The Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.
So...
Last night my wife attended the Girl Scout Troop meeting without my daughter for a parent meeting. In it, she was pretty much blamed for the troop being a mess and was asked summarily to stop being the troop leader as of May 15th. Yeah, they knew that she was going to leave at the end of the year anyway to start a new troop that didn't have all the baggage that this one has. They are starting the new year planning then and don't think that having Trina in a position of leadership will help their cause.
They are also planning on changing the troop number because it is a "new troop". Here is where my problem is. We, as parents, want to teach our girls how to be respectful. We want them to respect authority, have integrity, have character, know what is right and wrong, and be a sister to all other Girl Scouts world wide. Let me give some people a clue -- if you want your kids to have these qualities, you better start having them yourself.
This troop's biggest problem is not Trina. It's not a bad administration before her. It's not that they have too much money. It's not that they lost all their paperwork when my car was stolen. It's that there are too many parents in this troop who have no integrity, who will step on all the rest of the girls in the troop to make sure that their child gets her fair share and more, curse the rest and laugh. These parents have no integrity.
I posted on facebook a while back about a parent who took her granddaughter out to another council area and started selling cookies out there before that council was allowed to sell cookies, a gross violation of the rules that could have resulted in the entire troop losing all cookie sales and she knew better. But it was ok because she was getting her sales no matter what else happened to anyone else.
Last week, there was an Easter egg hunt at the troop with one egg having a "Golden Ticket" to get an Easter basket instead of the just the candy in the egg. Well, there were more eggs than kids at the meeting so a couple of the parents had to go out and pick up 7 eggs to make it that everyone got 5 eggs each. One of the parents accidentally picked up the golden ticket egg, so she put it back down and picked up another one. When the girls start to come out, she makes sure to tell her daughter, "Go pick up that green one." Integrity. If I would have found the egg during a random pick up, I close it up and toss it to the middle of the field, none the wiser of what I found and wish every girl the best in finding it. But this parent thought that their daughter deserved the basket more than any of the other girls and had to cheat.
So, when my wife is no longer the troop leader of this troop come May 15th, outside I will sympathize with her and console her. Inside, I will be rejoicing because she gets the opportunity to start her own troop and not have to deal with a group of ungrateful, lying, selfish, ingrate parents who are teaching their girls to be the same. If you want your child to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, and a sister to every Girl Scout, how about trying it yourself.
The Family
The extended family
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The more I think about it, the more I'm bothered
So, in case you don't follow me on facebook, let me set out the entire situation as it occurred.
Thursday night is Girl Scout night around our house. Trina, being a girl scout troop leader, has a box full of paperwork for the Girl Scouts, including contact information, permission slips, money, etc. So, getting home Thursday night, she was suffering from MS fatigue and asked me to make sure I bring in her box. Not a problem, I thought. She made sure to lock it. I went out later to get something for her in the van. I double-checked to make sure it was locked. It was 10 pm.
As I was getting the kids ready to go to school, we walked out of the house to get into my car. It was in the driveway. But then, it wasn't. I walked back into the house, "Where's my car?" It wasn't there. It wasn't parked on the street. It wasn't down the street. It was gone. So the kids have to go to school. We jump in the van real quick and I take them. Meanwhile, my wife calls the sheriff department to report the stolen car.
I get back and decide that I can't go to work that day because we were going to have to take care of a lot of stuff. Sheriff shows up and begins to interview us. The car was in my wife's name so they asked her for her license. It was at this point that we realized that her wallet was in the car still.
So, while the sheriff interviewed my wife, I began calling banks to cancel her card. I call GEICO to report the theft. Of course, we didn't have comprehensive on a 15 year old car bought for $1600 as the cost/benefit analysis proved that was a gamble worth taking (we lost) so they can't help at all. My home insurance couldn't cover anything because we have $1000 deductible there and we didn't lose $1000 worth of stuff.
