week.  Some blessings were shared during dinner, others during a devotional that Trish would share just before dinner.

We have a lot to be thankful for, everything from Apple Products (iPad, iPhones, etc.) to the visits to the zoo with Stemmies.  Our leaves include thanks for Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, friends, family, food, our spouse, our parents, our home, and more.

God truly has blessed us to enjoy every good thing, and His many countless blessings of grace.  This year, we celebrated the start of a new family tradition, explicitly being thankful, giving gratitude to God, focusing on Christ, and being with family.  

We even finished up with a great dinner prepared by Trish.

Happy Thanksgiving!  May God give you His grace and goodness, along with a heart of gratitude whereby we might appreciate Him more and forever more.

With love (& in triumph),

Cassius