My Grandmother

Almost two weeks ago my grandmother laid down for a nap and calmly slipped into the Kingdom of Heaven.  I can remember as a young boy walking into her front door early one morning and peering through the living room to her back porch.  She was sitting there in her cushioned lawn chair with her hands lifted as she quietly praised the Lord, as her Bible lay opened on her lap.  There was no music wooing her into worship.  It was just her and Jesus, and nothing else mattered. That's the vision I remember most of her.  What an example she set for me!  She showed me that true belief and worship only require a sincere heart and obedience to spend time with Him each day.

She loved me so much.  Everything I did was great in her eyes.  If no one else in the world had believed in me, she did; and quite honestly, that would have been enough.  I will miss the sound of her voice.  I will miss her handing me her fresh homemade biscuits over the fence early every Saturday morning (she lived next door).  There's so much that I will cherish in my memories about her.  The list of recollections would never end.

My grandpa Freddy, her husband, passed away the year I was born in 1974 at the young age of 50.  She had to carry-on with life.  She kept his memory alive by describing him with words that were so great.  I grew to admire him very early in life.  Well, that's what I will do for her.  These few words I'm typing will represent the first expression of admiration I will share with regard to my precious grandma Joyce.

She was strong in her convictions.  She was faithful to God, family, friends, and acquaintances.  She forgave when she was wronged.  She was tender when someone needed comfort.  She saw the best in people when little good was apparent to others.  And she loved...first Jesus...then everyone else.  What a woman of virtue she was!  I hope God allows me to dream of her many times.  Oh, how real I hope those dreams will be.  If she could somehow read these words, then I would tell her this:

I love you, Grandma; and I'll miss you until I'm in Heaven one day.  Your character will live-on in the lives of everyone who knew you, especially in me.  Tell grandpa that I can't wait to meet him!  Your grandson, Micah

Landon's Special Rocks

This was a journal entry from April 14, 2010:

     This past weekend, Landon came to me in the kitchen and what I thought I heard him say was, "I have some special walks for you," as he then turned to go into the garage.  I stopped him and said, "Hey buddy, don't go in there.  What are you talking about?  I don't understand."  (I didn't like him being in the garage without a good reason).
     After I had him repeat himself a couple of times, I gave-up trying to understand and just let him go with hopes of finally seeing what this was all about.  He came back in with a handful of broken rocks that he had found on the side of the road during his walk with Mommy that morning.  Inside, I could feel my heart swell and I knelt down so he could tell me about these rocks, some of which looked like bits of concrete.  He pointed out ones that glittered in the light and described other little things as well.  But what pierced my soul was that he kept calling them "special rocks".  In his little mind, they were beautiful and because they were so neat to him, he wanted me to have them.
     In the simplest of ways, he showed me how much he loved me.  One by one, his little hands carefully placed each rock into mine.  Now I have them proudly displayed on my desk at work in front of his baby picture.  I would not trade all the diamonds in the world for these dusty little rocks.  I'm so thankful to God for giving me a heart that cherishes moments like this.

Thoughts on Proverbs 27:1

Proverbs 27:1 - Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Speaking for myself, I have lived most of my life by intentionally and unintentionally assuming so many things regarding what lies ahead. Is that considered "boasting"? Well...in some ways it is kind of arrogant to take for granted what tomorrow brings. If nothing else, it demonstrates a lack of need and dependence on God for my life. So in a passive sense, I guess it could be considered "boasting".

What I should be doing is living as though tomorrow is not guaranteed. If I'm going to assume anything, I should assume that my tomorrow in this life will never occur. If I took-on this mentality, how might things be different? Would I put off that month-old promise to take my son to the museum? Would I pass-up the opportunity to discuss "life matters" with my 12-year-old daughter at her bedside as I tucked her in. Would I tell God that today was just too busy to read His Word? Would I stay up late watching that new movie on blue-ray instead of holding my wife in bed and talking about whatever was on her mind.