So, now the list of stuff in the car in order of importance:
1) My wife's wallet and purse
2) All the Girl Scout's information
3) My umpire gear
4) My favorite shirt
5) About $50 in tools
6) My umpire uniforms and hats
7) My Denver Bronco sticker
8) My razor
9) A plug/car charger converter
10) My license plate frame that says, "I'd rather be behind home."
11) About 4 years worth of collecting HeroClix
12) About $2.50 in change
13) Some Axe Deodorant
Well, after going to the DMV to get a new license, cancelling all the bank cards, taking care of what we could, spending $280 to sign the entire family up for LifeLock immediately (since all the kids' social security cards were in my wife's wallet.)
So Friday night we have no idea where the car is. Of course, driving down the street I'm looking at every car driving the other way to see if it was my car. No luck (of course.)
Saturday morning, I take Micah out to his baseball game. Right before it starts, I get a call from the police department saying they found the car. Great! Oh there's bad news. It was burned. I don't know how bad. They give me the phone number for the tow truck company that has the car. I'm able to call them and they would send someone out to look at the car but I couldn't go look unless I wanted to pay the $100 to open the gate or wait until Monday to see it for free (plus all the fees.) We'll wait for Monday.
Sunday is our day to go look at cars. We go to CarMax and figure out that the number we're looking to pay is not going to be possible. So we figure out that we are going to need to go up a little and figure out a way to come up with more funds (anyone need a part-time secretary/child care specialist/warehouse guy/umpire?) We ended up with a 2006 PT Cruiser for $318 a month. That's going to be hard but God has provided before and He's been pretty faithful.
Monday finally comes. I'm going to show up late for work that day to take care of all the car stuff. We went to the police department for the release. Then we go down to tow yard, pay $365 ($235 for towing fees and a ton for storage fees of a dead car) and go take a look at the car. List of stuff in the car that we were able to identify:
1) The Girl Scout Information burned so it wasn't taken
2) All the car parts were in tact, including radio.
3) A couple of Umpire shirts that were in the back. We've washed them a couple times and they still stink pretty good.
4) My license plate frame is fully functional! It goes on the PT!
5) The Bronco Sticker, rolled up and burned to a crisp.
That's about it. I wasn't able to recognize anything else.
So, from talking to others about it, someone probably stole it, went and robbed a liquor store or something, parked the car out in Loma Linda (behind the Del Taco on Waterman and Barton,) burned it to hide any evidence and used my umpire bag and wife's girl scout tote to fill with the loot. I went to where the car was found and it looked like the trash truck came that morning (Monday) to empty the dumpster so I wasn't able to find anything.
So I was ok with everything. Then I start to think about how the tools my wife and I use to volunteer for things we care for were all stolen. Then I start thinking about what kind of jerks would do that, take stuff that ultimately is going to hurt kids, not just our 4 but all the kids we work with. What kind of jerks would steal a car to rob a place and try to get it to point back to us if the car was seen driving away? Why did this happen to our family!? Getting more and more upset.
I have to change my perspective though. They didn't steal my car, my umpiring gear, my razor, my wife's stuff. These are all ministries that God has given us outside of the church to work with the lost and be a positive influence, showing God's love in everyday life. They stole God's stuff. But that's the great thing. God has a lot more stuff than they can ever steal -- stuff they couldn't steal if they wanted to -- because God wants to give it away. Maybe one day I'll find some of my umpiring stuff hiding in a pawn shop. Maybe I'll inadvertently run into these guys who did this, not knowing it was them. I hope that they will feel the love that God has given me all these years through me despite what they did. God loves them. I may not be happy with them but my anger and hurt isn't going to hurt them. I won't get even by holding a grudge. In the end, God is good. All of the time.
