Winter Break Blur

Wow, I'm not kiddin', this winter break is nothing but a serious blur!  There has been so much take place in our family over the past 2 weeks, I'm not real sure if I can remember everything!

Today is January 2nd, and I'm just trying to enjoy a quiet afternoon with the girls...catching a few college bowl games...and trying to catch up on some social media stuff. 

I've got lots of stuff running through my head that I'll get on paper soon, just not today. 

Hope you've entered the New Year with new expectations and new excitement for what God has in store!

Christmas Eve Eve

The day before the day before the big day.  It just doesn't feel like Christmas this year.  Lot's have gone on...things have changed.  And if you can believe it, we don't even have any snow!  (But trust me, that's a good thing!)

I'm hoping tonight I can sleep....and I do mean sleep!  Tomorrow has always been a special day for me.  And in my own special way, I'm still looking forward to it.  I'm just praying that tomorrow, things will click again...and Christmas will feel like, well you know, Christmas!

Blessings!

Can't Take, Don't Dish...

Today was a crazy day at work...lots of chaotic, worthless stress that seriously could have been avoided.  But I guess thats one of the things that guarantees job security! 

But here's my pet peeve of the day:  have you ever been around someone who DEFINITELY has an opinion and certainly doesn't mind sharing it with you?  Whether you ASKED FOR THEIR OPINION OR NOT?  And then the mind-numbing ranting goes on and on and on....

Yep, I had that today..over the phone no doubt!  And how this phone conversation ended up on 'just how great Obama really is' is absolutely beyond me.  Before I realized it, I was in a 15 minute conversation on just how Obama was the 'savior' and was going to 'fix' everything!  And this person CERTAINLY wanted him to be relected for another 4 years. 

I waited for that 'one special moment'.  I knew that the person I was talking to HAD to breathe sometime!  And then it happened...a mere moment of silence while the person on the other end of the telephone receiver was inhaling, about to share with me MORE of why our illustrious commander-in-chief needed another 4 more years. 

It was in that brief moment that I made my move.  I had SO MUCH I wanted to say, but I only said one small sentence.  Six words.  Six.  But it got my point across. 

"Well, I hope he doesn't win."

It wasn't sarcastic, although I could've unleashed the hounds of hell on that one!  It was simple...polite (yeah, go figure)...and even professional.

But this was all it took.  I could feel the heat from the other person screaming through the telephone! 

Their response:  "Well I figured.  Ya'll are all alike."

And then they hung on me!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Here's the deal...if you've got something to say, by all means say it.  But be man/woman enough to hear the other persons opinion, even if you disagree with them.  Simply put, if you can't take it, don't dish it out!

  

Back From The Past

There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't think about the blog, yet, it's been over two years since I've managed to sit down and contribute. I have failed. I have failed miserably! I love this blog. It was always so much fun for me...a sense of release...or relief whichever you like.

I'm going to do my best to re-establish myself on this blog. But it will be different this time. I'm in need of an outlet...a mind-dump if you will. And this blog will be perfect!

I'm apologizing now in advance of whatever I might put up here. I will be honest, for sure...and sometimes sarcastic. But I need a release. You, my readers are what makes this go 'round. I promise to simply be myself...as brutally honest as I can be!

In a word...I'm back! And I promise to be back with a vengence!

Spread the word...I'll see you soon!

It Should Be Natural...

I remember so vividly how as a young boy I would wait for nightfall to come, then burst outside on a mission that would keep me busy for hours! My glass jar with holes poked in the lid had just enough grass in it to help showcase my soon-to-be prizes...only to watch my 'prizes' fly off into the night air. I loved fireflys...or lightnin' bugs as I call them. There were very few nights during the summer that I didn't participate in this nightly ritual.

I had almost forgotten what that felt like...

It's been years since those hot delta nights. And I must admit there have been many nights during the summer that I wish I could still see the countless lights floating aimlessly in the dark. As the years have passed...with all the relocations that our family has been a part of...and with such hectic schedules, ofttimes small things such as lightnin' bug watching doesn't even manage to make it on any to-do list that I might have. And until this past week, I really didn't realize just how much I missed it.

For some unknown reason, I ended up out back of our house just enjoying the night breeze. It had been a crazy day at work, and long after supper, I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed outside. The wind was slightly blowing which gave a slight chill in the air. It was a great way to cap off the day. As the day slowly gave way to dusk with darkness waiting to dominate the sky, they began to appear. One by one, dozens, eventually hundreds of lightnin' bugs began their dance on the night air. And that flood of memories from my childhood came rushing over me like an unstoppable wave. All at once I was whisked away, back to the delta...and into a somewhat 'childlike' state, unlike anything I've ever experienced before. By this time the darkness had overcome the light and our backyard had joined forces with the open field behind us and together they had morphed into this gigantic mass of blackness....blackness, except for, what is now thousands of fireflys dancing on the night sky. I felt like a little boy again...

There, surrounded by countless creatures that, just by nature, have to shine...they have to light up, I heard His Voice.

And it echoed through the night air...

"Remember all those nights as a little boy you marveled at these magnificent creatures?"

Yes Sir.

"Remember how you were captivated...anxiously awaiting for night to come just so you could go outside?"

Oh, Yes Sir!

"That was the beginning of a vision I had for you!"

What?!

"It was there, years ago that I placed this urgency in your heart. An urgency that could only be taught through the eyes of a child. And it's time for that urgency to now become reality."

At that moment I began to see lightnin' bugs through a whole different set of eyes...

It's these very small, innocent creatures that give us the greatest example of what Christianity is actually all about. No matter where they are or what they're doing or where they're going they have to 'let their light shine'. They can't help it. It's the way they're designed...it's their nature...it's their DNA.

As Christ-Followers, this should be our DNA too! We should be so filled with the Holy Spirit that wherever we might be, we can't help but let our light shine! The love of Christ should glow in us so freely, that we don't even think about it...it should be in our DNA...it should come natural...

The world gets darker with each passing hour, so I've gotta get ready. Got my Mason Jar ready to go...can't wait to get outside! But I can't forget the one secret that He's taught me: Christians 'er I mean lightnin' bugs, shine the brightest, in the darkest of nights...

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Elections Thoughts...

Just a few of my thoughts about the election:

An Epic Fail...