These are just a few of countless decision-points that just may be different if I didn't continuously live as if tomorrow was assured. So how should I change? I will do my best to quit "boasting" of tomorrow in my subtle way. I will live in complete dependence on my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I will be thankful for the abundance of mercy and grace I have received, and hopeful that my life will be pleasing to God, finding favor in His righteous will.

I will also stop ignoring the fact that people all around me are on a path toward eternity apart from God. I must acknowledge that this is the most tragic crisis mankind has ever faced and it's at our doorstep. I pray that God will give me the courage, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and ability to point people toward salvation though Christ. I just want it to be so real that I'm incapable of ignoring it any longer. Tomorrow may never come for so many people that we know. Please join me in obeying Proverbs 27:1 and humble yourself to the realization that God holds tomorrow in His hands...not us.

Simple Acts of Love

This past weekend I began feeling ill. On Sunday I barely had enough energy to function although I still had to conduct morning and evening activities at church. That's just the setting...not the topic that motivated me to write this. I'm writing because of my 5-year-old son, Landon.

When we got home on Sunday from church, I went into Jonah and Landon's room to be with them while they studied their scriptures for AWANA, which was planned for later that evening. I immediately fell asleep on their floor. Each time I woke up during that nap, Landon was rubbing my shoulder or kissing my forehead. At one point he even placed a piece of candy in my hand and closed my fingers around it. Although I hadn't told him anything regarding how I felt, he sensed that something was wrong and completely showered me with love...his way of taking care of me.

More and more, I see the "return" of love from my kids...the kind of love that I've tried to give them during these young years of their lives...the love that can only come from God. As I've probably said before, if I were to die today, I would be dying as a happy and completely fulfilled man because of the blessings God has given me through my family. As simple as Landon's actions were on Sunday, it was yet another ornament of beauty in my mind's memory. These moments are sprinkled all over my heart...each representing the stroke of a paint brush...creating the most amazing masterpiece.

I'm still here

Just wanted to let anyone who visits my blog to know that I'm going to resume this writing adventure.  It's been quite a while and life has had many ups and downs, but God is good and I'm blessed to have His grace to live each day that He gives me.

12 Years

Yesterday's post was about a car, but that's only part of a much bigger occasion. 12 years ago was the day Michelle and I entered into marriage. Yes, Ruby will be an effective reminder of this particular anniversary, but to tell you the truth, every part of every day is a reminder of my precious bride. She's a part of me in so many ways. We've made it through life's ups and downs, always growing stronger as individuals and as a couple, but most importantly, as followers of Christ.

I'm loving every minute of my life with her. I don't deserve her or any of my blessings, which is why I live each day in a constant state of thankfulness.

Ruby

Since I've known Michelle, she always would express how much she liked the Mercedes-Benz roadster convertibles when they would pass by, so naturally it's always been a lofty dream of mine to actually get one for her someday. Well, this desire started taking flight a few days ago when I found a 1982 380 SL Roadster (on the internet) for an amazing price. I thought that surely there was an underlying deficiency in this car's past that has brought it's resale value down. I called the owner and he turned out to be the kindest man you can imagine. He seemed to be honest and candid about how he and previous owners had cared for this car. As the saying goes, "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is"; however, the further I researched this car, the more and more I realized that this was simply an incredible opportunity. It had half the national average of miles and the asking price was a few thousand less than it's NADA market value according to its condition. At 27 years old, it's now a classic, yet much of it's mechanical make-up is new because of the thousands of dollars the previous owners had invested in the upkeep of this car.

In an effort to not drag this out much further, I'll just summarize by saying that Michelle and I decided to buy this old girl. Mr. Russell (the man who sold her to us) had named her Ruby, so in honor of him and his kind nature, we will also call her Ruby. Please enjoy these pictures from today. I'm sure that we'll make many memories in this car.

These next two shots are from our voyage home from Atlanta with the newest addition to our family.




This photo was taken right after Michelle parked Ruby in our garage for the first time.



Noah was the first to take a joy ride with Mom because he turned 9 yesterday. He deserved it for many other reasons as well. He's a great kid and an awesome son.


This shot really captured the moment. I'm sure Michelle and Hannah will have lots of time to bond as they cruise around town together.