Thursday night is Girl Scout night around our house. Trina, being a girl scout troop leader, has a box full of paperwork for the Girl Scouts, including contact information, permission slips, money, etc. So, getting home Thursday night, she was suffering from MS fatigue and asked me to make sure I bring in her box. Not a problem, I thought. She made sure to lock it. I went out later to get something for her in the van. I double-checked to make sure it was locked. It was 10 pm.
As I was getting the kids ready to go to school, we walked out of the house to get into my car. It was in the driveway. But then, it wasn't. I walked back into the house, "Where's my car?" It wasn't there. It wasn't parked on the street. It wasn't down the street. It was gone. So the kids have to go to school. We jump in the van real quick and I take them. Meanwhile, my wife calls the sheriff department to report the stolen car.
I get back and decide that I can't go to work that day because we were going to have to take care of a lot of stuff. Sheriff shows up and begins to interview us. The car was in my wife's name so they asked her for her license. It was at this point that we realized that her wallet was in the car still.
So, while the sheriff interviewed my wife, I began calling banks to cancel her card. I call GEICO to report the theft. Of course, we didn't have comprehensive on a 15 year old car bought for $1600 as the cost/benefit analysis proved that was a gamble worth taking (we lost) so they can't help at all. My home insurance couldn't cover anything because we have $1000 deductible there and we didn't lose $1000 worth of stuff.
So, now the list of stuff in the car in order of importance:
1) My wife's wallet and purse
2) All the Girl Scout's information
3) My umpire gear
4) My favorite shirt
5) About $50 in tools
6) My umpire uniforms and hats
7) My Denver Bronco sticker
8) My razor
9) A plug/car charger converter
10) My license plate frame that says, "I'd rather be behind home."
11) About 4 years worth of collecting HeroClix
12) About $2.50 in change
13) Some Axe Deodorant
Well, after going to the DMV to get a new license, cancelling all the bank cards, taking care of what we could, spending $280 to sign the entire family up for LifeLock immediately (since all the kids' social security cards were in my wife's wallet.)
So Friday night we have no idea where the car is. Of course, driving down the street I'm looking at every car driving the other way to see if it was my car. No luck (of course.)
Saturday morning, I take Micah out to his baseball game. Right before it starts, I get a call from the police department saying they found the car. Great! Oh there's bad news. It was burned. I don't know how bad. They give me the phone number for the tow truck company that has the car. I'm able to call them and they would send someone out to look at the car but I couldn't go look unless I wanted to pay the $100 to open the gate or wait until Monday to see it for free (plus all the fees.) We'll wait for Monday.
Sunday is our day to go look at cars. We go to CarMax and figure out that the number we're looking to pay is not going to be possible. So we figure out that we are going to need to go up a little and figure out a way to come up with more funds (anyone need a part-time secretary/child care specialist/warehouse guy/umpire?) We ended up with a 2006 PT Cruiser for $318 a month. That's going to be hard but God has provided before and He's been pretty faithful.
Monday finally comes. I'm going to show up late for work that day to take care of all the car stuff. We went to the police department for the release. Then we go down to tow yard, pay $365 ($235 for towing fees and a ton for storage fees of a dead car) and go take a look at the car. List of stuff in the car that we were able to identify:
1) The Girl Scout Information burned so it wasn't taken
2) All the car parts were in tact, including radio.
3) A couple of Umpire shirts that were in the back. We've washed them a couple times and they still stink pretty good.
4) My license plate frame is fully functional! It goes on the PT!
5) The Bronco Sticker, rolled up and burned to a crisp.
That's about it. I wasn't able to recognize anything else.
So, from talking to others about it, someone probably stole it, went and robbed a liquor store or something, parked the car out in Loma Linda (behind the Del Taco on Waterman and Barton,) burned it to hide any evidence and used my umpire bag and wife's girl scout tote to fill with the loot. I went to where the car was found and it looked like the trash truck came that morning (Monday) to empty the dumpster so I wasn't able to find anything.
So I was ok with everything. Then I start to think about how the tools my wife and I use to volunteer for things we care for were all stolen. Then I start thinking about what kind of jerks would do that, take stuff that ultimately is going to hurt kids, not just our 4 but all the kids we work with. What kind of jerks would steal a car to rob a place and try to get it to point back to us if the car was seen driving away? Why did this happen to our family!? Getting more and more upset.
I have to change my perspective though. They didn't steal my car, my umpiring gear, my razor, my wife's stuff. These are all ministries that God has given us outside of the church to work with the lost and be a positive influence, showing God's love in everyday life. They stole God's stuff. But that's the great thing. God has a lot more stuff than they can ever steal -- stuff they couldn't steal if they wanted to -- because God wants to give it away. Maybe one day I'll find some of my umpiring stuff hiding in a pawn shop. Maybe I'll inadvertently run into these guys who did this, not knowing it was them. I hope that they will feel the love that God has given me all these years through me despite what they did. God loves them. I may not be happy with them but my anger and hurt isn't going to hurt them. I won't get even by holding a grudge. In the end, God is good. All of the time.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
When games get SERIOUS!!!!
You know, as one who likes the multi-player games of the world, I have run into a couple of people who take these games far more seriously than they should. I like them. I play them. I hate it when I miss out on something but it is not the end of the world. I'll just run into someone who takes themselves and the game way too seriously sometimes. It happens a lot on fighting-type head-to-head games. Tactics Arena was that way too many times. Runescape, with it's PvP areas was pretty bad at times. And now it happened again on a facebook wrestling game. The problem here is that it happened in a place that I am responsible for maintaining. So I cleaned it up. I did what I needed to do to take care of the situation, much to the chagrin of the one who took the whole situation way too personally and seriously. I guess these situations come up more often in these 1 on 1 type games because of the type of people who play these games for the most part -- people who want to make sure that you know that they are more intelligent or more diligent or have more time to play these type of games than you do and you are not worthy to buckle their +5 speed sandals.
I like my games but always have to keep them in the realm of just that -- games. Some people are going to be better than I am and some are going to be worse. If I ever take it more seriously than that, someone slap me silly.
I like my games but always have to keep them in the realm of just that -- games. Some people are going to be better than I am and some are going to be worse. If I ever take it more seriously than that, someone slap me silly.
Friday, January 14, 2011
So a thought occurred to me
Well, it's been a while since I posted here. Sorry for the delay for those who care :)
This morning I was driving to work when a random thought came to me about what would happen if Jesus came back to take his church today and how would the world explain it away. I think the Left Behind books say it was some kind of weird environmental thing that just vaporized some people and leave it at that. That seems weird to me. Then the thought came to me...
How many people would still go to church on Sunday as if nothing happened? How many churches would continue on with little change as some of their members may be missing but the majority is still here?
This isn't a blanket criticism of the church as I am a member of one, as well as a member of the universal church, but I have to take this to heart about myself. Am I ready? I am brought back to the 10 virgins waiting for the bridegroom and how 5 had to go search for lamp oil only to miss the coming of the groom. I think about how Jesus said that He will tell many that He never knew them even though they performed miracles in His name. I think about Jesus separating the sheep and the goats based on their responses to those around them and how they showed love to their neighbors. About how a real faith lives in real works and not in feel-good statements.
If Jesus were to come back today, would the number taken be so small as not to make a difference in our nation? Am I ready or am I lukewarm?
This morning I was driving to work when a random thought came to me about what would happen if Jesus came back to take his church today and how would the world explain it away. I think the Left Behind books say it was some kind of weird environmental thing that just vaporized some people and leave it at that. That seems weird to me. Then the thought came to me...
How many people would still go to church on Sunday as if nothing happened? How many churches would continue on with little change as some of their members may be missing but the majority is still here?
This isn't a blanket criticism of the church as I am a member of one, as well as a member of the universal church, but I have to take this to heart about myself. Am I ready? I am brought back to the 10 virgins waiting for the bridegroom and how 5 had to go search for lamp oil only to miss the coming of the groom. I think about how Jesus said that He will tell many that He never knew them even though they performed miracles in His name. I think about Jesus separating the sheep and the goats based on their responses to those around them and how they showed love to their neighbors. About how a real faith lives in real works and not in feel-good statements.
If Jesus were to come back today, would the number taken be so small as not to make a difference in our nation? Am I ready or am I lukewarm?
Friday, June 4, 2010
Some People Think Our State Is Square
If you have been keeping up with my facebook account, you'll know that Trina and I are in Colorado on vacation. Yesterday was our 10th anniversary. It's been a great 10 years.
We've been having fun up here, driving around, looking at sights. On Tuesday, we went white water rafting. It was fun but my body is still paying the price for it. I think part of it is the lingering effects of the car crash on Sunday where my back in sending little jolts up electricity up my spine nearly everytime I sit down. Of course, this may be aggrevated from when I broke my tail bone some 4 years ago and it may have set wrong -- but what do I do about that? In reality, I need to get some of the pressure off my back by losing some of the weight up front.
But back to white water rafting. It was fun. It was interesting putting your well being into the hands of someone else who is experienced, but in reality, is just as likely to fall out as anyone else. In fact, we had a three rafts of guide trainees with us and one of the trainees fell out of the raft. By the grace of God, Trina and I stayed in the raft. Of course, when we ended, I could barely stand up with my hip feeling like I was Jacob after wrestling with God and had to walk with a limp from then on. I think I'll heal though.
Yesterday, June 3rd, our anniversary, was by far our busiest day out here. We started up waking up at way too early in the morning and then leaving our room about 7 am. We drove down a couple of windy Colorado mountain highways with many beautiful sites along the road, until we finally emptied out of the mountains into Boulder. It was like... poof! You're in Boulder.
In Boulder, we went to the Celestrial Seasons Tea Factory. It was a good tour but not quite up to Jelly Belly standards. Of course, the Peppermint room was mind blowing -- or more like senses blowing. It invaded every sense with it's strength.
After the factory, we started looking for Mile High Comics. One of my friends told me it was in Boulder, so we looked it up on our phone and headed to Denver. This lead us to... their distribution warehouse. Oops. So we drove around Denver. We drove downtown, saw Coors Field (Rockies), then through downtown where I had my first geek-out moment of the day -- we passed through the intersection of Colifax and Broadway, made famous to me by the Five Iron Frenzy song, "From 0 to 15". Around the capital building, through downtown, and then to Invesco Field at Mile High (Broncos). We ended up taking a stadium tour (second geek-out moment) which lasted about an hour and got to walk down to the field (Staying off the grass.) Cool pictures to be posted later.
Spending some time in the team store, we finally took off on our quest to find a brick and mortar Mile High Comics store. We finally found it. It was ok. The guy behind the counter was saying they really do most of their business online now so none of the 4 B&M stores are too big anymore. But it was cool to find it. It looked like... a comic book store.
So we started considering dinner. My sister recommended a place that she saw on Man vs. Food called, "The Buckhorn Exchange Restaurant". So we found it. It is in the projects of Denver now. The building looks 117 yeas old. It was 4:30 and dinner service started at 5:30. So around 5 we head in (after 45 minutes of driving through Denver looking at houses and a lake.) We go in and they require reservations. Bummer. So we go upstairs to look at the saloon. I end up going back down and asking about how long reservations should be in advance. He tells me between 24-48 hours, but since it was just the two of us, he'd sneak us in. I didn't even need to play the anniversary card.
Let me say that this was, by far, absolutely the best restaurant I have ever eaten in. The menu looks like an old newspaper with a bunch of the history of the restaurant. The walls are lined with pictures of people who have eaten here, guns, mounted heads and full body animals, stories of Wild Bill Cody and Teddy Roosevelt, and history. Amazing. Then the two person steak came out. By far the best steak I've ever had. The buffalo noodle soup was fantastic. If you come to Denver just for this restaurant, you've made a good trip. Wow.
So now, it's Friday and I'm waiting for Laundry to dry. After the full day yesterday, now we are resting until we go drive trail ridge road up in the Rockies. Sounds like fun.
The problem with vacations is that they end way too early, but I am looking forward to seeing my kids again. Still, I have been enjoying my wife. Marriage is good.
We've been having fun up here, driving around, looking at sights. On Tuesday, we went white water rafting. It was fun but my body is still paying the price for it. I think part of it is the lingering effects of the car crash on Sunday where my back in sending little jolts up electricity up my spine nearly everytime I sit down. Of course, this may be aggrevated from when I broke my tail bone some 4 years ago and it may have set wrong -- but what do I do about that? In reality, I need to get some of the pressure off my back by losing some of the weight up front.
But back to white water rafting. It was fun. It was interesting putting your well being into the hands of someone else who is experienced, but in reality, is just as likely to fall out as anyone else. In fact, we had a three rafts of guide trainees with us and one of the trainees fell out of the raft. By the grace of God, Trina and I stayed in the raft. Of course, when we ended, I could barely stand up with my hip feeling like I was Jacob after wrestling with God and had to walk with a limp from then on. I think I'll heal though.
Yesterday, June 3rd, our anniversary, was by far our busiest day out here. We started up waking up at way too early in the morning and then leaving our room about 7 am. We drove down a couple of windy Colorado mountain highways with many beautiful sites along the road, until we finally emptied out of the mountains into Boulder. It was like... poof! You're in Boulder.
In Boulder, we went to the Celestrial Seasons Tea Factory. It was a good tour but not quite up to Jelly Belly standards. Of course, the Peppermint room was mind blowing -- or more like senses blowing. It invaded every sense with it's strength.
After the factory, we started looking for Mile High Comics. One of my friends told me it was in Boulder, so we looked it up on our phone and headed to Denver. This lead us to... their distribution warehouse. Oops. So we drove around Denver. We drove downtown, saw Coors Field (Rockies), then through downtown where I had my first geek-out moment of the day -- we passed through the intersection of Colifax and Broadway, made famous to me by the Five Iron Frenzy song, "From 0 to 15". Around the capital building, through downtown, and then to Invesco Field at Mile High (Broncos). We ended up taking a stadium tour (second geek-out moment) which lasted about an hour and got to walk down to the field (Staying off the grass.) Cool pictures to be posted later.
Spending some time in the team store, we finally took off on our quest to find a brick and mortar Mile High Comics store. We finally found it. It was ok. The guy behind the counter was saying they really do most of their business online now so none of the 4 B&M stores are too big anymore. But it was cool to find it. It looked like... a comic book store.
So we started considering dinner. My sister recommended a place that she saw on Man vs. Food called, "The Buckhorn Exchange Restaurant". So we found it. It is in the projects of Denver now. The building looks 117 yeas old. It was 4:30 and dinner service started at 5:30. So around 5 we head in (after 45 minutes of driving through Denver looking at houses and a lake.) We go in and they require reservations. Bummer. So we go upstairs to look at the saloon. I end up going back down and asking about how long reservations should be in advance. He tells me between 24-48 hours, but since it was just the two of us, he'd sneak us in. I didn't even need to play the anniversary card.
Let me say that this was, by far, absolutely the best restaurant I have ever eaten in. The menu looks like an old newspaper with a bunch of the history of the restaurant. The walls are lined with pictures of people who have eaten here, guns, mounted heads and full body animals, stories of Wild Bill Cody and Teddy Roosevelt, and history. Amazing. Then the two person steak came out. By far the best steak I've ever had. The buffalo noodle soup was fantastic. If you come to Denver just for this restaurant, you've made a good trip. Wow.
So now, it's Friday and I'm waiting for Laundry to dry. After the full day yesterday, now we are resting until we go drive trail ridge road up in the Rockies. Sounds like fun.
The problem with vacations is that they end way too early, but I am looking forward to seeing my kids again. Still, I have been enjoying my wife. Marriage is good.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
RIP And Awards
I never even named her. She was reliable. She was fun to drive. She had a bed that did lots of work. She was my truck. It was a 2002 GMC Sonoma, SLS and she is no longer in my care. She has gone to meet the great GEICO in the sky.
We were in an accident this afternoon. We were turning left across a four lane road (2 each side). There was no turn lane. On the other said of the road, there was a car turning left to go the opposite way we were heading. It looked clear. As we turned, another car suddenly appeared in the next lane. I don't think it zoomed and changed lanes. It was just in my blind spot hiding behind the car turning. And it hit us. Right in the passenger side front tire area. The truck is totaled. Trina bumped her head on the window but seems to be ok. My truck, though, is gone.
I'm ok. I was laughing and talking on the phone shortly after the accident. Fun stuff.
Well, God knows what he is doing though. Of course, 6 hours later now, I am sore.
We were out getting ready for an AWANA awards night. This is a celebration of what God has done this year in the lives of these kids who have been studying His Word. It was a very good ceremony. I almost cried only once tonight while preaching, so that's a good thing. I'm going to see if I can throw the sermon up here somewhere as an attachment if you want to read it. I did steal the idea from Raising a Modern Day Joseph, a book by Larry Fowler that really has revolutionized the way I am raising my kids. But God worked tonight.
We had one kid who finished every book that AWANA has for grades 3-12 grade this year. In fact, he pushed, studied, struggled and stayed motivated to learn all the verses, 1000 of them, from the 14 books in 2 months. That's motivating.
We are on our way out of town for a week in 10 hours. It should be a good week in Colorado if I am not as sore as I am now. A week of vacation is just what the doctor ordered.
RIP my poor Sonoma. I figured out what I want to pray for now. I am praying for another GMC Sonoma, stick shift, green this time with an extended cab. So, if you know of anyone giving this truck away for God, let me know.
We were in an accident this afternoon. We were turning left across a four lane road (2 each side). There was no turn lane. On the other said of the road, there was a car turning left to go the opposite way we were heading. It looked clear. As we turned, another car suddenly appeared in the next lane. I don't think it zoomed and changed lanes. It was just in my blind spot hiding behind the car turning. And it hit us. Right in the passenger side front tire area. The truck is totaled. Trina bumped her head on the window but seems to be ok. My truck, though, is gone.
I'm ok. I was laughing and talking on the phone shortly after the accident. Fun stuff.
Well, God knows what he is doing though. Of course, 6 hours later now, I am sore.
We were out getting ready for an AWANA awards night. This is a celebration of what God has done this year in the lives of these kids who have been studying His Word. It was a very good ceremony. I almost cried only once tonight while preaching, so that's a good thing. I'm going to see if I can throw the sermon up here somewhere as an attachment if you want to read it. I did steal the idea from Raising a Modern Day Joseph, a book by Larry Fowler that really has revolutionized the way I am raising my kids. But God worked tonight.
We had one kid who finished every book that AWANA has for grades 3-12 grade this year. In fact, he pushed, studied, struggled and stayed motivated to learn all the verses, 1000 of them, from the 14 books in 2 months. That's motivating.
We are on our way out of town for a week in 10 hours. It should be a good week in Colorado if I am not as sore as I am now. A week of vacation is just what the doctor ordered.
RIP my poor Sonoma. I figured out what I want to pray for now. I am praying for another GMC Sonoma, stick shift, green this time with an extended cab. So, if you know of anyone giving this truck away for God, let me know.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
You Make Every New Day Seem So New
Just recently, my favorite group of all time released a documentary of their career. It is called, "The Rise and Fall of Five Iron Frenzy." If you are a fan of FIF, you have to go out and get it. The main disk is a 3 hour documentary going year by year of what was happening with the band. It is a great documentary. But the part that any FIF fan has to get is the bonus disk, which has 5 music videos, a bunch of short films that they band did in their spare time just to have fun and most importantly, 3 live concerts -- including the live 2 hour concert from the Filmore in Denver, CO in November, 2003 -- the band's final show.
If you were to ask me my favorite song of all time, it is a FIF song. It's the first song on the music player below called, "Every New Day" and it is their final song of every concert played. If I'm in the right mood, it'll make me cry. It makes me want to get up and jump around. It makes me scream, "HA HA!" as loud as I can when I'm driving down the road to sing along. It is the definitive song of my life.
I grew up with Five Iron Frenzy. I didn't realize how much I grew up with them until they came out with the song, "I May Be Old (But At Least I'm Not Like All Those Other Old Guys)" In it, he mentions that he's 29 years old -- the same age I was when I first heard the song. It's amazing how their songs move right along with my life. It's like you could play the CD's along as a sound track for my life. But in the end, there's always "Every New Day." No matter how bad it gets, no matter how lost I seemed, God was always there making every new day seem so new. He was giving me a new hope.
I do go through my phases with them on my playlist but I still find it amazing that songs I loved in my young 20's are still relevant, still tug at my heart, make me laugh, cry, dance, sing, yell, skank and enjoy life. The power of music, but more important, I believe, is that it is the power of God working through a group of 8 kids in Denver, Colorado who went through struggles, doubts, disbelief, love, breakups, and the normal, everyday things that I went through (me without the pink hair.) So these 7 years after Five Iron Frenzy broke up, I get to watch their concerts on DVD and reminiscence on a simpler time in life where I lived and had a soundtrack.
Make sure you listen to "Every New Day" below.
"Every New Day"
Lyrics:
When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped for things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
When I was small, the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The struggles go on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep pilling
Up on my back.
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step.
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths.
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace.
Dear God...
Increase.
Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts
forever.
Freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours,
Only You can make every new day seem so new.
If you were to ask me my favorite song of all time, it is a FIF song. It's the first song on the music player below called, "Every New Day" and it is their final song of every concert played. If I'm in the right mood, it'll make me cry. It makes me want to get up and jump around. It makes me scream, "HA HA!" as loud as I can when I'm driving down the road to sing along. It is the definitive song of my life.
I grew up with Five Iron Frenzy. I didn't realize how much I grew up with them until they came out with the song, "I May Be Old (But At Least I'm Not Like All Those Other Old Guys)" In it, he mentions that he's 29 years old -- the same age I was when I first heard the song. It's amazing how their songs move right along with my life. It's like you could play the CD's along as a sound track for my life. But in the end, there's always "Every New Day." No matter how bad it gets, no matter how lost I seemed, God was always there making every new day seem so new. He was giving me a new hope.
I do go through my phases with them on my playlist but I still find it amazing that songs I loved in my young 20's are still relevant, still tug at my heart, make me laugh, cry, dance, sing, yell, skank and enjoy life. The power of music, but more important, I believe, is that it is the power of God working through a group of 8 kids in Denver, Colorado who went through struggles, doubts, disbelief, love, breakups, and the normal, everyday things that I went through (me without the pink hair.) So these 7 years after Five Iron Frenzy broke up, I get to watch their concerts on DVD and reminiscence on a simpler time in life where I lived and had a soundtrack.
Make sure you listen to "Every New Day" below.
"Every New Day"
Lyrics:
When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped for things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
When I was small, the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The struggles go on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep pilling
Up on my back.
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step.
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths.
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace.
Dear God...
Increase.
Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts
forever.
Freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours,
Only You can make every new day seem so new.
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